The geology of meteora on its own makes the place worth visiting: giant pillars of conglomerate formed from stream flow into a lake, apparently.When you consider the size of the things that is a lot of pebble deposition. And a lot of erosion since. Add to that all the orthodox monasteries sitting atop some of the pillars and it makes for an incredible landscape that could come straight out of a fantasy novel.
Unfortunately, my visit coincided with the Australian federal election and its results cast a pall over my stay. At the moment, greece is one of the few countries in the world with a left wing government. NZ, Spain, Portugal, but beyond that there is a sea of fascist and populist governments, anti science, anti immigrant, and Australia is well and truly one of these places. Depresing for anyone who is concerned about the state of the planet and the sort of society our childen will have to inhabit.
Better to spend my time experiencing places like meteora. Yesterday i walked up to agios trikala monastery, which still has the winch, rope, hook and rope basket for bringing up supplies. It also has some well preserved frescoes but no sign of any monks. The walk up was a little circuitous, since i bumped into a herd of sheep and their sheep dogs, who really weren't going to let me pass. Had to backtrack a bit and take a different path. Lots of wonderful views of the pillars. Back in kalambaka i visited a church built in the 9th century that was bursting with very old, and very darkly themed, frescoes. People bring burnt at the stake, dismemberment, the dead rising from graves. Suited my dark premonitions for the election the next day.
When i got back to my accommodation, an apartment with four rooms let out separately, i heard the buzzer ring, thought i may as well ignore it, but off it went again so down i went to find two young russian girs standing there. They had encountered the same problem as i did on arrival. No one answering. But i had the luxury of an EU sim card so could ring the owners. The girls could not. Anyway, rang for them and let them in, showed them round and we took a guess on which room would be theirs. Was a little funny acting as the host while being another guest. Anyway, they were very nice, tour guides in saint petersburg. I said i was a little scared of vladimir putin and one of them said i shouldn't judge all Russians based on him.
Since there was a kitchen i had the luxury of making myself a cup of tea, and the budget saving ability to cook at home. It made a nice change. I think i must be at my travel limit now, wanting a bit of domesticity again. I had an excellent bottle of greek red from lidl. Their wine making seems to have improved a lot since i was last here in 1987. I spent the evening reading an excellent, appropriate novel. "A thousand ships" by Natalie Haynes. A retelling of the trojan war legends from the perspective of the female characters, who are voiceless for the most part, in the ancient originals. Very moving. I highly recommend it.
Today i did a beautiful hike through the pillars of conglomerate, climbing one that had the tiniest little chapel at the top. I decided i was happier wandering in solitude, admiring the views of the monasteries from afar, with a feeling of dread hanging over me as i wandered the ancient paths. After four hours of wanderings, i bit the bullet and looked at the election results. Which left me shattered. 3 more years of the worst government in Australia's history. It made me feel like finding the most isolated monastery and signing up. In any case, the walk reinforced my belief in the solace of nature. To walk past centuries old, gnarled and twisted oaks reminds you that it is possible to endure. And lovely, ephemeral flowers. When i looked at one of the close ups I'd taken, i could see tiny little red beetles inside it.
Next stop Athens, before spending 7 days in the Pyrenees, and then home.
Unfortunately, my visit coincided with the Australian federal election and its results cast a pall over my stay. At the moment, greece is one of the few countries in the world with a left wing government. NZ, Spain, Portugal, but beyond that there is a sea of fascist and populist governments, anti science, anti immigrant, and Australia is well and truly one of these places. Depresing for anyone who is concerned about the state of the planet and the sort of society our childen will have to inhabit.
Better to spend my time experiencing places like meteora. Yesterday i walked up to agios trikala monastery, which still has the winch, rope, hook and rope basket for bringing up supplies. It also has some well preserved frescoes but no sign of any monks. The walk up was a little circuitous, since i bumped into a herd of sheep and their sheep dogs, who really weren't going to let me pass. Had to backtrack a bit and take a different path. Lots of wonderful views of the pillars. Back in kalambaka i visited a church built in the 9th century that was bursting with very old, and very darkly themed, frescoes. People bring burnt at the stake, dismemberment, the dead rising from graves. Suited my dark premonitions for the election the next day.
When i got back to my accommodation, an apartment with four rooms let out separately, i heard the buzzer ring, thought i may as well ignore it, but off it went again so down i went to find two young russian girs standing there. They had encountered the same problem as i did on arrival. No one answering. But i had the luxury of an EU sim card so could ring the owners. The girls could not. Anyway, rang for them and let them in, showed them round and we took a guess on which room would be theirs. Was a little funny acting as the host while being another guest. Anyway, they were very nice, tour guides in saint petersburg. I said i was a little scared of vladimir putin and one of them said i shouldn't judge all Russians based on him.
Since there was a kitchen i had the luxury of making myself a cup of tea, and the budget saving ability to cook at home. It made a nice change. I think i must be at my travel limit now, wanting a bit of domesticity again. I had an excellent bottle of greek red from lidl. Their wine making seems to have improved a lot since i was last here in 1987. I spent the evening reading an excellent, appropriate novel. "A thousand ships" by Natalie Haynes. A retelling of the trojan war legends from the perspective of the female characters, who are voiceless for the most part, in the ancient originals. Very moving. I highly recommend it.
Today i did a beautiful hike through the pillars of conglomerate, climbing one that had the tiniest little chapel at the top. I decided i was happier wandering in solitude, admiring the views of the monasteries from afar, with a feeling of dread hanging over me as i wandered the ancient paths. After four hours of wanderings, i bit the bullet and looked at the election results. Which left me shattered. 3 more years of the worst government in Australia's history. It made me feel like finding the most isolated monastery and signing up. In any case, the walk reinforced my belief in the solace of nature. To walk past centuries old, gnarled and twisted oaks reminds you that it is possible to endure. And lovely, ephemeral flowers. When i looked at one of the close ups I'd taken, i could see tiny little red beetles inside it.
Next stop Athens, before spending 7 days in the Pyrenees, and then home.
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