Noilly Prattle: Europe Summer 2017: Greece 9 – Meteora

August 29

view of Meteora from our room

We boarded a train from the northern city of Thessaloniki to Kalambaka in central Greece. The train passed Mount Olympus, but it was impossible to discern which peak is Olympus from the train window. After arriving at Kalambaka Station we walked across the tracks to our hotel—Monasteri Guesthouse. Unfortunately we were a little uneasy with the hotel choice. The room was nice enough, spacious with a wonderful view of the odd mountain formations of Meteora. The hotel owner seemed friendly, but there was a tenseness, an air of distracted anxiety about her. Little remarks that she let drop gave us the impression that the hotel was not doing well and was in financial trouble. Maybe it was on the wrong side of the tracks?

Mount Olympus is there somewhere

Meteora is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries . . . The six remaining monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area . . . near the town of Kalambaka at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly. [Wikipedia]

Kalambaka and the the Plain of Thessaly

FIRST DAY

Monastery of Great Meteoron
(three monks in residence)

We booked a tour for our first visit to three of the monasteries that are perched on the rocky mesa-like tops that included climbing hundreds of steps. The tour was a good choice for getting oriented with the site. After a

garden inside Great Meteoron

thunderstorm the night before, it was still cloudy and cool most of the morning. That made it more comfortable and less tiring for the ups and downs of the steps to the monasteries of Great Meteoron, Varlaam and Saint Nickolas. St. Nick's was the most tiring due to the long up-slope approach before the steps and it was getting hotter as the sun emerged and beat down.

Monastery of Varlaam (seven monks in residence)

in the old days supplies and people were
hoisted up with a winch and ropes or ladders

Eastern Orthodox nuns visiting Varlaam

rest and photo-op stop

Monastery of St. Nicholas
(one monk in residence)

an Eastern Orthodox monk

good spot for a photo-op - Monastery of the Holy Trinity and Kalambaka

SECOND DAY

our go-to restaurant in Kalambaka with the
famous Syrtaki dance scene from the film
Zorba the Greek

Once acquainted with the route around Meteora we decided to strike out on our own the following day by taking a local bus to visit one of the remaining monasteries—the nunnery of St. Stephanos. It turned out to be a minor disaster. I swallowed some vitamins that didn't go down properly and I had violent coughing spasms to try and clear some of the acrid powder that got into my lungs. This went on for an hour or two even as we boarded and rode the bus to St. Stephanos. By the time we arrived I was an exhausted wreck and didn't enjoy the outing—too distracted and coughing even to take many pictures. Took the bus back to town and walked back to our go to restaurant Syrtaki, which is the name of the dance in the film Zorba the Greek. The coughing spasms had subsided by then and I was well enough to eat. Back at the hotel I took some anti-inflammation drugs and a long sleep.

Monastery of St. Stephanos
(28 nuns in residence)

THIRD DAY

Monastery of the Holy Trinity
(four monks in residence)

Monastery of Rousanou - not visited
(13 nuns in residence)

I felt fine the next morning and ready to try Meteora again. The plan was to go by bus again to the Monastery of the Holy Trinity (famous as the location for a scene in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only and trek back DOWN to town on a foot trail. We did just that with no problems of mobility or endurance or coughing fits. We met a few hardy (and younger) trekkers walking UP the slope. We had an early dinner at Syrtaki after getting back to town and I hit the hotel pool for a few laps and some lying in the sun.