Ancient sites and mountain gorges

 

Sunday

Leave the Magnesia peninsular for Delphi. We are wanting to visit the ancient archaeological site of Delphi so head for a campsite that is close by and offers free transport to the site. We don’t know what to expect – Delphi is a UNESCO world heritage site and after the Acropolis, is the most popular archaeological site to visit in Greece. We get the feeling it will be busy and there is very limited parking so like the idea of getting a lift there. 

Monday

Get a lift at 8.30am to the site. It is absolutely amazing. It lies between two towering rocks of Mount Parnassus, known as the Phaidriades (shining rocks). It was a sanctuary dedicated to the god Apollo, a meeting place of politics, games and festivities and the home of the most famous oracle (or seer). Pilgrims would journey to hear prophecies from the god Apollo, voiced through his chosen oracle (a woman from the local area).

The area was inhabited in the 2nd millennium BCE (1500-1100 BCE). The development of the sanctuary and oracle began in the 8th century BCE and the religious and political influence over the whole of Greece increased in the 6th century BCE. Delphi was considered by the Greeks as the centre of the world (omphalos) or navel of the universe – this came about as Zeus released two eagles - one to the east and one to the west and Delphi was the meeting point. The omphalos was located in the temple of Apollo.

Sun shining on the temple of Apollo

Theatre

Stadium - place of athletic contests

Spend a good couple of hours walking to the top of the site.  Pleased we arrived early as it is getting very busy as we leave. Coach after coach dropping groups of people off – it’s a very popular day trip from Athens. There were so many people entering the site that I felt they wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate its splendour.

Have a quick coffee and snack before going to the modern archaeological museum which is close by and is really good. Rich and powerful people visited Delphi bringing gifts and building monuments which were discovered during excavations and many items are on display in the museum.

 

Sphinx of the Naxians

Leave the site with our brains overfull with what we had seen.  Walk back to the campsite (in the rain).

Tuesday

Leave the campsite to go to the top of mount Parnassus so we get the full experience of the area. The mountain was sacred to Apollo and was the home of the Muses who were the sources of inspiration for all of the arts and knowledge so the mountain became known as the home of poetry, music, and learning.

There are ski stations at the top that are in use during the winter so I’m hoping the road won’t be too bad. Before we head up the mountain we go through the small village of Arachova to get fuel and provisions. Oh my goodness. The streets are really narrow – we assume it’s a one way traffic flow until vehicles drive toward us. It’s the main route from Delphi to Athens so massive tourist coaches come through the village. There lots of manoeuvring, with coaches in front of us, coaches coming the other way plus a fire engine trying to get through. It’s bedlam. After much faff (I’m so pleased Geoff is driving) we get through and onto the road to the top of the mountain.  The roads are pretty good and we park up on a deserted ski station car park at 1740m.

Wednesday and Thursday

Coldest night of the trip so far, but the sun rises and it starts to warm up. Walk further up the mountain as Geoff is after Shorelark and Alpine Accentor (a quest continued from our trip to Spain last year). Sadly, the birds are not to be seen (we do see Wheatears which we can see at home in Northumberland) but it is a lovely walk up such a mythical mountain.

Leave the mountain and make for a campsite that looks nice and it is offering a senior citizens discount if you book for 2 nights, which we do. It has a lovely pool with a fantastic view over the valley below and fortunately the weather improves so it is warm enough to swim. Lovely meal in the on site taverna.

 

Friday and Saturday

Leave the mountain area for the Messologhi wetlands. Stay overnight on the side of a lagoon so Geoff can record what’s about.  He also sees a Stone Curlew the first time for 18+ years.

There’s a lovely, fairly deserted beach with cattle that come down onto the sand. Also, on the edge of the beach we see a Dahl’s Whip Snake. It’s long and thin with a greenish head and brown body. I’m not a snake fan but it was very pretty. Later on, as we are driving along, Geoff spies what he thinks is a Leopard Snake, dead in the middle of the road, but not too squashed. We drove past it quite quickly and as he hasn’t seen one before decides to turn the van around to get a closer look. Just as we are approaching the snake for a second time, a Buzzard comes down onto the road in front of us, picks up the snake in its talons and flies off with it – so still don’t get to see it!

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

Drive the beautiful coast road and onto the island of Lefkada. Although it is an island, it’s accessed by a causeway and floating bridge. After one night on a noisy, cramped campsite (which did have a nice pool) we get to a much better site. It’s on the side of a beach and was the first campsite to open on the island – it’s family run and has been in operation since 1973.

Go for a swim and snorkel in the sea and see the most incredible array of fish, really close to the shore. There’s a rock ledge that the fish seem to like and I’ve never seen anything like it – it’s like swimming in an aquarium. The sea’s not too cold either which is a bonus. We really needed an underwater camera!

Snorkeling beach

Walk up a track behind the campsite and come across the magnificent butterfly – the Two-tailed Pasha. I  first saw it in France last year and see several as we are walking along. What a sight – they are fairly big – at first I thought it was a bat flying past but sadly they don’t land long enough to get a photo.

 

Wednesday and Thursday

Have a drive along the west coast of the island – it is lovely with beautiful beaches at the bottom of very steep coves and winding mountain roads. Stop at a bakery for breakfast and a guy tries to sell us some socks (new ones!) then stop for a couple of things in Lefkada town. It has a rather cosmopolitan feel and for the first time on the trip I see a cafe offering avocado on toast. Wait for a little while to get off the island as the floating bridge is moved aside to let boats through into the harbour then make for a park up spot on the side of the Amvrakikos gulf, which is a large enclosed sea gulf.

We park in a small bay, very close to the sea with rocks at the edge. After a little while, we spot something rising up out of the water and when we look closely it’s a big turtle. The gulf is known for turtles but we never thought we would see them. They come very close, to feed amongst the rocks. It seems they lay their eggs on the beaches of nearby Kephalonia and Zante. There are Loggerhead and Green Turtles in the gulf, but we are not really sure which ones we are seeing -their shells are covered in green seaweed and barnacles. Spend the day watching turtles and shoals of beautiful small silver fish that jump out of the water, looking like a silver spray. That evening as it is getting dark we see Fireflies – the first sighting for many years for both of us – it’s all quite magical.

 

 

Turtle bay

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Make for the city of Ioannina but en route, stop at the small lake of the springs of Louros. Get lost trying to find it so ask a young lad on a moped for directions. He very kindly drives in front of us to show us the way- going a bit faster around the narrow lanes than we would normally go but we manage to keep up.

The lake has crystal clear, icy cold water from underground springs. It’s beautiful. There are lots of small water snakes pulling themselves up into overhanging tree branches, frogs, dragonflies and damselflies.

 Ioannina is on the banks of Lake Pamvotida and was famous throughout the ottoman empire for its silversmiths. It has castle walls in the centre and lots of shops, bars and restaurants.

Wall painting

Local tortoise

Tuesday

We are visiting the ancient site of Dodoni which has been an important site from 2600 BCE. It was the sanctuary of Zeus and had the oldest of the Greek oracles. The oracle / priests sat under the sacred oak tree and listened to the sounds of the leaves and interpreted the sounds as Zeus’s predictions. It is also thought that the priests interpreted the sounds of falling acorns onto bronze cauldrons so sound is at the core of the site. The site is the location for one of the largest theatres in Greece where Zeus was honoured with performances and games.

Get there early but as it’s on a much smaller scale than Delphi we hope it won’t be as manically busy. It is quiet as we arrive and is a beautiful place. Much less grand and monumental than Delphi but very atmospheric and it feels very special. Walk around for a while then noise starts – it’s ridiculous – at least 6 people with heavy duty strimmers cutting the grass throughout the site and it’s relentless -we just can’t get away from the noise and have to leave as it is unbearable. We are so disappointed.

 

Dodoni

 

Head into the mountains, towards the Vikos and Aoos gorges, stopping at a roadside cafe for pork souvlaki in pitta for Geoff and chips with tsatiki for me. Park up at a lovely bridge and the start of the Aoos gorge. It’s been stormy and wet on and off for a few days so the water which is normally crystal clear is a murky light brown colour.

 

 

Wednesday

Walk the Aoos gorge which is beautiful but as the river is in flood, there are not as many butterflies and insects to be seen as expected as they usually frequent the shallow pools alongside the river. We do see Yellow-bellied Toads though which are exactly as described and I see my first ever Scorpion.

 

Konitsa  old bridge (completed in 1870)

Aoos gorge

Make for a campsite very close to the Vikos gorge. It is in the process of being built so is a bit basic, but has showers, electricity and is in a fantastic spot. We see Short-toed Eagles and Black Storks as we are sitting outside the van and Geoff gets excited as the eagles are calling which he has only ever heard once before, in Spain, in 2001.

The guy who is overseeing the campsite is chatty and his English is very good, having spent a couple of years living in London. We then notice he is a member of the Greek Hells Angels (displayed on the motorbike jacket he wears). He also plays some kind of death metal ‘music’ in the small reception/bar area which filters through into the shower block. Later on friends/relatives turn up and the bar gets noisy then the campsite dogs decide to sit next to our van and bark at regular intervals throughout the night so very little sleep for either of us. Needless to say we don’t hang around the next morning.

 

 

Thursday – Thursday

Spend the week exploring the area. Walk to two viewing points for the Vikos gorge which according to the Guinness Book of Records is the deepest relative to its width gorge in the world. When we get to the first viewing point, my fear of heights kicks in and I can’t make it to the edge so Geoff has to take the photos. When we are at the viewing point, two young guys are there too and one stands on top of the wall overlooking the gorge. I nearly shouted out to him in horror and had to look away!

 

Kokkorous bridge

Vikos gorge

Gorge viewing point

The area is also known for it’s herb doctors/healers who utilise locally grown herbs. The herb doctors were well renowned during the 17^th century and some continue to work and sell herbs today.

 

Vikos herb garden

At one point Geoff sets up a microphone to record a shepherd doing amazing musical whistling to his goats. When we look up, the shepherds dog has run off with the fluffy microphone cover in its mouth – fortunately Geoff manages to run after him a retrieve it.

Spend one night high in the mountains, between the mountains of Timfi and Smolikas which is the second highest mountain in Greece, after mount Olympus. The weather is very misty and showery but when the mist lifts we do get to see some spectacular views. We also see Golden Eagle, Short-toed Eagle and Honey-buzzard.

 

A key quest for Geoff for this week has been to record Short-toed Eagle. We have heard them call a few times but it is very ad hoc and only for a short amount of time so by the time Geoff has recording kit ready, they have disappeared. We park up at various locations throughout the mountains but it is all very frustrating and unfortunately Geoff is defeated in his quest.

Friday – Tuesday

Make out way out of the mountains to the coast, via an overnight park up spot outside a taverna which is run by a German woman who has lived in Greece for 30+ years. She is happy for people to park up for free and offers basic facilities. Have a great meal in the taverna and chat to a lovely German couple who are travelling in a self built van with two small children. In Germany, fathers get extensive, subsidised paternity leave so they decided to take advantage of it and travel. Have a really nice evening, but temperatures have been rising so it is followed by a very noisy, very warm night.

Stay at a campsite on the coast, near the ferry terminal of Igoumenitsa as we are getting the ferry to Ancona in Italy to make our way home from there. It is very hot and getting very busy – it feels like summer holidays have started -  but the site is on the side of a lovely beach with wonderful swimming so that makes it bearable! Also have a little drive along the coast to the border with Albania. We have met a few people who have travelled through Albania and they said it was really good -so - maybe next time.

Almost in Albania

Our trip has been such an adventure - there is a part  of me that is envious of people just arriving but after 3 months in a metal box with temperatures rising, maybe it’s time to go home!

 

Leaving Greece

 

Arriving in Italy