Patras, Meteora, Marathon
Patras
Saturday October 15 - Sunday 16
Saturday October 15 - Sunday 16
Saturday Colin met with two of the contractors, but the third didn’t show up so we got on the road to our next adventure, Epidaurus (Greek: Ἐπίδαυρος), sometimes called Epidavros.
Epidaurus was named after the hero Epidauros, son of Apollo, and is best known for its sanctuary, the Asclepeion, situated about 8 km from the town. It was the most celebrated healing centre of the Classical world, the place where ill people went in the hope of being cured. To find out the right cure for their ailments, they spent a night in the enkoimeteria, a big sleeping hall. In their dreams, the god himself would advise them what they had to do to regain their health.
Epidaurus is also known for its theatre, which is once again in use today, and has a reputation for its exceptional acoustics, which reportedly allowed almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium or skēnē to all 14,000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Though this is a tale often recounted by tour guides, the truth is a little less impressive, with good vocal projection required and intelligibility not guaranteed. That said, it is still a magnificent structure, with the acoustic properties caused both by the physical shape and the construction material - rows of limestone seats filtering out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the crowd, and amplifying the high-frequency sounds of the stage.
The ‘tiny house’ we booked in Agios Vasilios, near Patra, was just that, tiny. Colin was not impressed, so I had to remind him that he let me do the booking without consultation because he didn’t want to be involved. That ended that conversation rather swiftly. It was fine for the night though, and our host was very helpful. We found a great restaurant for dinner, and whilst paying the bill Colin thought he was being checked over by the owner, sitting behind the main desk, but he was just interested in where we were from. The waitress translated for him, and he told us Sydney and Melbourne were the prettiest cities in the world. Clearly he hadn’t been to Fremantle, but we let it slide. On the way out, as a cat sauntered past, I asked the waitress “Did you know there’s a cat in the restaurant?” She told us the owner adored his cats; no children but he loved his cats. I told her we were the same with chickens.
After a walk along the waterfront, and breakfast at a fabulous bakery, Colin and I toured the Rio Castle (Greek: κάστρο του Ρίου), and by midday were once again on the road. Next stop, The Meteora!
Click images to enlarge
Epidaurus was named after the hero Epidauros, son of Apollo, and is best known for its sanctuary, the Asclepeion, situated about 8 km from the town. It was the most celebrated healing centre of the Classical world, the place where ill people went in the hope of being cured. To find out the right cure for their ailments, they spent a night in the enkoimeteria, a big sleeping hall. In their dreams, the god himself would advise them what they had to do to regain their health.
Epidaurus is also known for its theatre, which is once again in use today, and has a reputation for its exceptional acoustics, which reportedly allowed almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium or skēnē to all 14,000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Though this is a tale often recounted by tour guides, the truth is a little less impressive, with good vocal projection required and intelligibility not guaranteed. That said, it is still a magnificent structure, with the acoustic properties caused both by the physical shape and the construction material - rows of limestone seats filtering out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the crowd, and amplifying the high-frequency sounds of the stage.
The ‘tiny house’ we booked in Agios Vasilios, near Patra, was just that, tiny. Colin was not impressed, so I had to remind him that he let me do the booking without consultation because he didn’t want to be involved. That ended that conversation rather swiftly. It was fine for the night though, and our host was very helpful. We found a great restaurant for dinner, and whilst paying the bill Colin thought he was being checked over by the owner, sitting behind the main desk, but he was just interested in where we were from. The waitress translated for him, and he told us Sydney and Melbourne were the prettiest cities in the world. Clearly he hadn’t been to Fremantle, but we let it slide. On the way out, as a cat sauntered past, I asked the waitress “Did you know there’s a cat in the restaurant?” She told us the owner adored his cats; no children but he loved his cats. I told her we were the same with chickens.
After a walk along the waterfront, and breakfast at a fabulous bakery, Colin and I toured the Rio Castle (Greek: κάστρο του Ρίου), and by midday were once again on the road. Next stop, The Meteora!
Click images to enlarge
Meteora
Sunday October 16 - Wednesday 19
Sunday October 16 - Wednesday 19
Kalabaka (Greek: Καλαμπάκα, Kalabáka)
The spectacular scenery on the way to Kalabáka alone was worth the trip, but when we finally caught caught sight of the Meteora…oh my giddy aunt!!! We were completely awe struck by the magnitude of these geographically unique rock formations, let alone the monasteries perched on top. As we gawped at this spectacle Colin asked me what kind of a nut builds a monastery atop a pinnacle, and I said Monkey Nuts! I may be struck down for that remark.
I’d been doing pretty well managing our Air B’n’B bookings, until yesterday when I confused one host with another and sent poor Evangelia several messages about our imminent arrival when I was meant to be messaging Maria of the tiny house. I won’t provide the fascinating details of how this happened, but miraculously we managed to arrive at our stated time at both places, and Evangelia (the name meaning ‘messenger of good news’) was very gracious about the mix-up, and the fact I had forgotten to update her as to our arrival time as we got closer.
We were instantly enamoured with our accommodation (what’s not to like about a house at the bottom of a world heritage site?) and the personal touches around the place. Not only that, but there were tortoises in the garden. Yes, tortoises! When Evangelia’s husband, Argyros, pointed one out I thought it was a statue and that he was having a lend. It wasn’t, though it did move at about the same pace.
Lining the roads there are so many memorials to death, and we think we know why after witnessing the driving speeds and the overtaking on blind corners with double white lines.
Monday began our exploration of this incredible area with its breathtaking vistas that changed at every curve in the road. Nature (and hard yakka) at its most exotic and surreal, and that still can’t describe the magnificence of the geological and man made structures.
After encountering a number of tour buses we retreated from the clouds for a few hours, returning later in the evening for photos, lucky enough to see a magnificent bride having a photo shoot up there.
Tuesday
In Greek, Meteora means "suspended in the air”, and I was pretty sure that’s exactly what the Holy Trinity was. Hence there was no doubt in my mind that the only way to access this monastery was by cable car. Given it is situated at the top of a rocky precipice over 400 metres high, I thought this a reasonable assumption. Turns out the only assumption around here, however, was that of the Virgin Mary, and Colin discovered there was a path that descended into the valley next to the precipice then rose again to the beginning of the 150 steps to the monastery. It seemed a bit like the 100 steps of Agios Nicholas, where the thousand steps you do getting to the steps to the monastery don’t count. We were heartened to see an old monk walking the path and not talking a short cut through the air, though he was probably a lot more accustomed to the climb than us.
Once we got there, the ghostly but unmoving spectre I’d seen on the balcony yesterday turned out to be a rope bag attached to a block and tackle, presumably for raising and lowering supplies, though I later found out it was used for raising and lowering people too.
In the afternoon we walked a couple of the trails recommended by Argyros, wandered through Kastráki (the adjacent town) and ‘Old Kalabáka’, and later dined in the town square rather than driving to Kastráki as we had the previous nights.
The spectacular scenery on the way to Kalabáka alone was worth the trip, but when we finally caught caught sight of the Meteora…oh my giddy aunt!!! We were completely awe struck by the magnitude of these geographically unique rock formations, let alone the monasteries perched on top. As we gawped at this spectacle Colin asked me what kind of a nut builds a monastery atop a pinnacle, and I said Monkey Nuts! I may be struck down for that remark.
I’d been doing pretty well managing our Air B’n’B bookings, until yesterday when I confused one host with another and sent poor Evangelia several messages about our imminent arrival when I was meant to be messaging Maria of the tiny house. I won’t provide the fascinating details of how this happened, but miraculously we managed to arrive at our stated time at both places, and Evangelia (the name meaning ‘messenger of good news’) was very gracious about the mix-up, and the fact I had forgotten to update her as to our arrival time as we got closer.
We were instantly enamoured with our accommodation (what’s not to like about a house at the bottom of a world heritage site?) and the personal touches around the place. Not only that, but there were tortoises in the garden. Yes, tortoises! When Evangelia’s husband, Argyros, pointed one out I thought it was a statue and that he was having a lend. It wasn’t, though it did move at about the same pace.
Lining the roads there are so many memorials to death, and we think we know why after witnessing the driving speeds and the overtaking on blind corners with double white lines.
Monday began our exploration of this incredible area with its breathtaking vistas that changed at every curve in the road. Nature (and hard yakka) at its most exotic and surreal, and that still can’t describe the magnificence of the geological and man made structures.
After encountering a number of tour buses we retreated from the clouds for a few hours, returning later in the evening for photos, lucky enough to see a magnificent bride having a photo shoot up there.
Tuesday
In Greek, Meteora means "suspended in the air”, and I was pretty sure that’s exactly what the Holy Trinity was. Hence there was no doubt in my mind that the only way to access this monastery was by cable car. Given it is situated at the top of a rocky precipice over 400 metres high, I thought this a reasonable assumption. Turns out the only assumption around here, however, was that of the Virgin Mary, and Colin discovered there was a path that descended into the valley next to the precipice then rose again to the beginning of the 150 steps to the monastery. It seemed a bit like the 100 steps of Agios Nicholas, where the thousand steps you do getting to the steps to the monastery don’t count. We were heartened to see an old monk walking the path and not talking a short cut through the air, though he was probably a lot more accustomed to the climb than us.
Once we got there, the ghostly but unmoving spectre I’d seen on the balcony yesterday turned out to be a rope bag attached to a block and tackle, presumably for raising and lowering supplies, though I later found out it was used for raising and lowering people too.
In the afternoon we walked a couple of the trails recommended by Argyros, wandered through Kastráki (the adjacent town) and ‘Old Kalabáka’, and later dined in the town square rather than driving to Kastráki as we had the previous nights.