Flying monasteries

We’ve had such great holidays from our holidays in Albania. It is now time to get back to reality and to continue with our travel.

We have only three days left in Greece, our next destination is Meteora, a place which, according to our guide, it should be certified as a Wonder of the World. We have occasionally disagreed with our guide on what they consider a must-see, so we are intrigued if this time their statement holds true.

We have awoken to a dry and bright morning. Who would have thought after such a rainy night. Sleeping in a motorhome when it is pissing down can be quite disturbing. Tap, tap, tap… that is the noise of the rain hitting Dora’s ceiling. And it has been like that all night. We feel pretty rough now.

So, after a quick coffee and a quick tidy up, we head off. From here, we continue on a national road towards Meteora.

Well, a national road? really? Look at the state of it!

And it is getting worst! Now we are going through unpaved road. We have not found any vehicles coming from the other side, which is weird.

We eventually come across a junction and a sign at the end of our road saying “DO NOT ENTER”. That explains the state of it and the lack of traffic! The things we put Dora through!

We arrive at Meteora. Why is this place so famous?

According to our guide: “It has magnificent late 14th century monasteries perched dramatically atop enormous rocky pinnacles”.

We have also read that there is also a chance to do Via Ferrata. Via ferrata is included in our things to do this year. Most of the via ferrata routes are located in the Alps, where we are planning to stop for a few days in Summer. So, the opportunity of doing a via ferrata route before we expected really excites us!

Meteora is a unique place. It is a set of sandstone rocks which have been eroded over millions of years, acquiring quirky pillar shapes. There is nothing like it around here. Nature is divine.

Maybe I would have to take issue with Susana’s English here or the religious assertions, not sure I agree that nature is down to a deity, rather natural process underlying which are the rules of physics and maybe we would dispute who came up with the rules of physics, but I like the anthropomorphic principle! GDR

They are lovely though. GDR

We head off to the tourist information office of the village at the head of the valley to get a map of all these monasteries. 24 monasteries were built on the top of these pinnacles around the fifteenth century. Only six are currently open and inhabited by monks.

We also ask for this via ferrata route. We got the expected answer:

“There is some sort of via ferrata. But you shouldn’t go there on your own, it is very risky. We will take you there for €50 each”.

Of course you do!

With our map in hand, we take our lunch with us and make our way to the first monastery. To get to these monasteries you can walk or drive. We decide to walk to get to this one.

The trail is well marked and well paved.

The monastery is only 40 minutes walk. We thank the shade provided by the trees, as it is getting quite hot.

We finally get here, only a few more steps to get to the entrance.

The entrance fee is €6.00. I am wearing trousers and a long sleeve T-Shirt, so I am not precisely revealing my flesh, but I must still cover myself with scarves they provide.

When you are going to have your feminist tantrum? Gary asks.

In defence of Susana’s feminist stance I would agree, nothing about men, I could have gone in butt naked for all they cared, as long as no temptress of a women showed any of her bits to excite me. Ludicrous. What I loved was the signs that asked that you acted with respect. This is a bit difficult, I find it difficult to respect a fairy tale! GDR

This monastery is quite small but looks very modern. Inside, there is a church pretty much like many orthodox churches we have already seen. We are looking for some information on display to tell us about this place and these monasteries, when they were built, why, how did they developed over the years…

We have found nothing so far, only the orthodox church, with its colourful, fuzzy iconoclasts and dark, gloomy rooms that  we are by now so familiar with.

We get outside to enjoy the breath-taking views.

This is a nice place to have our lunch. In the distance, we spot the monasteries we have decided we are going to visit next.

I must admit the view is absolutely stunning. Dozen of monasteries sit on the top of these rock pillars. They look like flying monasteries, suspended in the air. How did they find this weird, magnificent place? How did they get to the top of these pinnacles to build the monasteries? What did these buildings used to look like originally? There is  so much we would like to know.

The views make a really nice postcard. We’ve had a lovely lunch, we have only been disturbed by a few Asians taking selfies. What a surprise!

We continue our tour around the outside of the monastery. A few plot of lands have been turned into gardens. Were they used by the monks for cultivation?

Oops, a hook. What for? To hang “chorizos” and “morcillas” to dry them off? For self-flagellation to prove their love of god?

I ask the ticket officer:

When were the monasteries built?

In the fifteen century

Do monks still live here?

Yes, two

What do they live of?

Mmmm, of tourists’ fees

It would be great if there was more information regarding the history of these places and the monks’ way of living.

There is

Where? Have I missed anything?

In the books sold in the shop of the monasteries, and you can also find stuff online.

I see. For €6, you bloody could have afforded to display a bit of history around. That wouldn’t cause any harm to the monks’ income.

However, we get a squeezed shot of the village before we leave the place.

We walk down the way we came. We hear bells. We look up at the rocks. A row of goats walk fearlessly along a narrow ledge. They seem to be following a baby goat. From here, it looks like it is stuck in between two boulders. It is not moving. The mother must be quite worried about him.

We wait for a bit but nothing happens, so we move on, we hope they are all okay.

We get to Dora and drive along the top road to the other side of the valley. Here, we will spend the night at one of the many car parks available. There are a few more monasteries which we will visit tomorrow, as they are closed today.

There are also a couple of climbs to the top of pinnacles which we will try to do this afternoon; one of them, the via ferrata route!

We walk through the village at the head of this valley to get to the path.

The village is surrounding by massive rocks. The houses look tiny by the side of them.

We follow the cobbled street up to the route. We believe the route will go between those two pinnacles.

A centenary woman sunbathing outside. She looks pretty still. We hope she is still alive.

We continue to look for the path to the via ferrata route.

A sweet fragrance invades my nostrils. Figs! So weird, it is not the season! Maybe they grow earlier in Greece.

We find the path. It takes up through some sort of sanctuary. It is all about religion around here.

We reach another chapel. A western guy passes by, followed by a dog.

Is he yours?

No, is he following you?

Yes.

The guy looks uncomfortable about having a dog around.

Don’t worry. We thought. Given our latest experiences, the dog may start following us.

And he does!

You’ve got a new friend. Gary says.

No, I don’t. DogDos is irreplaceable.

We pass one of the pinnacles. The path continues around to the right.

We now leave the woods and reach the rocks which we are supposed to climb. It is very exposed, as most of the via ferrata routes are.

I start walking slow, as I feel intimidated by the cliffs. There are no signs of via ferrata around here, none of those typical steel cables running along the routes, none of those protections fixed to the rocks. This is just an exposed climb.

I feel too exposed, I don’t wanna go any further. We turn back. Whoever thought this was a via ferrata route was a bit of a liar, or he/she doesn’t know what via ferrata is.

We walk back the way we came. We have another route in the bag: the top of Holy Place. We can see it from here. The path starts at the other side the village.

A weird mini-church sits in the middle of the village. A bit surreal.

The path to the Holy Place is quite nice, rocky, narrow, but not too tiring or steep.

The dog is still with us. He is getting slow. He is a bit lazy. I don’t think he would have put up with a seven hours walk like DogDos did.

Half an hour later, we get to the top. Those are the rocks we were trying to get to before.

A bell hung on a rusty iron frame has been placed on the top of Holy Place.

And there is also a cave with a few religious images and candles.

We understand what these monasteries are all about. These must be what the original monasteries were like. The first settlements must have come here and found Meteora the perfect place to live: sheltered places to protect themselves from cold winters; isolated enough to live away from the mundane world; very high to be close to god.

The dog looks pretty tired. I bet he won’t follow us any longer.

We turn back. He is probably thinking: “I don’t really fancy walking any more. But if I don’t, I will be sleeping here tonight”

On the way down, the path turns off to the left. Where does it go? We take it.

It goes to an old prison where naughty monks used to be held in captivity.

I am sure this place was well used, lots of naughty monks. Plenty of naughty priests around these days, trouble is they don’t get punished, they just confess there evil deeds! GDR

Pretty unpleasant place to live.

With very nice views though.

We turn back and continue our way back to Dora. A baby goat crosses in front of us. The dog starts chasing her. He has found dinner for tonight.

The goat tries to escape by climbing up the rock but it is too slippery. The dog is waiting for her to fall to the bottom. She inevitably falls. Gary runs to help  her. Would it be the same silly baby goat we saw earlier, stuck on the ledge? Where does she come from? How can we find her mother? We can’t see any herd around, we are going to have to leave her here. Dora wouldn’t be happy if we turned up with a goat. At least, the dog has left so she may have got away with not being eaten.

We take a different way to get back to Dora.

Seeing more of the village.

We get back and drive to a car park close to the monastery we will visit tomorrow.

SM.