Hard to imagine but the landscape keeps getting more dramatic as we zigzag up and down the dirt roads of the Agrafa, deep in the Evrytania region toward Lake Kremaston, the largest artificial lake in Greece. And I find it easier to enjoy the view now that my car mate Mary Bailey has asked about the tiny roadside shrines standing at the very edge of the most precipitous drops. They are getting more frequent as we go deeper into the wilderness. Since Mary is by now doing all of the driving, I understand her concern. They are kandilakia, and yes, they sometime commemorate fatal accidents, but they are just as likely to give thanks for catastrophes avoided, Yoav Barashi, the leader of our Tripology Adventures caravan, assures us. Or they can simply mark a spot for an instant of private devotion as people go about their daily business.
Of Olympian Gods and Judas Trees
Lake Kremaston and Episkopi Bridge.
Under a robin’s egg blue sky, the scenery is a riot of colors. When first revealed from high on a ridge, Lake Kremaston is a palette of greens from pale jade to emerald, turning to teal whenever the sun hides behind a cluster of puffy white clouds. The Judas trees are in full bloom, splashing the mountainside with random hot pink patches. This is a photographer’s paradise and every few minutes someone gets on the radio to announce an impromptu photo stop, until Yoav ends the chaos by telling us the best vantage point is just ahead. Once we are back in our cars, he finds a sure way to keep our unruly lot going. He entertains us with a story. Yoah is an Olympic-class storyteller. Whenever driving conditions allow, he takes to the radio and weaves mythological tales for us (with voices) with such an irreverent humor he has us all asking for more. Who knew that Greek mythology was all about testosterone-laden Zeus, all these demi-gods birthed from his various body parts and his wife Hera’s dim view of his shenanigans!
We stop of a break on the sandy shore of the Trikeriotis River.
By now we have crossed the Episkopi Bridge to the far size of the lake. We follow the tree-shaded shore of the Trikeriotis River where we reach a sandy beach and find Izhar Gamlieli, co-founder of Tripology Adventures, putting finishing touches to our morning break. The river looks like liquid rock crystal as it rushes toward the lake.
We reach of small village high in the Agrafa.
It’s a long, steep climb out of this idyllic place. At times the road seems little more than a ledge not much wider than our cars and with lots of sharp turns. I wonder idly what would happen if we were to come face to face with an incoming car? Mercifully, I don’t have to find out. All we see are goats that bounce up the mountain at the sight of us. Eventually the road widens and flattens a bit and we come to a village. Yaov tells us to walk down to the platia while Nikos, our lead driver, takes the cars down. I pause to snap a few shots of the valley below, and almost get knocked of my feet by jet engine thunder. The culprits are already vanishing behind the next ridge before I grasp what just happened. Here I am in a remote village that has been clinging to its mountainside since the days of the Ottoman invasion, and I am getting buzzed by the Greek air force!
Into Monastery Country
The footpath down is so precipitous it could have been traced by the goats. Although well kept, the village looks deserted. I don’t see a soul until I reach the platia and find Izhar once again on catering duty setting up a buffet lunch.
The Proussos Monastery is home to a sacred icon said to have healing powers.
Back on the road, and there actually is a proper road here, albeit narrow and hewed into the rock high above the Karpenisiotis River, we head to the Panaghia Prousiotissa (or Proussos Monastery). According to tradition this monastery partially overhanging the edge of a chasm traces its roots back to the discovery by local shepherds of a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary. Originally from Proussa (in Asia Minor) the icon is said to have found its way to a shallow cave here during the reign of the iconoclast Byzantine Emperor Theophilus (829-842 AD). Believed to have healing powers, it has remained to this day in its shelter within the monastery that was built around it starting in the twelfth century. It is a place of pilgrimage for faithful from all over Greece. In addition to the icon, the chapel that surrounds the cave also includes thirteenth and sixteenth century frescoes. With Karpenisi only 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) away, we are back at the Hotel Spa Montana in plenty of time for me to enjoy a water massage in the spa’s elegant glassed-in pool before dinner. Tonight we discover another of Izhar and Yoav’s favorite restaurants in a nearby village. That’s one of the pleasures of traveling with them; they know all the best places and have friends everywhere. This gets us invited to visit the kitchen and witness the unveiling of a delicious lamb and potato stew that has been simmering for hours cocooned in charcoals in an ancient oven.
One More Mountain Pass, or Two
From Niala Peak’s Kamaria Pass the view reaches the vast expanse of Lake Plastiras and the plain of Thessaly.
Although I have been happily loosing track of time recently, it’s clear than we are now bound for the end point of our expedition, the medieval monastery complex and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Meteora. But before we reach it, there is still an exciting day ahead. We start with a morning climb from the Karpenisiotis Valley to a mountaintop café for our morning break, followed by a steep drive down into a gorge of the Agrafiotis River where we enjoy a waterside lunch of freshly grilled trout at a local trout farm before the climb to the Niala Peak’s Kamaria Pass. At an altitude of 1,657 meters (5,436 feet) the pass is one of the highest in Greece and well above the tree line. Then it’s down again to the northwestern edge of the plain of Thessaly and our first jaw-dropping sight of the famed monasteries of Meteora atop their colossal sandstone pinnacles.
In Kalambaka, our al fresco dinner comes with a glorious view the night falling over the Pindus Mountains
We settle at the four-star Famissi Eden Hotel in Kalambaka where my room has a large balcony with a straight up view of the monasteries. It is the start of the long May-Day Weekend in Greece and when we go for dinner at a lovely Main Street restaurant terrace, the town is lively with tourists, the first we have seen all week. An omen of what awaits us tomorrow when we visit the Meteora complex… to be continued.
Good to Know
Tripology Adventures is an Israel-based road travel company that has been leading 4WD self-drive caravan across remote, culturally rich areas of Europe, Africa and Asia for over two decades. Tripology Adventures, www.tripologyadventures.com, email:info@tripologyadventures.com, or call 888-975-7080.
A Few Souvenirs
