Where eagles dare....



'Ayers Rock'  in Greece?

 After spending a second day relaxing in the glorious Greek sunshine by the beech , we packed our bags and loaded the bike, our destination this time was the town of Meteora, about 130 miles due north west and back inland. At 11 am we waved goodbye to Livanates and headed off in beautiful sunshine, the temperature hanging around the 23 degree mark.

Awesome



One of Anns 'Vertical Drop' zones

 Meteora was a change in our travel plan to get up to Thessaloniki, brought about by my sister Carols comment on the blog and a group of young travellers we met in Livanates, who had just been to Meteora and showed us their photographs. We knew instantly we had to visit the magnificent Monasteries, perilously perched on top of outcrops of rock. As we travelled inland we became very aware of the ominous gathering dark cloud formation in the direction we were heading and as we got closer, the temperature at one point dropped down to a cold 18 degrees! It really is strange, but there was a sudden dawning, cos I reckon we experienced what we originally thought was odd but in fact is extremely common for people in these very warm climates, the sensation of being cold at 18 degrees. We seriously hoped the weather would hold out long enough to allow us to be able to experience the views of the Monasteries.

We arrived into Meteora at around 14.00 hrs, fortunately the weather was still fine and the spectacle that lay infront of us went way beyond our expectation, or for that matter, what any camera could capture. It was awesome, awesome and awesome again, we were absolutely incredulous, how could anybody achieve such a feat?? We spent the next three hours travelling around the winding roads, and continued to be amazed at the enormity of the spectacle around each corner.





Ann's new Party Frock

We even managed to squeeze in a visit to one of the six monasteries, all of which are still active (five of them run by monks and one run by nuns). To visit any of them is not for the faint hearted, as the access is steep and involves climbing many winding steps, they also apply a strict dress code and will only permit females providing they wear a skirt, and males, providing they are not wearing a skirt!!. The experience, for us was not an obvious religious one, more a sense of absolute isolation, these monks have clearly dedicated their lives to their beliefs by removing all contact with the outside world. I’m afraid to say the height issue became quite a dominant factor for me, I really struggled with some of Anns intrepid photo calls and refused, I’m ashamed to admit, to participate in one or two of them, due to the proximity of what I can only describe as ‘vertical drops’ very close by.

'It's a Long  and Winding Road..'

We were fortunate to meet and converse with a number of people from different parts of the world, who like us were enjoying the fantastic experience that Meteora had to offer. One particular couple we got talking to (because we offered to take a photo of them together), were from Israel – Rami and his wife Dorit. They were a really nice couple and we spent some time talking and sharing about each others recent holiday experiences. After half an hour or so, we decided it was time to push on, and so we wished them good luck and a safe onward journey.

 

A new career - Motorcycle stunt rider!!


We left the monasteries and travelled back to Kalampaka the town closeby, We pulled into a cafe, and over a hot chocolate continued to espouse about the wonder of these monasteries, we were so grateful the weather held out for us, and allowed us to witness such an incredible sight.



Look who's on the drop side

 We also decided to stay the night as it seemed to be busy with plenty of life.. We set off to find a suitable hotel, and found a great place right in the centre of the town. We were made most welcome and settled ourselves very quickly, we were even allowed to park the bike under the entrance canopy of the hotel - how good was that! After the usual routine of hot shower and a change of gear we were ready to go out, the owner of the hotel recommended a nearby restaurant, which proved to be an excellent choice. We ate an enjoyable meal, washed down with a glass of beer and a glass of wine. We returned back to the hotel for a well earned rest after a long and exciting day.

Till next time.....

Love to all back home

The Intrepid duo xxx