My Greek Odyssey - Part 2 - Mt Olympus

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What 2 days these have been,
What a rare mood I'm in,
Why it's almost like.......I made it to the top of Mt Olympus!!!!

Whilst only 2,918m, it was a fantastic buzz and hard work going up (on the lungs) and down (on the knees and ankles).

From the beginning........

I left Athens with nothing more than the knowledge that the small village of Litohoro was the starting point for the Mt Olympus climb, no help provided except for a copy of the bus timetable by the Greek tourist information office in Athens!

I caught the train to Leptokaria, caught a cab to Litohoro and then went in search of information and accommodation. The taxi driver had pointed up the road so that is the direction I headed. No 'pensiones' in sight, I asked the souvenir store owner if he knew where one was. I left the souvenir shop abour 2 hours later. Demetrius sat me down, made me coffee, serenaded me with R&B on his guitar, introduced me to 3 friends, gave me heaps of advice on the Mt Olympus climb, and told me he knew just the place to stay! He took me to a lady's house where I slept in a 'sitting room' adjoining 2 other rooms which were occupied. I didn't care, I just needed somewhere to sleep. Turned out well because I met 'Fred & Mary' whom I spent many hours with over the next 2 days. I also met the other room occupants, a lovely Romanian family.

Next morning, I got up and headed out of town. Started my walk from Prionia. A relatively 'soft' day, just 2 1/2 hours walking. However, it was hard work in the heat and gaining 1000m of altitude.

Got to Refuge A, my home for the night, at lunchtime. The refuge was great. Bunk beds with blankets, so just a sleeping sheet required, and a great kitchen. The staff cooked up soups, pastas etc for very reasonable prices for weary hikers. Had a bit of a nana nap in the afternoon (could not see Mt Olympus for the cloud so no point journeying up there), had a great meatballs and pasta dinner with some cheap red wine and hit the bunk at 9 - lights out at 10!!

The kitchen opened at 6am so there were a few keen hikers up and ready to have breakfast at 6 before taking off up the mountain. I was not far behind them.

The morning was beautiful and I could see Mt Olympus clearly when I set off. En route, I saw so many beautiful wildflowers, butterflies, and even a mountain goat family.

It took me 2 1/2 hours to reach Skala, the third highest peak, and then about another 40 minutes to scramble, literally, over and up to Mytikas, the highest peak. Old rock climbing skills were necessary for quite a few sections of the climb - although I did use my knees a couple of times . I was certainly not looking forward to going back down. I prefer ascending to descending anyday.

Once on the top, I took a long breather and took in the 360 degree views. No wonder Zeus called this place home. It is just awesome.

Had a few pictures taken of me first by a Greek father and son team and then a young Greek couple, each of whom had ascended up a different path to me (one that was not recommended without climbing gear. They all had helmets and the father/son team had ropes. I found out later that a 14 year old boy had died on the route only a month earlier - in bad weather, but still!) After sometime, I started my descent. Heaps of climbers coming the other way including Fred and Mary. I arranged to meet them back at the refuge to go back to Litohoro together.

My descent took a long time and included lots of half-falls/slips on the rocks. My knees and ankles were screaming for mercy by the time I reached the refuge. There I had lunch, a relax, and waited for Fred and Mary to arrive.

It took us over 2 hours to get back to Prionia and by then we decided a taxi back to Litohoro was a good idea. Said goodbye to Fred and Mary and hello to a young Greek man staying at the pensione. We ended up having a fantastic seafood dinner in the local seaside town of Katerini and then a few drinks. However, I was so tired I piked it at 1:30 am, he went out clubbing until 6 am! Oh to have that much energy!

Next morning, up early to catch the train to get myself to Delphi (actually one train and 2 buses).

Litohoro and Mt Olympus - just great!

And a little story of what goes around comes around to finish. The morning I left Athens, so did my English hostel room mate. She was running late and was 5 euro short for payment at the hostel so asked if I could loan her the money. I said, no problem and gave her the money - too much trouble to try and sort out re-payment. I thought to myself, I will get this back in kind someday. Well, I got the money back just hours later. As I was walking between the train station and the taxi rank in Leptoskaria, there I picked up a 5 euro note off the ground. Didn't expect such a quick repayment!

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Photos

My Olympus - early morning
Where I was heading.....

Mytikas from Skala
What I had left to climb.....

Mt Olympus I
Soon after arrival at the top of Mytikas

Mt Olympus II
And signing the journal whilst wearing my new t-shirt (Mt Olympus)

Fred & Mary
Triumphant after making it up and down Mt Olympus (outside the pensione we had all stayed in)