Greece Take 2

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We have just spent a glorious day hiking in the mountains in the snow in a place called Vikos Gorge. We walked up a 500 year old path that goes between one 16^th century village and another. On the way home we stopped at one of the many old stone bridges and enjoyed our cup of tea (well it looked like a cup of tea but was actually gin and lemon which stays icy cold in the car) to take in the sights. We were once again entertained by a local version of Pooh Sticks, where people throw rocks from the bridge to the ice below to see if they can break the ice.



At present we are staying in a renovated 500 year old house in one of the 46 villages that make up the Zagorohorio National Park. The people who run the guest house spent many years renovating, mainly by carrying the material and equipment in by hand as there are no roads in the town.



We have been entertained with several rounds of home made schnapps, the Greek version of gin/ vodka / rice wine. Cherryll is keen to try to make her own when she gets home. We have also had several drops of locally grown red wine. It’s not as full bodied as McLaren Vale but the flavours are a treat.



Last week, we spent much of our time looking at old, historical sites. We had a great day exploring the ruins of Delphi. The oracle certainly gets the prize for choosing the most inspiring site to put her temple.



A day at Olympia made us realise how intertwined athletics, art, music, drama and religion were in Ancient Greece. The sculptures and frescoes at both Delphi and Olympia, together with the sports stadiums and temples are quite amazing.



We spent hours wandering around an old Venetian fort. We didn’t realise that Venice had invaded Greece, nor the Slavs or the Macedonians. Nor did we realise that Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 1820s. Also, the apostle Andrew apparently came to Greece and his remains are interned at the cathedral in Patra. The cathedral is magnificent, with our without genuine relics.



We hear draconian stories about current wage decreases and the workers at the archaeological sites are having strikes, as they are paid nothing at all when they work weekends.



Driving in the country, we have encountered many herdsmen giving instructions to their sheep and goats as they move them from one pasture to another. Very different from the livestock industry in the territory.



We had a great day catching a rack and pinion train which ran on tracks less than a metre apart and which wound its way precariously around a deep gorge up a mountain. When we got to the top we then proceeded to walk all the way down again!



It’s glorious travelling in the off season. We had Olympia more or less to ourselves, and on our hike today there was nobody. The down side is that there are a lot of places closed, and the weather is FREEZING, but we have the choice of what is open and there are no queues.





Alan thinks there is probably no limit to how much baklava can be consumed, and Cherryll has discovered double baked bread which is very crunchy and made of barley, with NO wheat. So unfortunately, those girths of ours are still expanding.



Tomorrow we are off to see where a Muslim warlord was murdered by the Ottoman Empire!



Cheers



Alan and Cherryll

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