Blogs from Meteora, Thessaly, Greece, Europe

So here I am, on a bus heading from Greece to Turkey with Lindsay. Never thought this day would arrive when a year and a half ago we were dreaming up this adventure. My last blog, I had some rather large emotional few days and was feeling super low. Glad to say I'm over that slump and my passion and excitement for travel is back in full force!! I will say how awesome it is to travel with a friend! I love going alone and meeting new friends and putting myself out there, but there is something so great to be beside a friend who knows you and sharing the experiences. Also, while in Greece, I have hardly seen backpackers. So here is a tip, don't come here alone! Either you are old, on your honeymoon, ... read more

Wow! Today marks one month of travel. It's funny, though, once you get going you don't really think about time, and travelling becomes second nature. That being said, I only have 20 or so days left. I need to make the most of them. I feel like I definitely did that today. I caught a taxi over to the neighboring town of Kalambaka, which is larger by far than Kastraki, and has the bus and train depots, and more hotels, etc. But you don't really go here for the town. You go here for the great hiking trail that winds up through the rocks to the last two major monasteries at Meteora: Holy Trinity and St. Stephen. For me at least, this was far more intense than yesterday, and I thought at one point the trail ... read more

Another wild and slightly insane day of travel. The only bus I took today was in the morning, and of course it was late. There's a saying in Greece that to show up on time is "to act English." So when a bus says it'll be at a certain place at 9, it really means 9:15. But the drive out of Delphi was beautiful. Went through a genuine Greek ski town, Arahova, right on the slopes of Mt. Parnassos. Thought I was back in Colorado for a second. Then finally made my way down to Levadia, and caught a taxi to the train station from there. A quick word about the train in Greece. I loved it because I was done with the bus, but the stations are dilapidated, worn out looking places on the edges ... read more

Tuesday 19th April 2011 On the road to Meteora in central nortern Greece, A journey that should in theory be quite straight forward. Over the mountains by modern motorway and down onto the Plain of Thessaly by normal roads. However fate had a different view as with around 3/4 of the motorway section complete traffic in both directions was diverted onto a local mountain road. This was not of great quality with sections looking as though they might slip into the valley below down the steep hillside. Traffic included large articulated lorries which needed to pass in opposite directions - making driving very interesting to say the least. At one point a ravine was bridged by what appeared to be a narrow temporary bridge. Stationed there was an official supervising the crossing of a single vehicle ... read more

Proponuje jako podklad wlaczyc sobie w tle ten oto filmik z youtube naszego autorstwa, na ktorym niewiele widac, ale jest muzyka najbardziej autentyczna z mozliwych. A o okolicznosciach jego nakrecenia opowiem pozniej. Po trzech dniach pobytu u supergoscinnych S. i V., musielismy opuscic Ateny i zaczac w koncu prawdziwy roadtrip. Bylismy zaopatrzeni w kanister oliwy, flaszke ouzo, greckiego piwa i wina od naszych gospodarzy, ktorzy kazdemu podarowali jego ulubiony trunek. Z Aten wyjechalismy na tyle wczesnie, na ile bylo to mozliwe, biorac pod uwage, jak wymeczyl nas upal i zycie nocne. Jechala z nami moja przyjaciolka z USA, nazwijmy ja H., z ktora umowilam sie juz wczesniej, ze pojedzie z nami do Meteory, a potem wroci sobie busem do Aten z Ioanniny, podczas gdy my pojedziemy dalej na polnoc. Gdy jednak okazalo sie, ze Ameryka... read more

Yesterday we took a trip to a town called Meteora, the word means "in midair". It is about 1 and a half from Lamia, it would be closer but we had to travel up and down the mountains. At some point I am going to have to upload some pictures because this place is too hard to explain. The beauty, peacefulness, spirituality, amazment.......it is truly breath taking. In Meteora there are 6 monasteries each on the top of a rock. You wonder how they built these things. They have cable cars that connect some of the monasteries and before there were roads they have cables that hang from the top with a net that could lift things like food...people. Absolutley amazing. The views from here are just phenomonal!!!! The mountains that surround Meteroa and the rocks ... read more

After almost 3 weeks in South Africa seeing 5 World Cup Matches, Kruger Safari, Stellenbosch Wine Festival, Great White Sharks, as well as side trips to the small countires of Lesotho and Swaziland, it was time to make our way back home. "On the way back", we had a 4 night lay over in Greece. We had already stayed in Athens for 2 nights on our way to South Africa, so daddy wanted to somewhere else. While most travellers head for the islands, we headed north. Daddy had read about a place that looked like it was out of a fairy tale and thought we would both enjoy it. It was called Meteora and it was located about 4-5 hours north of Athens. It consisted of 6 monasteries that were on top of these interesting mountains, ... read more