July 13th Meteora, Kalambaka

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Up to get the 9am coach (Meteora Thrones, highly recommended) - & they were on time! A glorious Merc mini bus, leather seats, cherry trim, a driver called Carlos & our guide, Dimitri who spoke good English, Italian & Romanian having lived in both countries before & doubtless smatterings of other languages too. (He also had 2 degrees – botany & International Banking) We shared this 20 seater with just 2 Italians, also from the site.



The trip was just fantastic – just the right length in 4 ½ hours. We visited 2 monasteries & 1 nunnery all of which are right on the top of the sandstone mountains, 400 metres high. Apparently it is the second most visited area in Greece after the Parthenon. Dimitri was very knowledgeable & knew the place inside out having been born in Kalambaka. He also owns the only original house in Kalambaka – the others having been destroyed by the Germans in WW2 for harbouring rebels. (...where he has 6 cats, 2 dogs, 8 peacocks & an aquarium but no wife; I wonder why?) He couldn't take us into the monasteries as only 'official guides' could do this who earn a fortune. Cathy took exception to one guide who shut the door of a chapel on us saying, 'sorry, you have to wait' until he had finished that section with his entourage. Cathy had a stand up row with him saying that this is a public place, a church & you have no right in doing this – she won, he let her in! He then said you are not aloud to talk – pompous git! I stayed outside anyway as it was too hot in there with his people & waited until they left...Dimitri asked Cathy who it was so he could go & punch him on the nose haha!



Dimitri also informed us of the EU talks & the basis for the negotiations...then his joke:

The Greek Government are to build 2 new factories, one to produce pillows for the electorate to protect their heads as they bang their heads against the wall, & the other for Vaseline, because now we're really ….!



Back to base camp, lunch, a swim & a laze by the pool. Another French family arrived in a caravan this afternoon too. Of the other French couple in the tent – she thought I was French after I had spoken to her! I think she was either deaf or a Gaulloises short of a packet...





Tomorrow we leave for the Greek port of Igoumenitsa for the midnight ferry to Brindisi, Italy – another changed ferry time. I guess we'll leave here by noon, take our time getting there, maybe eat in a taverna somewhere in the evening then sit in the port with the Bulgarian traders in their beaten up Transit Vans....Trotskis Traders?

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