We awoke in our B&B to blue skies and moderate temperatures along with a melody of bird songs and cat calls. The view from our room was exceptional. The unusual geological formations and the rock-top monasteries looked close enough to touch. After our basic breakfast at the B&B, we began our hike up to one of the monasteries and found that the sites actually were touchable.
Beginning of Our Hike and a View of One of the Monasteries
When we reach the top of our climb, we visited the Monastery of Grand Meteoron. This large complex is perched at the top of one of the rocks. It has several buildings and serves as a museum as well as a Greek Orthodox monastery. It also served as a defensive fort during WWII. Because of its location, there is no way that an army could successfully raid it. Tourists are the new invading force and it gets very crowded. Short pants are forbidden and women are supplied with wrap-around skirts if they are dressed in pants.
Monastery Entrance and Women Putting On Skirts
After perusing the monastery buildings (sanctuary, old dining hall and kitchen, several small museums), we gathered as a group and began a hike back down the trail. Those that rode the bus up the hill to the monastery joined us. At the end of the hike, we had a Greek picnic in a small meadow while watching rock climbers scale nearby cliffs. Our picnic lunch consisted of a cornbread-type pie containing local greens that were gathered in the fields. We also had yogurt and pound cake. This was totally different from the huge multi-dish lunches that we have been having. It was a relief.
View at the Start of Our Hike and Our Picnic
After the picnic, we walked back to our bus. We had a new bus today. Our previous driver and his bus were called back to Athens because of a pending bus drivers' strike. He wanted to stay with us, but he was afraid that he would be fired from his job, something he couldn't afford at his advanced age (60-something). Our new driver was 20-something and, refreshingly, didn't smoke in the bus when we were gone. The new bus smelled much better. We found out later that the bus drivers did not go on strike but the truck drivers did instead. We couldn't figure out why there were still many trucks and busses on the road. You would think that a strike would involve everyone.
Our first stop on the ride back to Athens was at an icon factory. It was a family run business where they create icons starting from the wood frames and finishing with the painting process. We were not in the market for religious symbolism, so we didn't buy anything. It was interesting, though, how the process works. The painting is free-hand where the artists use a photo to to copy from.
Icon Painting
We slogged back to Athens on the bus with one pit stop and arrived at 7:40. We did a quick wash-up and then had a very good dinner next door to the Herodeon Hotel where we stayed the first night in Athens when we were sans tour. It was the other Bob's birthday so we had a tasty cake for dessert. We got to bed around 11:00.
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