Day 47, 48, 49, 50: Ferry to Igouminitsa Greece...Kalambaka (Meteora)

Day 47, 48, 49, 50: Ferry to Igouminitsa Greece...Kalambaka (Meteora)
Arrived at the ferry terminal in Venice and it was very easy to get here and find our way to the line for cars to go on board. Check in at Anek Lines, after booking online, was also smooth. We have now been sitting in the car for an hour waiting to drive on to the ship. Ship leaves in an hour so we should get on soon. Booked a private cabin with a bathroom so hopefully we can find it (did not fancy sharing a cabin with 2 – 4 other people for 25 hours). We decided to begin our Greek adventure from Igoumenitsa (North) and head across to Kalambaka, Meteora for a couple of days, visiting the monasteries on the mountain peaks. Lucky us, cabin upgrade – the ship is basically empty. Our “ferry” travelled down the Adriatic Sea, past Corfu and Croatia (at times you could see the coastline of these). Pretty smooth sailing and the 25 hours passed fairly quickly (we were asleep for about 9 of them). As we left Igoumenitsa it was quite mountainous, yet really barren. The 3 hour drive seemed to pass quite quickly.
As we drove into Kastraki we couldn’t believe the size of the rocks that the town was built on the base of. The Greek word Meteora means "suspended in the air”, and this is what the six monastries we visited looked like. They were perched right on the edge of the cliffs and were built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The nearest town is Kalambaka (from the Turkish word for "pinnacle"), with a smaller village called Kastraki (this is where we stayed). Both these places are bordered by these amazing rocks. The six monasteries are called Ayiou Nikolaou Anapavsa, Varlaam , Great Meteoron, Roussanou, Ayias Triadhos and Ayiou Stefanou. Some of the monasteries were still in use by either the monks or nuns. All were unique but shared a few things in common. They all had the most amazing little churches. Every square inch of wall and ceiling had amazing frescos of religious significance...the persecution of holy men, the saints, pathways to heaven (and hell) etc. They were all quite dark and were filled with religious icons and very old holy texts. They were all perched (somewhat precariously) on pinnacles and they all had very steep climbs up to the entrance, with steps carved in or around the rock face. Finally, as you would expect, they all had fantastic views of the other pinnacles and Kastraki and Kalambaka below. We tackled 3 of the monasteries on the first day. The first was Agia Triada, also known as Holy Trinity. This monastery was featured in a James Bond film. It had a fairly steep and lengthy walk down and then we battled 140 steep steps, straight up, cut through the rock. But, as you expect, clearly worth the effort. This was the most amazing thing to see. The buildings seemed to grow out of the rocks. It had an amazing sense of calmness about it. Despite all the steps, the walk up wasn’t so bad...due to the fantastic view. Varlaam and the Great Meteoron were the next two. These were also amazing. A narrow, dark, passage way cut through the rock at Great Meteoron, leading to steps cut around the rock. It is the highest, largest and oldest of the six monasteries. To reach Varlaam we had to cross a wooden (and a little rickety) bridge (very high up) and then climb the steps. Up
Day 2 (and rain) saw us tackle the last 3: Roussanou, Ayiou Stefanou, Ayiou Nikolaou. Umbrellas in tow we did the climb up a few hundred steps to each one – but today the legs seemed to drag a little. In particular Ayiou Nikolaou was very difficult, straight up...but we got there and were rewarded, yet again with spectacular views. This place is fantastic and would recommend anyone coming to Greece to visit. Have always loved Greek food and Rick and have eaten the most delicious grilled meats, moussaka – a new favourite, and Greek salad – which they put about a ½ kilo slab of fetta on top.