Zagori, Greece
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| Triple Span Packhorse Bridge, Central Zagori |
With WJ3
snug in Preveza Marina, we planned a trip into the northern mountains. Our car, a bright red roller skate, had a
little more determination than a Panda; thankfully, because the hills were
fairly serious. Katara Pass skims
clouds at a mere 1694m and Metsovo, our turn off to Meteora, just 2300m.
Off we set
with only a teensy Rough Guide map to show us the way. It’s impossible it seems to buy road maps –
in Greek let alone English - so we were off on a wing and a prayer. Luckily we were heading for Meteora, land of
mountain top monasteries, so someone must have heard us. First
planned stop however was Zagori country
in the foothills of the Pindos
Mountains. We took the road to
Ioannina, a winding but interesting trip passing through pretty farmlands,
trout ponds perched on the edge of fast flowing rivers, shadowy glades and
non-descript villages – a little worse for wear.
Ioannina is surprisingly a large and bustling
city; once the capital of Ali Pasha, now the realm of university students and
expert double-parkers. The traffic seems
to flow like treacle through the frenetic activity and somehow in the
confusion, we found ourselves centre stage.
The remnants of an Ottoman bazaar (with attractive silver shops!) to our
left and Ali Pasha’s lump of a fort (Kastro) to the right! All of course set with a beautiful backdrop
of Lake Pamvotis and high mountains behind.
There was no time to stop however, as we had no idea what Zagori would
hold for us and wanted to be in Meteora before dark.
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| Small Bridge with Chapel & goats |
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| The most remarkable of the bridges we saw |
Our luck
held as we headed north and a faded sign pointing to the Central
Zagori revealed itself in the roadside shrubbery. Better still, to an Information
Point! Even better, it was open when we
arrived! A helpful Park Ranger gave us
loads of brochures & maps and, given the time we had to drive the “country roads”, a
plan to see the best we could in the time available. We had come for the view of Vikos Gorge,
villages of stone mansions set in rugged landscapes (where we should have
stayed an extra night!) and the highly romantic packhorse bridges.
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Triple Span hidden in the ravine
is larger than it looks |
Under
instruction, we set off in the direction of Koukouli & Kipi, dodging sleepy
sheep dogs, to find our bridges. Our
fist was a tiny one span bridge with a small chapel to one side. Goat bells tinkled nearby adding bucolic charm
to the setting.
These bridges, generally
named after their wealthy sponsors, provided villagers a means of travel and
trade with the outside world. The
landscape is so rugged, that mules were the vehicle of choice and bridges were
built specifically for this traffic. Sadly, construction was a closely guarded secret held by the men who
built them and the art now lost.
Having
discovered 3 bridges, we made for Monodendri
Village and beyond, the Oxia
lookout above Vikos Gorge. The lookout is something of a narrow ledge,
hardly room for half dozen gawkers to perch over a one way trip straight to the
bowels of the earth. We added to the
pile of name stones at a little shrine hidden in the rocks nearby and quickly
left before the rain set in.
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| Vikos Gorge in cloud & rain |
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| Our first "selfie" at the Gorge |
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| Tiny shrine at the Vikos Gorge viewing point, Oxia. |
Regrouping in
the atmospheric Monodendri with coffee and pastries, we scouted round for a
museum and monastery where the views down the Gorge from its balconies are said
to be spectacular. Signage was not good
and besides, the oncoming rain made us jittery, so we headed back down to the
Ioannina ring road and made for the Via Egnatia Expressway (A2).
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| Stone Forest, Oxia |
Having traversed some
of these minor roads, one can only but appreciate the expressway. For €2.40, at 130kph and
through vast numbers of tunnels, we made short work of the mountainous
terrain. At times we felt we were digging
for China, but here they say "Australia", so I guess it’s not all that bad. The turnoff to Meteora and our village
accommodation (Kastraki) meant another hour of downhill winding roads but we
arrived, sense of humours intact and in time for sundowners. Our B&B - a traditional cottage, veiled by
a pink sunset at the foot of some jaw-dropping rocks!
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Monodendri with view over the Vikos Gorge
(Is that the monastery we couldn't find?) |
