Our felt last day was used for Vikos Gorge in an area called Zagori. It’s a mountainous area full of tiny villages and a big canyon. The best place to see the gorge is from Beloi viewpoint which you can only reach after a short hike.
Afterwards we drove to a lovely cafe in Kapesovo.
On the way back, we stopped at Kokkorou, an old stone bridge to take more photos.
Tomorrow is our last day in Greece and we won’t even get a full night’s sleep as we will have to queue for the ferry at 4am. To make it easier on us, we opted for a campground close to Igoumenitsa and returned to our first Greek campground, Sofas beach, for our last night.
Breakfast with a view
The kids were angling with sticks. We had bets going…who would be the first to fall in
She finally practised her driving on a campground…after Number 3 did this with only 14 months. 🙂
Monument for the Brave Women of Pindos
I am always amazed how mountainous Greece is and also lush and green
The view south
To see the main attraction of the area, Vikos Gorge, you have to hike for 1km which should take 15 min according to the signpost. By now I know that Greek signposts are lying…giving my experience with the waterfall hike. Here, Number 3 found a bug
Some of the steps are just too high for the Agent. She fell back on my old technique “If in doubt, slide down on your bum”. Works every time.
Leading the way
The stratification of these rocks reminded me of the pancake rocks in NZ…a lot
We’ve been going for quite a while at this point and should be nearly there. Now crossing through some rocks
Tada….here we are: Vikos Gorge. Vikos Gorge ist listed as the “deepest relative to its width” by the Guiness world record book. There’s only a low wall and then a drop.
Time for sandwiches with an awesome view!
Rock formations
All of the glory in one picture
This tree didn’t make it on its perch
Flo also enjoyed all of our hikes
Still quite happy with the world
In the afternnon, clouds began to roll in. We were really lucky with our timing. The last couple of viewpoints of the mountains before leaving towards the coast
One of our EV promo shots…
The houses indicate where the village of Kapesovo is situated right next to a section of Vikos Gorge
The recommended place for a coffee turned out to be absolutely lovely!
The Agent didn’t bring her jacket to the cafe so she got papa to lend her his fleece jacket
We ordered three different cakes to share so we could try as many as possible
She looks cute, but was able to really mess up the guy who belonged here. Talking about the cat, obviously …
This is just a setup …
… for this context. The old bridge reconstructed.
Number 3 checking out the height, Puru Hiko in the back
Number 3 thoroughly enjoyed the loop over the old and new bridge
The view back to the newer bridge. The road leads across here
Always got to be on the lookout in the twisties in Greece – giving me NZ flashbacks
Number 3 taking 5 – much better than being car sick
“No Mama, I am not tired….I am just resting my head….”
Flo said to them “Last chance for a swim in these holidays, will be cold though”
She handled the cold pretty well but wanted papa to stay close
He didn’t enjoy the cold but, I mean, look at this stick figure…splashing was way better
As a last hurray for Meteora, we headed to the Monastery of St. Barbara of Roussanou. At least one of the monasteries deserved to be visited. For this one, housing nuns, I was required to wear a skirt. They were handed out at the entrance.
Afterwards, we drove all the way to Ioannina for lunch. Unfortunately, it was about 2pm when we finally arrived at the taverna and everybody was really hungry. Luckily, the buffet style place had something on offer for everyone.
Afterwards, we explored Ioannina, the Municipal Ethnographic Museum and took a boat ride to Ioannina Island in the middle of the lake as a surprise for the kids.
We camped right in town so we could have an early start into the mountains of Zagori tomorrow.
Good morning Meteora! How are you today? Still sunny I see.
We decided to visit one of the monasteries and take a look around inside. It might be this one
Up the stairs…
…and past the cat…
…to a view like this. Cars for reference is a nice touch
A bird’s eye view onto the road
Greek and Greek Orthodox Church flags
Some of these holes were inhabited in early times
The sun was too bright to look into the camera. To visit the inside of the monastery of St.Barbara or Roussanou, I was obliged to wear a skirt
Great view on the biggest monastery. You can see a throng of people going up.
This one has a line to the other rock.
In a great little taverna in Ioannina, with lots of Greek people stopping for lunch. It was about 2 pm and we were so. hungry. Luckily, the food was really good!
Tower and Gate of Ioannina Kastro
The old town is inside the fortification. It’s full of small, cobblestone lanes and cute houses
Trying to stay in the shade
One of the old mosques in the Kastro. This one houses a museum in a building further up.
Another great place to see canons
These lizards took a perch on this beautifully carved pillar/stone
No, not canon balls. They are too big for the canons. These are grenades, according to Flo.
Inside the Municipal Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina
The mosque, now a museum, housed Ottoman furniture in this room
Monekying around at the lake front, waiting for a surprise boat ride
Bye bye people still on land!
Minaret seen from the lake
Flo was stopped by the ladies from this shop. They were very good at their job, usually he doesn’t stop. They offered home-made alcohol 😉
Freedom for the kids
We passed another ferry to the island in the lake
Very happy folks
Riding on the shopping cart while the AoE was sitting inside
The campsite turned out to be right at the lake with trees and grass all around. Perfect for the kids!
A portrait on the stone quay wall
If papa is walking on here, surely I can do it too!
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