meteora

Driving day,out of Litohoro on to the motorway to Athens via the Tembi gorge.I turned off towards the town of Larissa in the vast Thessaly plain travelling along continous fields of cotton and Beetroot.After Larissa i turned off towards Trikala and after Trikala towards Kalambaka.By now i could see the great rocks of Meteora from miles away.Just before Kalambaka i turned off at a sign towads Meteora and after a short climb i was in a road on the side of the mountain overlooking the monasteries.An incredible sight ,huge buildings perched on top of 400m rocks(the Meteora monasteries are the second most visited site in Greece after the Acropolis).Great oportunities for some incredible photos.There are plenty of places for a snack and a suvenir and if you have time, to actually visit the monasteries.I wanted to go to Zagori so i took to the road again,down from mateora into Kastraki and on to the road for Yiannina.The road follows a valley along the river Pinios and then starts climbing Over the Pindus Massif via the Katara high pass(1700m).Its a tedious route full of bends that takes several hrs to finish.The end is quite rewarding as you have good views of the city of Yiannina,its lake and island.Just before the turning to the city i turned towards the Airport and followed the road towards zagori and the village of Monodendri.I was on the road for 10 hrs.I booked into Pension Ladias for two nights and chose to eat in one of the two village restaurants.The village of Monodendri (alt 1300m) is the main gateway to the famous Vikos Gorge,the biggest gorge in Europe.