Meteora

I saw a photo of stone monasteries perched high upon the rounded rock spires of Meteora in a travel magazine during the first weeks of planning for our trip and knew at once that I had to go there. The fact that Elliot was interested in the ruins in Athens and Paul was keen to visit the Greek Islands helped to make travelling to Meteora a reality, and I’m so grateful that we did. It was awe inspiring.

We rented a car and drove the four and a half hours to Meteora on a brand-new and amazingly empty highway. The drive into the centre of Greece was beautiful with a turquoise inlet of the Aegean on one side and snow-capped mountains on the other.

At long last we reached Meteora and drove up the twisty road to check out the outsides of two of the monasteries (they were closed) and marvel at the incredible views from the top. For dinner, we drove down to the tiny village of Kastraki at the base of the rock pillars and had a scrumptious dinner and a couple of drinks in the town square admiring the towering rocks above us while the boys made friends and played soccer with some local kids. After dinner, we made our way back up to the top for an amazing (and also quite chilly) sunset.

Before heading back to Athens the next morning, we climbed up the rocks one last time to visit one of the oldest monasteries and one of the most challenging to get to. After many many steep stone steps and a couple of small tunnels, we got to the monastery with very tired legs, but it was so worth the effort. At the top, we saw the net and hand-operated winch that they used to use to lift supplies and the monks (!!!) up to the monastery. The chapel and main rooms were simple but beautifully decorated in heavy wood and medieval art work. And of course, the view from the top was extraordinary. Check it out with Paul’s video.