Greece: Mount Olympus (7/28)
Leaving Faenza we headed to Ancona to catch our ferry to Greece. Originally scheduled so we’d arrive in Patras in the early evening, and could enjoy the sunset along the scenic route to Athens. Unfortunately it’d since been delayed twice and we’d now arrive at 01:00 in the morning.
The ferry ride was pretty uneventful, and we killed time on the ~24 hour crossing, by watching the new, hit TV show Chernobyl — which we’d thoroughly recommend.
Disembarking in Patras we drove straight to Athens. Our friend Oli had some time before starting her new job, and joined us for the Greece section of our trip. We arrived at our Airbnb at 4am, and got some much needed sleep.
After a lazy morning we headed to the Parthenon. First, we visited the museum which hosts a large number of the archaeological finds from the acropolis. On the upper floor it exhibits the friezes from the Parthenon, some touched up with plaster replica and also empty spaces left for the ones held at the British Museum.
I found it interesting that, as the Parthenon has been seen as so historically, religiously, and architecturally important throughout the ages it’s been repurposed as both a church and mosque.
After we’d been around all the exhibits we headed up the acropolis to see it up close. We walked round the base, before making our way up to the top. From the top we could appreciate the Parthenon in the late afternoon light. The smaller temples to Poseidon and Nike were just as impressive and in better condition.
At closing time, with the throngs, we retreated to a outcrop just outside the gate to watch the sunset. That evening we sampled some tasty Greek food — including some octopus, souvlaki, calamari, and baklava — at the humbly named God’s Restaurant.
The next morning we left Athens, and after navigating the rush-hour traffic, we’re headed for Meteora. Meteora had been recommended to us by two people independently, so we decided we had to visit.
It’s a collection of rock pinnacles on which a number of monasteries have been built. Originally built in the 1300s, they perch precariously on top, previously only accessible by removable ladders.
We’d arrived in the late afternoon, as the monasteries were closing and so toured the scenic road, admiring the landscapes from various vantage points.
We camped nearby, seeing our first ever wild tortoise!, and the next morning went to visit one of the monasteries. Inside the church was heavily decorated in gold and illustrations in a typical orthodox fashion.
After a brief tour in the monastery, we set off for Mount Olympus. We’d decided to split the hike over 3 days, to minimise the amount of ascent and descent in a single day — managing to book the hut the day before. We started hiking in the early evening, for a short 2 hour hike to the hut, making it there in time for dinner and well-deserved glass of wine.
The next morning we got up early, and after some breakfast and large amounts of faff, we set off uphill. A friendly Danish gentleman had explained the route to us over breakfast, and stated that the first hour was shaded in sparse tree-covering; the second hour was up steep scree path; and the third and final hour scrambling along the ridge to the summit. Our route followed pretty much as described.
This was definitely our most technical peak yet, with a grade I scramble to reach the summit. This was also one of the more popular peaks we’re climbed, with some people obviously struggling on the scramble; and others refusing to attempt it.
On our way back, we made a small detour to a subsidiary peak, which had been recommended earlier by our Danish acquaintance. From here you got an alternative viewpoint of the main peak.
Then we headed back down to the hut, where Oli left us. She’d planned to meet her Mum in Bulgaria for a holiday, so she continued downhill to hitchhike to town, in order to catch a bus to Sofia. She later told us her ‘calves and thighs were on fire’ after that mammoth day.
Our next day was much more leisurely as we made our way down to the van. Although we did get caught up in the Mount Olympus Marathon, a gruelling race up and down the mountain. So as we descended gently a number of people passed us at much greater speed.
Before making our way to Bulgaria, we decided to spend some time at the beach. We wound our way to the second finger of the Chalkidiki peninsula, to a pretty beach overlooking the next mountainous peninsula. We had a brief snorkel in the crystal blue sea; spying fish and sea urchins.
We spent the night overlooking the same view from a beach slightly further down the coast. With a brief coffee stop the next morning, in the slightly-too-quiet off-season beach town of Sarti we made our way to the Bulgarian border.