Meteora bound

July 8, 2014

We arrived in Meteora in the afternoon after a beautiful drive through the mountains. We have been witness to an amazing array of mountains and a glorious display of windflowers in full bloom.

We decided to go to see one of the nunneries of Meteora before we checked in to our hotel. The one day Rosseanou was open during our visit to Meteora was the day do our arrival. We picnicked in view of the soaring rocks and then headed up the 215 stairs to the nunnery.  It was breezy and beautiful at the top. The building itself was very small but we enjoyed getting to see the inside.

After Rosseanou we drove to our hotel and were greeted by Panos, a member of the family that owns the hotel and his Mama who had a Welcome sweet for us.  We took care of the business of checking in to a new place and then he got out a map to show us his recommendations for our visit. He indicated a path for us to follow when I asked about a way among the rocks. Annelle joked that he could possibly drive us to the top and pick us up at the bottom and he agreed! We all jumped in our rental and drove to the top of the path. We got to know each other along the way and he proclaimed that the cosmetics I sell must be very good when he found out that we are all YaYas! 

He decided to walk the first portion of the route with us because it was an old boyhood romp and they had major changes to it since he had been there. After he left us (and after Annelle took a ride on her backside due to loose gravel) we wandered the path downhill and took photos of all of the amazing rock formations. It was nice to be in among the shady trees because it has hovered around 100 degrees in the late afternoons. Panos promised to meet us at the house his mother was born in, which is at the bottom of the trail. He whistled to let us know he was near and a few moments later he showed up on the trail with his niece Maria and nephew Theo. As we walked Panos told us tales of his childhood. He told us about the perils of kite flying among the rocks, climbing the path we had walked and then running back down, he named the rock formations for us, and he told us about how mesmerized the town was in the 1970's when the main event for a week was a determined group of German rock climbers who attempted and ultimately succeeded in scaling the rock know as "The Legend".

Dinner on our balcony followed, then a good nights sleep before the monasteries the next day.