A hot, leisurely walk on which I had a coffee at a monastery and saw my first, wild tortoises.
On waking up I found it very painful to move the right hand side of my back. I have had the problem before and the doctor said it was the sacrum-ilium joint. The treatment is to do some exercises to get it moving, which slowly improved things.
Only (!) 19 kilometres today so I had a slow breakfast before getting under way. Leaving Akritochori the E4 followed an asphalt road up to a monastery. As the sign on the door said I was within the opening hours I cautiously entered the walled compound. On entering the church I met a nun who spoke English. Although everything looked very old the Monastery of St John the Baptist (one might have guessed the name from the fresco above the front door) was actually only 6 years old, and additional building work was still in progress. As the friendly nun explained, everything had been built and decorated in the old style, with lots of handmade "gold" artifacts and traditional icons. While in Britain the established church seems in decline it was good to hear that in Greece they were still raising buildings dedicated to God. The nuns kindly gave me a coffee and a type of shortbread biscuit in the visitor's room and I bought a fridge magnet of St George and the dragon in their gift shop as a way of repaying their kindness (it was either that or hand knitted babies booties for which I would have little use).
After this interlude I continued on the E4 which was now a dirt track through scrubby vegetation. There I disturbed two tortoises. Seeing they had been spotted the first one stopped, and so did the second one on bumping into the first. I left them in peace and continued on my way.
A met a number of flocks of goats and sheep today. You know they are coming from the sound of goats' bells and the goatherd repeatedly shouting "Hi" (to make the goats do something he is not saying hello to you). The noise is a sign you should take defensive action, such as picking up a few stones, as the goatherds usually have a few dogs who do not take kindly to you. I had my walking stick out in preparation.
Temperatures were in the low 30's and the sweat was dripping off my face. It is important to keep drinking (water) in such weather but by now the water in my bottle was hot and unpalatable. So on entering the town square of Ano Poroia I stopped for a Coke, some buffalo ice cream and a few small coconut cakes. Plane trees shaded the chairs and tables in the quiet square and a brook had been diverted to make a little waterfall feature by the small war memorial.
Then it was down the road to Kato Poroia. One more steep hill to climb and I was at Hotel Epavlis. The hotel consists of little apartments and had a swimming pool which was more than I needed. In the evening I ambled down to a taverna in the village. An Australian who had settled in the village for its relaxed and stress free approach helped communicate my simple needs for food (and some wine). All very pleasant siting by the street watching people as they met and separated among the plane trees.
A long walk tomorrow!
On waking up I found it very painful to move the right hand side of my back. I have had the problem before and the doctor said it was the sacrum-ilium joint. The treatment is to do some exercises to get it moving, which slowly improved things.
Only (!) 19 kilometres today so I had a slow breakfast before getting under way. Leaving Akritochori the E4 followed an asphalt road up to a monastery. As the sign on the door said I was within the opening hours I cautiously entered the walled compound. On entering the church I met a nun who spoke English. Although everything looked very old the Monastery of St John the Baptist (one might have guessed the name from the fresco above the front door) was actually only 6 years old, and additional building work was still in progress. As the friendly nun explained, everything had been built and decorated in the old style, with lots of handmade "gold" artifacts and traditional icons. While in Britain the established church seems in decline it was good to hear that in Greece they were still raising buildings dedicated to God. The nuns kindly gave me a coffee and a type of shortbread biscuit in the visitor's room and I bought a fridge magnet of St George and the dragon in their gift shop as a way of repaying their kindness (it was either that or hand knitted babies booties for which I would have little use).
After this interlude I continued on the E4 which was now a dirt track through scrubby vegetation. There I disturbed two tortoises. Seeing they had been spotted the first one stopped, and so did the second one on bumping into the first. I left them in peace and continued on my way.
A met a number of flocks of goats and sheep today. You know they are coming from the sound of goats' bells and the goatherd repeatedly shouting "Hi" (to make the goats do something he is not saying hello to you). The noise is a sign you should take defensive action, such as picking up a few stones, as the goatherds usually have a few dogs who do not take kindly to you. I had my walking stick out in preparation.
Temperatures were in the low 30's and the sweat was dripping off my face. It is important to keep drinking (water) in such weather but by now the water in my bottle was hot and unpalatable. So on entering the town square of Ano Poroia I stopped for a Coke, some buffalo ice cream and a few small coconut cakes. Plane trees shaded the chairs and tables in the quiet square and a brook had been diverted to make a little waterfall feature by the small war memorial.
Then it was down the road to Kato Poroia. One more steep hill to climb and I was at Hotel Epavlis. The hotel consists of little apartments and had a swimming pool which was more than I needed. In the evening I ambled down to a taverna in the village. An Australian who had settled in the village for its relaxed and stress free approach helped communicate my simple needs for food (and some wine). All very pleasant siting by the street watching people as they met and separated among the plane trees.
A long walk tomorrow!
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| Entrance to Monastery of St John the Baptist |
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| Wild tortoises |
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| One of the many flocks of sheep, a shepherd and barking dogs will be nearby |
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