The first part of today's walk was across a pine covered mountain, the second, up a tarmac road to the village of Livadi. A more gentle day with 19 kilometres covered and a total ascent of 640 metres.
As I walked through the village this morning, being a Sunday, Mass was being broadcast over a loudspeaker from the stone built church, sometimes mingling with music from radios. The taverna was just opening for business. Going up the dirt road out of the village I could see hunters with bright orange hats and excited dogs on the hill opposite. Not wanting to be shot accidentally I turned my "Buff" into a red skullcap to increase my visibility. More hunters later passed in their pick ups.
As I walked through the village this morning, being a Sunday, Mass was being broadcast over a loudspeaker from the stone built church, sometimes mingling with music from radios. The taverna was just opening for business. Going up the dirt road out of the village I could see hunters with bright orange hats and excited dogs on the hill opposite. Not wanting to be shot accidentally I turned my "Buff" into a red skullcap to increase my visibility. More hunters later passed in their pick ups.
From Kokkinopelos to Meteora there were no GPS tracks available for download so I had created one from the maps I had available and Google Earth. E4 waymarks and signs were intermittent, bunched together and sometimes full of holes from someone's target practice, but there were enough of them to confirm I was on the right route. A kilometre or so outside the village I turned onto a vehicle track into the pine woods. The track curved up and around with occasional breaks in the trees where I could see across to places I would be walking to tomorrow. After climbing for some time the route bypassed the summit and then gradually descended via a series of switchbacks.
On reaching a major road I crossed to the side road opposite which took me up to the village of Livadi. I managed to missed out one bit of road on a track but most of the time I was on tarmac. The road was quiet and after the road had climbed to around 1200 metres it contoured around the hillside and I could see long distances across the surrounding plains with their fields, farms and forests. Livadi came into view, its red roofs spread over the side of the hillside like a village in Southern Spain. I found the narrow streets in the centre full of people spilling out of the local tavernas in a charming scene.
I checked into the Hotel Mytikas, named after the highest peak on Mount Olympus, one of those I climbed yesterday and which I can see from my balcony along with much else. I was in time for a late lunch at the Asteria restaurant next door. The lamb chops were full of flavour and the waiter helped me with some background. I was in a Vlach village, where they speak a language related to Latin (as well as Greek). There was a conference on the culture taking place in the village, hence the crowds. He pointed out the statue of a Vlach who helped drive out the Ottomans in the last century. I asked about the yellow flags with black eagles on, which I had often seen with the Greek flag. He explained it was a Byzantine flag and referred to the Orthodox faith, and that there was a sort of spiritual war being declared to preserve Christian Orthodox values.
On reaching a major road I crossed to the side road opposite which took me up to the village of Livadi. I managed to missed out one bit of road on a track but most of the time I was on tarmac. The road was quiet and after the road had climbed to around 1200 metres it contoured around the hillside and I could see long distances across the surrounding plains with their fields, farms and forests. Livadi came into view, its red roofs spread over the side of the hillside like a village in Southern Spain. I found the narrow streets in the centre full of people spilling out of the local tavernas in a charming scene.
I checked into the Hotel Mytikas, named after the highest peak on Mount Olympus, one of those I climbed yesterday and which I can see from my balcony along with much else. I was in time for a late lunch at the Asteria restaurant next door. The lamb chops were full of flavour and the waiter helped me with some background. I was in a Vlach village, where they speak a language related to Latin (as well as Greek). There was a conference on the culture taking place in the village, hence the crowds. He pointed out the statue of a Vlach who helped drive out the Ottomans in the last century. I asked about the yellow flags with black eagles on, which I had often seen with the Greek flag. He explained it was a Byzantine flag and referred to the Orthodox faith, and that there was a sort of spiritual war being declared to preserve Christian Orthodox values.
In the evening I had a beer on the hotel terrace and watched the full moon rise over Mount Olympus, a beautiful sight.
A GPS file of my route can be found on Wikiloc.com, or use ViewRanger to view it on your smartphone, shortcode johnpon0039.
A GPS file of my route can be found on Wikiloc.com, or use ViewRanger to view it on your smartphone, shortcode johnpon0039.
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| The attractive village of Livadi |
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| Moon rise over Mount Olympus as viewed from the terrace of the Hotel Mytikas |
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