More walking through beech woods up and down mountains but the highlight was finding bear prints! 26 kilometres walked with a total ascent of 975 metres but that included failed attempts to push through overgrown footpaths.
Apart from my usual wee in the early hours I slept soundly through till 7:00 am. Continuing my walk along the ridge from yesterday I successfully navigated around a summit where there had been a gap in the GPS tracks that I found on the Internet. Then it was downhill on a vehicle track.
As I was idling enjoying the morning starting to warm up, I noticed some interesting tracks on the trail. In addition to tyre marks and what might have been imprints of the paws of dogs and foxes, there were recent footprints made by something larger. They came in pairs, a larger print almost as long as my foot but wider and a smaller one, both with five toes. The only animal it could be was a bear, as I later confirmed. This was the first time I had seen a bear print in Europe and the large poo composed mainly of the remains of things like small plums, was I assumed also from a bear.
As my mind pondered on this I walked down to where a road cuts through a deep valley near the village of Drosopigi. This was where there was another gap in my downloaded GPS routes. Getting down to the road was made confusing as all the tracks seemed to go along the side of the hill instead of down it. Passing a wild tortoise and with a bit of pushing through ferns I made my way down to the road, which was in the process of being re-tarmaced.
On the other side of the road the E4 was signposted by some wooden shelters. One was leaning over so I sat down at the other for a morning biscuit (or half a packet). A long climb up the other side of the valley followed. Initially it was up an older track, with the remains of stone paving. This lead to a church to which the key was in the door, so I entered to examine the solemn paintings of the saints, male and female, on the walls inside. Above the bell tower there was maybe a cemetery, now hidden by extensive brambles. Based on my GPS and some red and yellow markers the way was up a footpath behind a spring. This proved very overgrown but I struggled for some distance. I had two alternative GPS tracks but both disappeared into impenetrable undergrowth after a while. A third track was marked by red and yellow waymarks, but sadly not enough to know where I should push through the ferns and fallen branches. Abandoning the footpaths I returned to the vehicle track above the church which I knew from the Navitracks map on my GPS would take me to where the footpaths would eventually exit, it would just take a few more kilometres as the the vehicle track took a longer route to achieve a shallower gradient.
The track was easy to follow and after a fork was little used, grassy and made for a relaxing ramble.
Finally the highest point was reached and the track headed downhill. I followed the GPS route as best I could through the trees until I reached the tarmac road. A brown dog (with collar) followed me for a little way before separating to do something it considered more interesting.
The road soon led to the charming village of Nimfeo with its grey stone buildings. I am staying at the Guesthouse Enterne. Its owner greeted me by name and took me to a handsome room. I then followed her directions to the Arcturos bear sanctuary where I had a tour of the facility where they take bears from circuses and zoos. The guide gave some interesting background. Apparently they have worked out how many bears there are in Greece (about 500) by genetic analysis of hairs left when they scratch trees. He told me to stand still if I met a bear, wear bright clothing and smelly perfume.
A file of my route for your GPS can be found on wikiloc.com, or you can view it on your smartphone from ViewRanger, shortcode johnpon0037.
Apart from my usual wee in the early hours I slept soundly through till 7:00 am. Continuing my walk along the ridge from yesterday I successfully navigated around a summit where there had been a gap in the GPS tracks that I found on the Internet. Then it was downhill on a vehicle track.
As I was idling enjoying the morning starting to warm up, I noticed some interesting tracks on the trail. In addition to tyre marks and what might have been imprints of the paws of dogs and foxes, there were recent footprints made by something larger. They came in pairs, a larger print almost as long as my foot but wider and a smaller one, both with five toes. The only animal it could be was a bear, as I later confirmed. This was the first time I had seen a bear print in Europe and the large poo composed mainly of the remains of things like small plums, was I assumed also from a bear.
As my mind pondered on this I walked down to where a road cuts through a deep valley near the village of Drosopigi. This was where there was another gap in my downloaded GPS routes. Getting down to the road was made confusing as all the tracks seemed to go along the side of the hill instead of down it. Passing a wild tortoise and with a bit of pushing through ferns I made my way down to the road, which was in the process of being re-tarmaced.
On the other side of the road the E4 was signposted by some wooden shelters. One was leaning over so I sat down at the other for a morning biscuit (or half a packet). A long climb up the other side of the valley followed. Initially it was up an older track, with the remains of stone paving. This lead to a church to which the key was in the door, so I entered to examine the solemn paintings of the saints, male and female, on the walls inside. Above the bell tower there was maybe a cemetery, now hidden by extensive brambles. Based on my GPS and some red and yellow markers the way was up a footpath behind a spring. This proved very overgrown but I struggled for some distance. I had two alternative GPS tracks but both disappeared into impenetrable undergrowth after a while. A third track was marked by red and yellow waymarks, but sadly not enough to know where I should push through the ferns and fallen branches. Abandoning the footpaths I returned to the vehicle track above the church which I knew from the Navitracks map on my GPS would take me to where the footpaths would eventually exit, it would just take a few more kilometres as the the vehicle track took a longer route to achieve a shallower gradient.
The track was easy to follow and after a fork was little used, grassy and made for a relaxing ramble.
Finally the highest point was reached and the track headed downhill. I followed the GPS route as best I could through the trees until I reached the tarmac road. A brown dog (with collar) followed me for a little way before separating to do something it considered more interesting.
The road soon led to the charming village of Nimfeo with its grey stone buildings. I am staying at the Guesthouse Enterne. Its owner greeted me by name and took me to a handsome room. I then followed her directions to the Arcturos bear sanctuary where I had a tour of the facility where they take bears from circuses and zoos. The guide gave some interesting background. Apparently they have worked out how many bears there are in Greece (about 500) by genetic analysis of hairs left when they scratch trees. He told me to stand still if I met a bear, wear bright clothing and smelly perfume.
A file of my route for your GPS can be found on wikiloc.com, or you can view it on your smartphone from ViewRanger, shortcode johnpon0037.
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| Bear footprints |
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| Inside of the church above Drosopigi |
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| Pedestrianised street in Nimfeo |
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