A fine day of walking on varied surfaces through woodland in the sun.
After leaving Hotel Rex and picking up some lunch snacks at the bakery opposite I followed tarmaced roads to the pleasant village of Diava, passing poppies of the deepest red among the roadside flowers. In Diava, being too early to sample one of the various cafes, I sat by the church and listened to mass being intoned over loud speakers, which made sure much of the village could hear it.
Leaving, I had a choice of three routes. The Anavasi map showed the E4 going up to the village of Koromila and then descending to Glikomilia, however between the two villages I could see no sign of a path on Google Earth and no record of anyone taking this route. Most sources instead went via the village of Kria Vrasi (e.g. spazieren.de and notes from the early 1990's by Anastasion Rigas provided by netzwerk-weitwandern.de) however this involved more road walking. Nikolas of Hotel Kroupi provided another option avoiding roads and Kris Vrasi. This is the one I followed.
Nikolas' route followed a track out of Diava that was initially good but became progressively more overgrown. I eventually lost the path and followed the GPS trail provided up a steep slope through oak trees, their branches snagging me and my rucksack. Vague paths came and went until I reached one that was more persistent, leading to a dirt track.
I diverted along the track to visit the small church of Agios Ioannis. A spot made beautiful by the views of distant Meteora and the bright yellow flowers and purple blossom in front of the church. The church made it worth the effort of taking this route.
Dirt tracks then took me all the way to Glikomilia, the oak trees on lower slopes with their bright young leaves grading imperceptibly into darker green pine trees higher up. On route there was another church, built into the hillside with picnic tables and children's playground equipment looking abandoned and forlorn among the fallen leaves.
I saw no people or vehicles between Diava and Glikomilia, but on reaching the latter there were a number of people to exchange greetings with as they worked in their gardens or put out washing. Two places that might have been cafes were closed, so I ate my lunch by the church. A black clothed priest came out with his chainsaw to cut down some overhanging branches on a tree beside the building.
Leaving Glikomilia the track followed the contours winding in and out of steep valleys crossing numerous small streams. I scattered a herd of goats on the road while the goatherd threw his walking stick at his dogs who were threatening me. Fortunately he managed to corral his animals with a command they seemed to understand. After several small farms I reached another church, well cared for with a candle burning before the Icons. Sitting down on one of the plastic chairs I meditated a little.
As 5:00 pm approached, I took advantage of a flatter area of ground and set up camp for the night. The map suggested I was beside yet another church but I could see no sign of it, unless the piles of stones beside me were it's remains. Writing this I am a little apprehensive as I saw some bear tracks earlier, however I should be safe as I have heard of no reports of campers being attacked by bears in Greece, yet....
27 kilometres walked today with a 1240 metre ascent.
A GPX file of my track can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or you can download my route onto your smartphone from myviewranger.com code johnpon0041.
After leaving Hotel Rex and picking up some lunch snacks at the bakery opposite I followed tarmaced roads to the pleasant village of Diava, passing poppies of the deepest red among the roadside flowers. In Diava, being too early to sample one of the various cafes, I sat by the church and listened to mass being intoned over loud speakers, which made sure much of the village could hear it.
Leaving, I had a choice of three routes. The Anavasi map showed the E4 going up to the village of Koromila and then descending to Glikomilia, however between the two villages I could see no sign of a path on Google Earth and no record of anyone taking this route. Most sources instead went via the village of Kria Vrasi (e.g. spazieren.de and notes from the early 1990's by Anastasion Rigas provided by netzwerk-weitwandern.de) however this involved more road walking. Nikolas of Hotel Kroupi provided another option avoiding roads and Kris Vrasi. This is the one I followed.
Nikolas' route followed a track out of Diava that was initially good but became progressively more overgrown. I eventually lost the path and followed the GPS trail provided up a steep slope through oak trees, their branches snagging me and my rucksack. Vague paths came and went until I reached one that was more persistent, leading to a dirt track.
I diverted along the track to visit the small church of Agios Ioannis. A spot made beautiful by the views of distant Meteora and the bright yellow flowers and purple blossom in front of the church. The church made it worth the effort of taking this route.
Dirt tracks then took me all the way to Glikomilia, the oak trees on lower slopes with their bright young leaves grading imperceptibly into darker green pine trees higher up. On route there was another church, built into the hillside with picnic tables and children's playground equipment looking abandoned and forlorn among the fallen leaves.
I saw no people or vehicles between Diava and Glikomilia, but on reaching the latter there were a number of people to exchange greetings with as they worked in their gardens or put out washing. Two places that might have been cafes were closed, so I ate my lunch by the church. A black clothed priest came out with his chainsaw to cut down some overhanging branches on a tree beside the building.
Leaving Glikomilia the track followed the contours winding in and out of steep valleys crossing numerous small streams. I scattered a herd of goats on the road while the goatherd threw his walking stick at his dogs who were threatening me. Fortunately he managed to corral his animals with a command they seemed to understand. After several small farms I reached another church, well cared for with a candle burning before the Icons. Sitting down on one of the plastic chairs I meditated a little.
As 5:00 pm approached, I took advantage of a flatter area of ground and set up camp for the night. The map suggested I was beside yet another church but I could see no sign of it, unless the piles of stones beside me were it's remains. Writing this I am a little apprehensive as I saw some bear tracks earlier, however I should be safe as I have heard of no reports of campers being attacked by bears in Greece, yet....
27 kilometres walked today with a 1240 metre ascent.
A GPX file of my track can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or you can download my route onto your smartphone from myviewranger.com code johnpon0041.
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| Agios Ioannis church with Kalambaka in far distance |
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| Campsite for the night, near the track and handy for a stream for washing |
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