Another long day, with the best ancient arched bridge so far.
On walking down the forest track into Kerasochori I found the cafes all closed, possibly as it was before 8:00 am. So I took the road, then a dirt track heading for Karpenesi. The E4 then went along a path marked on the Anavasi map. I found the start of the path (and later it's end) but soon became entangled in branches of Holm oak as I tried to follow the path's track on my digital map. Holm or Holly Oaks are so called as their leaves are like small holly leaves with sharp spikes. These little leaves pricked my hands and worse, fell down my tee shirt to be squashed against my back by my rucksack. After a great deal of struggle and a few swear words I gave up on the path and returned to the tarmac on which I walked all the way to the village of Nea Viniane. In the middle of Viniane there was an open taverna where I had a coffee and bought a loaf of special Easter bread, soft and sweet. A kindly man (possibly the owner) paid for the coffee, possibly thinking that I would need it to get all the way to Karpenesi!
Leaving Viniane the E4 goes down a track to another ancient bridge. I particularly liked this one as it did not have a new concrete bridge next to it. It stood alone, a graceful thin arch, and was my way across the river to the next stage of the E4. This next bit was an old mule path which I was aprehensive about as experience suggested it would be overgrown, certainly I was unable to see it on Google Earth. Fortunately I was wrong, it was passable and well marked with recent E4 waymarks.
Before the bridge the route was downhill, after the bridge it was a long, sweaty, arduous climb, initially on a path, later on a quiet tarmaced road. Footsore, I eventually slogged up the 1000 metres needed to reach the high pass. Not long after the E4 branches off by a shrine on a wooded path. E4 waymarks helped to show the way as the path took me to a section of track alongside a stream, among the boulders. The stream had washed away part of the track in places and bulldozers had made new ones. New E4 signs then led me onto a small road that gave a view of Karpenesi below. Turning off to reach Hotel Lecadin, I followed instructions from the lady on Google maps along narrow roads and down numerous steps until the hotel rose up before me. Once there, and with very sore feet, I celebrated with a well deserved beer.
On walking down the forest track into Kerasochori I found the cafes all closed, possibly as it was before 8:00 am. So I took the road, then a dirt track heading for Karpenesi. The E4 then went along a path marked on the Anavasi map. I found the start of the path (and later it's end) but soon became entangled in branches of Holm oak as I tried to follow the path's track on my digital map. Holm or Holly Oaks are so called as their leaves are like small holly leaves with sharp spikes. These little leaves pricked my hands and worse, fell down my tee shirt to be squashed against my back by my rucksack. After a great deal of struggle and a few swear words I gave up on the path and returned to the tarmac on which I walked all the way to the village of Nea Viniane. In the middle of Viniane there was an open taverna where I had a coffee and bought a loaf of special Easter bread, soft and sweet. A kindly man (possibly the owner) paid for the coffee, possibly thinking that I would need it to get all the way to Karpenesi!
Leaving Viniane the E4 goes down a track to another ancient bridge. I particularly liked this one as it did not have a new concrete bridge next to it. It stood alone, a graceful thin arch, and was my way across the river to the next stage of the E4. This next bit was an old mule path which I was aprehensive about as experience suggested it would be overgrown, certainly I was unable to see it on Google Earth. Fortunately I was wrong, it was passable and well marked with recent E4 waymarks.
Before the bridge the route was downhill, after the bridge it was a long, sweaty, arduous climb, initially on a path, later on a quiet tarmaced road. Footsore, I eventually slogged up the 1000 metres needed to reach the high pass. Not long after the E4 branches off by a shrine on a wooded path. E4 waymarks helped to show the way as the path took me to a section of track alongside a stream, among the boulders. The stream had washed away part of the track in places and bulldozers had made new ones. New E4 signs then led me onto a small road that gave a view of Karpenesi below. Turning off to reach Hotel Lecadin, I followed instructions from the lady on Google maps along narrow roads and down numerous steps until the hotel rose up before me. Once there, and with very sore feet, I celebrated with a well deserved beer.
Tonight being Easter Saturday in the Orthodox calender, there was a special meal to mark the end of Lent at the late time of 10 pm, which the hotel generously offered me for free. As midnight approached I listened on my balcony to the service being sung in a church in the town below, then bells were rung and there were a few fireworks to celebrate Christ's resurrection.
34.4 kilometres for today's walk with an ascent of 1340 metres.
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.
34.4 kilometres for today's walk with an ascent of 1340 metres.
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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| Ancient stone bridge near Viniane |
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