A day of walking on gravel roads along the valley sides.
The valleys here are "V" shaped, formed by rivers rather than glaciers, in a young mountain chain ("young" in a geological time scale). This means that there is not much flat space, if any, beside the river, so villages tend to be built on shoulders of land up the valley side. This lack of flat land also means that roads along the valleys must be cut into the steep mountainsides. Consequently, there were some dramatic sections today with cliffs above or below the road, some of which looked ready to collapse. At the base of the tree lined slopes, the river was full and foaming as it swept across its bed of boulders, sometimes between cliffs or passed scree.
I had imagined today would be an easy walk down some valleys followed by a climb up to Agrafa at the end of the day. In reality there was a lot more climbing than I expected as the roads move up and down the valley sides as their makers tried to find a section of slope a little less steep or shoulder into which they could cut a roadway. The road had no doubt replaced an earlier mule track, I saw two of the ancient stone bridges that they would have used, which have now been replaced by less elegant bridges located beside them.
Following the gravel road down to Koystesa and Vraggiana I saw few people and sadly no open cafe for a coffee. Like other villages in the area I noticed that Vraggiana had made efforts at civic improvement, the black lampstands with the bulbs in glass globes seem popular feature. Further on a picnic and camping area had been built but brambles were now engulfing the rubbish bins, the toilet full of leaves.
In my efforts to follow the E4 I was planning to cross the river and follow a mule track up the steep hillside. The bridge was there as expected, if a little dilapidated. It was built over an earlier stone bridge that had collapsed. The first part of the mule track was walkable as it climbed around a rock. After that it deteriorated to such an extent that I decided against trying to follow it. I suspected it would disappear altogether in some landslip on a steep slope. Being deep in the valley my GPS was giving erratic readings so I could not rely on it to help me find the path if I lost it. After deliberating I retraced my steps a few kilometres and walked up a gravel road to the village of Agrafa with its scattered houses, just as it was starting to rain.
I have now had my dinner at the Kyra Niki guesthouse (baked aubergine stuffed with onion, feta cheese, spring greens), with a view down the valley and a log fire in the grate. A short walk down into the village centre showed it to be more active than any since Elati, with Evening Mass being sung and a few cafes open. Back in my room my socks are drying nicely on the radiator...
I walked 31.5 kilometres including the detour to examine the mule track route to Agrafa. Without this wasted journey it would have been 26.6 kilometres, plus a total ascent of 710 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.
The valleys here are "V" shaped, formed by rivers rather than glaciers, in a young mountain chain ("young" in a geological time scale). This means that there is not much flat space, if any, beside the river, so villages tend to be built on shoulders of land up the valley side. This lack of flat land also means that roads along the valleys must be cut into the steep mountainsides. Consequently, there were some dramatic sections today with cliffs above or below the road, some of which looked ready to collapse. At the base of the tree lined slopes, the river was full and foaming as it swept across its bed of boulders, sometimes between cliffs or passed scree.
I had imagined today would be an easy walk down some valleys followed by a climb up to Agrafa at the end of the day. In reality there was a lot more climbing than I expected as the roads move up and down the valley sides as their makers tried to find a section of slope a little less steep or shoulder into which they could cut a roadway. The road had no doubt replaced an earlier mule track, I saw two of the ancient stone bridges that they would have used, which have now been replaced by less elegant bridges located beside them.
Following the gravel road down to Koystesa and Vraggiana I saw few people and sadly no open cafe for a coffee. Like other villages in the area I noticed that Vraggiana had made efforts at civic improvement, the black lampstands with the bulbs in glass globes seem popular feature. Further on a picnic and camping area had been built but brambles were now engulfing the rubbish bins, the toilet full of leaves.
In my efforts to follow the E4 I was planning to cross the river and follow a mule track up the steep hillside. The bridge was there as expected, if a little dilapidated. It was built over an earlier stone bridge that had collapsed. The first part of the mule track was walkable as it climbed around a rock. After that it deteriorated to such an extent that I decided against trying to follow it. I suspected it would disappear altogether in some landslip on a steep slope. Being deep in the valley my GPS was giving erratic readings so I could not rely on it to help me find the path if I lost it. After deliberating I retraced my steps a few kilometres and walked up a gravel road to the village of Agrafa with its scattered houses, just as it was starting to rain.
I have now had my dinner at the Kyra Niki guesthouse (baked aubergine stuffed with onion, feta cheese, spring greens), with a view down the valley and a log fire in the grate. A short walk down into the village centre showed it to be more active than any since Elati, with Evening Mass being sung and a few cafes open. Back in my room my socks are drying nicely on the radiator...
I walked 31.5 kilometres including the detour to examine the mule track route to Agrafa. Without this wasted journey it would have been 26.6 kilometres, plus a total ascent of 710 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.
 |
| Looking back towards Koystesa |
 |
| View from the road |
 |
| Looking down a typical "V" shaped valley, the road on the right. |
No comments:
Post a Comment