A day of slow progress as I made my way along indistinct paths through trees, up and down hills, and wading across two rivers.
I had a good breakfast at the Taverna (possibly called the Fagotopi tou Mousoulia, next to the gift shop in the square), which included home made jam, toast, fresh fruit and a red coloured boiled egg (coloured because it is Easter). Then it was downhill out of Krikello. Waymarking here and for most of the day was very good, a combination of metal squares nailed to trees with the yellow and black E4 diamond on them, many of which looked like they had been installed in the last few years, and older yellow and black stripes painted on trees or rocks. It was a bit of a game trying to spot the next waymark. They were sufficiently numerous for me to rely on them rather than on my GPS which was fortunate as the path deviated in detail (although not general trend) from my GPS track. In many places the E4 took a route which was not the path you expected, possibly because many paths were made by sheep or goats who were evidently not walking the E4.
Coming out of the village and into the woods I reached my first obstacle. A river swollen by snow melting on the mountains. I took off my socks and rolled up my trousers and waded through in my boots, my trekking pole helping my balance on the boulders in the river. Safely on the other side I was surprised at how much water was released by the padding in my boots, either by squeezing them or allowing water to drain and collect in the heel. I ate half a bar of chocolate while I was waiting, it had melted yesterday and resolidified over night in a highly distorted shape.
Most of the day was spent on paths through trees, mainly going steeply up or downhill. Progress was slow, what with finding the path, avoiding rocks and dealing with fallen trees. Nevertheless the path was better than some earlier ones as it looked like an effort had been made to clear it a year or so ago - my thanks to whoever did it. From what the lady in the taverna at Krikello said and my own internet research, the Karpenesi to Delphi section of the E4 is more popular than previous sections I have walked in Greece (with the exception of Mount Olympus). The E4 just skirts the top of Stavli, but goes through the centre of Ambliani, a village of shuttered houses with red, corrugated iron roofs. Here I found (to my joy) a taverna open in the square by the church. I was not sure at first as there were no signs saying it was a taverna, but a man opened the door and welcomed me in. A helpful customer who spoke good English (having studied in Newcastle) arranged food for me. Visiting for the Easter holidays he said most of the village houses were holiday homes which is why their shutters were all closed, but as summer comes more of the houses would be occupied. The Easter holidays was the reason the taverna was open. They were maybe pleased to see me visiting their village as my coffee and Coke were on the house!
After Ambliani I continued on the forest paths up to one of the many churches that dot the hills. Then it was steeply downhill all the way to my second river crossing of the day. Here the previously numerous waymarks suddenly stopped completely. My GPS took me up a dirt track which should have led to a ford across the river a few hundred metres upstream. Unfortunately parts of the track had been completely washed away by the river. To avoid the first washed out section I had to climb up a very steep section of the valley side, scrambling over moss covered boulders, pushing through trees and then carefully negotiating a descent on the other side. I then decided to wade across the river, removing my socks for the second time today. As the water was deeper (although not so wide) I also removed my trousers, there was no one to see! After crossing the river I worked my way over boulders to reach where the dirt track continued up this side of the valley.
As it was now around 5:00 pm I walked a little way up the track and set up camp for the night on a grassy spot which seemed less prone to rock falls than other parts of the track. Tomorrow looked more like a road section which should at least mean faster progress.
Only 14.7 kilometres walked today over 8 hours, slow progress on slow paths, a total ascent of 920 metres.
A GPX file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com, or from myViewRanger short code johnpon0042.
I had a good breakfast at the Taverna (possibly called the Fagotopi tou Mousoulia, next to the gift shop in the square), which included home made jam, toast, fresh fruit and a red coloured boiled egg (coloured because it is Easter). Then it was downhill out of Krikello. Waymarking here and for most of the day was very good, a combination of metal squares nailed to trees with the yellow and black E4 diamond on them, many of which looked like they had been installed in the last few years, and older yellow and black stripes painted on trees or rocks. It was a bit of a game trying to spot the next waymark. They were sufficiently numerous for me to rely on them rather than on my GPS which was fortunate as the path deviated in detail (although not general trend) from my GPS track. In many places the E4 took a route which was not the path you expected, possibly because many paths were made by sheep or goats who were evidently not walking the E4.
Coming out of the village and into the woods I reached my first obstacle. A river swollen by snow melting on the mountains. I took off my socks and rolled up my trousers and waded through in my boots, my trekking pole helping my balance on the boulders in the river. Safely on the other side I was surprised at how much water was released by the padding in my boots, either by squeezing them or allowing water to drain and collect in the heel. I ate half a bar of chocolate while I was waiting, it had melted yesterday and resolidified over night in a highly distorted shape.
Most of the day was spent on paths through trees, mainly going steeply up or downhill. Progress was slow, what with finding the path, avoiding rocks and dealing with fallen trees. Nevertheless the path was better than some earlier ones as it looked like an effort had been made to clear it a year or so ago - my thanks to whoever did it. From what the lady in the taverna at Krikello said and my own internet research, the Karpenesi to Delphi section of the E4 is more popular than previous sections I have walked in Greece (with the exception of Mount Olympus). The E4 just skirts the top of Stavli, but goes through the centre of Ambliani, a village of shuttered houses with red, corrugated iron roofs. Here I found (to my joy) a taverna open in the square by the church. I was not sure at first as there were no signs saying it was a taverna, but a man opened the door and welcomed me in. A helpful customer who spoke good English (having studied in Newcastle) arranged food for me. Visiting for the Easter holidays he said most of the village houses were holiday homes which is why their shutters were all closed, but as summer comes more of the houses would be occupied. The Easter holidays was the reason the taverna was open. They were maybe pleased to see me visiting their village as my coffee and Coke were on the house!
After Ambliani I continued on the forest paths up to one of the many churches that dot the hills. Then it was steeply downhill all the way to my second river crossing of the day. Here the previously numerous waymarks suddenly stopped completely. My GPS took me up a dirt track which should have led to a ford across the river a few hundred metres upstream. Unfortunately parts of the track had been completely washed away by the river. To avoid the first washed out section I had to climb up a very steep section of the valley side, scrambling over moss covered boulders, pushing through trees and then carefully negotiating a descent on the other side. I then decided to wade across the river, removing my socks for the second time today. As the water was deeper (although not so wide) I also removed my trousers, there was no one to see! After crossing the river I worked my way over boulders to reach where the dirt track continued up this side of the valley.
As it was now around 5:00 pm I walked a little way up the track and set up camp for the night on a grassy spot which seemed less prone to rock falls than other parts of the track. Tomorrow looked more like a road section which should at least mean faster progress.
Only 14.7 kilometres walked today over 8 hours, slow progress on slow paths, a total ascent of 920 metres.
A GPX file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com, or from myViewRanger short code johnpon0042.
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| The square at Krikello |
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| Good waymarking helped as path was difficult to spot |
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| Ambliani |
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| Second river crossing of day |
Hi John, glad to find your blog. The path from viniane Bridge to the river after ampliani was cleared and way marked from the municipality of karpenissi in 2016, as it is within its borders. I'm glad it helped to have a better experience of the path. I will pass your comments to the mayor.
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