Kardaras to Tripoli on the E4: Day 55

A dull day with occasional showers as I crossed rocky pasture with scattered bushes and small trees.
In full waterproofs I left the Ostra suites. It had just stopped raining as I started through the village but more rain was forecast from the black clouds overhead. On roads and tracks I walked downhill for several kilometres to the village of Kapsia where I stopped at a bakery for an expresso and some flaky pastry goods for lunch served by a smiling lady.
From Kapsia the path is largely invisible as you climb up through the flowers, grassy areas, rocks and thorny bushes to a pass. At first there were E4 waymarks to follow but these died out. Close attention to my GPS was needed to head in the right direction, especially as there was more than one pass visible on the horizon. Although the climb was gradual I soon became overheated in my waterproofs with sweat dripping off my face, but due to the intermittent showers I kept them on. With the addition of some acid indigestion I did not find it the best of days.
Finally at the pass, I was not surprised to find a church, they seem popular at such sites. This one was locked so I was unable to pay my respects. Continuing across the pasture in the saddle between hills I put a flock of sheep to flight, forcing the shepherd to get up from where he had been laying in order to regain control.
Then it was downhill on tracks and roads passed the silent village of Perthori and into the outskirts of Tripoli. I am staying the Palatino hotel. I chose it because it is on the south side of town so slightly reduces a long walk I have planned for tomorrow. Prompted by her question I told the receptionist I was walking the E4, she thought I meant the highway....
Tripoli itself has a lively centre this evening with coffee shops and eateries centred on a few squares. I came across churches squashed in between more modern buildings. In deference to my delicate stomach I settled for a smoothie and a sandwich this evening, and then a beer in a cafe filled with men where the TV was showing a water polo match.

21.6 kilometres walked today with an ascent of 390 metres.

The path goes through here somewhere

A street in Tripoli

Vytina to Kardaras on the E4: Day 54

A hike over the Menalon mountains among the pine trees today.
I walked to the village square for my breakfast. The lady at the bakery broke off planting flowers to serve me a cappuccino and a spiral of flaky pastry with feta cheese inside. It was Sunday. As I sipped my coffee I could hear the service being sung inside the church opposite. In some way the Orthodox tradition sounds much more holy and religious than the Church of England. Older ladies in black periodically crossed the square and entered the church.
On checking out of my accommodation (Hotel Sinoi, a sponsor of the E4 in the Peloponnese), I was given a cheese and ham sandwich for my lunch, which was thoughtful. Leaving Vytina (initially on the wrong road despite the clear waymarks) I passed an arboretum with 16 different types of pine. Then it was uphill through the pine forest on a well waymarked path. Apparently the hiking club of Tripoli had cleared and marked the path not so long ago, for which I was very thankful. Marking was with yellow squares (and later orange squares). I had to concentrate on spotting the next square as the path did not always go where I expected it to. The pine forest on the mountains with its occasional flatter grassy areas was very different from the scenery of the last few days.
After a steep climb the path crossed a ridge and lost height but before too long I was climbing uphill again. Although the total ascent today was under a thousand metres it felt like more due to the steep gradients in places. The path eventually peaked, as the trees began to thin out, by a ski tow and a partially collapsed building. There were still chairs outside so I sat on one and ate my sandwich, but a cold wind was blowing so I didn't stay long. Going downhill I passed through a more functional ski area; such places always look a bit desolate out of season. There were a few people about today, walking the paths and parked at the ski area.
The final section was downhill through the trees close to a road. It might have been easier to walk on the road as in places the path had a tenuous hold on the side of the mountain.
I am now at the Ostra Menalon Luxury Suites, and very nice it is too. They have left me provisions to make my own breakfast, there is plenty of food as they thought there were two of me (a common problem I find when booking online). As both tavernas in the village were closed the extra food was fortunate, allowing me to cook an omelette (with cheese) for my dinner which I ate watching some English language news on the TV (although sadly not the BBC).

16.7 kilometres walked today with a total ascent of 900 metres.

A walk through the pine trees

Final climb up to the pass, note the old ski tow on the left

Dara to Vytina on the E4: Day 53

A fairly short day with fast progress on roads to Nymfasia, then a section of dirt track up to Vytina.
After a couple of days on rough, stony tracks the easy walking on quiet roads was a pleasant change. Much of the way to the village of Kamenitsa was on flat ground on a river plain. Although I passed fields of barley with scattered trees, one or two plots of potatoes and some small overgrown vineyards, I was surprised much of the land was not more intensively farmed given its apparent suitability. Much of it was either fallow, old fields of barley now with drifts of red poppies, or meadows full of flowers, maybe kept as pasture. I passed one herd of goats and sheep grazing watched over by a dog, lying in the shade of a small tree.
At Kamenitsa I stopped for a coffee sitting outside the cafe with a couple of white haired men with good Greek moustaches. One spoke English and like others was surprised I was walking alone.
It was then uphill to the village of Nymfasia. As it was a short day, less thna 20 kilometres, and fast walking conditions, I decided to stop for lunch in a taverna near the centre. While eating my baked feta (with just the right amount of chilli), chips and salad, two cats and a dog placed themselves around my table and ogled my food, the cats meowing piteously.
A little further up a dirt track and I reached Vytina, my destination for tonight. I approached the village to the sound of sweet music, played on some kind flute or pipe. Some sheep were grazing on the hill where the music was coming from, so I assumed a shepherd among the trees was responsible - all very pastoral.
Vytina is a tourist village unlike the sleepy settlements nearby. A few couples wandered past the shops lined with jars of honey and there were several tavernas and cafes to choose from, grouped around the central square and its church. I am staying at the Sinoi rooms at the edge of town.

Only 18.7 kilometres walked today on easy roads and tracks with a total ascent of 615 metres.

Field of poppies

Sheep, and sheep dog, seeking shade under a tree

Agios Nikolaos to Dara on the E4: Day 52

Another day on stony paths going up and down hill among the glorious spring flowers.
To avoid the herd of goats and associated dogs catching me dismantling my tent I broke camp at first light and was walking down the hill at 6:20 am, sitting down somewhat later for a breakfast of a muesli bar and an apple. I sat down on a rock to avoid the various crawling insects, but you cannot stay too long as they eventually discover you and start crawling onto your rucksack and boots. The day was very much one of following paths and, less often, dirt tracks or a road, up and down hills. Paths were either through Holm oak bushes or across flower filled meadows. Except at the base of valleys near water the trees never seem to reach any great height, it gave a typically Mediterranean feel to the landscape. There were flowers of all colours, swathes of yellow contrasted with patches of violet and meadows of white, red poppies lined a wall, bright yellow flowers grew among the rocks.
Progress was slow (2.6 km/hr compared to the 4 km/hr I often achieve), for two reasons. Firstly the paths were very rocky, a mixture of outcropping limestone and loose stones, caution was needed to avoid stumbling or slithering. Secondly, it was easy to loose the correct path and follow some goaty trail. The first time this happened I tried to make my way through the prickly bushes directly to the right track based on my GPS. A mistake, there were little goat tracks among the bushes but these appeared and disappeared, leaving me trying to push through the bushes by force and getting prickly leaves down my back, in my boots and various parts of my rucksack. Next time I lost the trail I turned around and retraced my steps.
As I approached the village of Likouria I had again lost the path, but I carried on as the incorrect path took me into the centre of the village where, joy to behold, there was a cafe open. As I sipped my Greek coffee and glass of water that comes with it, I noticed the other customers were all senior men like myself and as I had not shaved this morning (as I was camping) I sort of fitted in, that is apart from my enormous rucksack and bright blue, almost turquoise, walking boats (Italian needless to say). After Likouria there was another place where a river was meant to come out of the ground, I could not see where but there was certainly excessive volumes of water trying to get under the bridge I was crossing.
A final path led me into the village of Dara, where I am staying at the Arhontiko Kordopati. As a sponsor of the E4, this accommodation has been signposted for the last two days, the first sign said it was 14 hours away, then as I walked the miles it became 11, then 6, then 1 1/2, then 300 metres, then 80 metres and then a lady welcomed me with a glass of tsipouro. She asked me a number of things in Greek, to which I probably gave the wrong answer. I will find out more at dinner time!

I ended up with a bottle of wine rather than a glass but otherwise the meal was as I expected. I have saved half the wine in an old plastic water bottle for tomorrow.

I walked 22.5 kilometres today with a total ascent of 880 metres.

A rocky but attracive path

Beautifual flowers even if I do not know what they are

Whole meadows covered with flowers

Kalavryta to Agios Nikolaos on the E4: Day 51

Pleasant paths, tracks and some road walking through pines, prickly Holm oak and flower filled meadows.
Today began with a steep climb out of the village up a grassy hill to the road. Then a bit of walking on tarmac before a path through pine trees. These trees were much smaller than those I was recently walking among in the Pindus mountains. Ahead of me, above the trees, were snowy peaks but although today's walk had a lot of climbing, it also had descents so I never approached the snow. At the top of the path there was an isolated church, a service in progress, well attended judging by the number of cars and a coach on parked on the road.
I headed on down to the village of Kato Louiso. As its cafe was closed I kept going. The path lead through meadows with at times more flowers than grass; yellow, pink and violet. More than once I lost the correct path, heading off on one of the many goat tracks among the small, thorny oaks and rocks, and needed by GPS to bring me back onto the correct route.
I crossed a stream and its associated boulder field and climbed up through bushy Holm oaks on a clear path that went around the hillside eventually delivering me to Planitero. I went up into the village in search of a cafe, but that was a mistake. In the valley below there was a taverna, some stalls selling honey and herbs, two coaches, many cars and crowds of people. The attraction here is supposedly the river coming out of the ground. Maybe I missed where this happens, certainly there was a lot of water flowing among the plane trees, but it was not as impressive as similar occurrences I had seen on the E4 in Serbia.
The taverna's kitchen was somewhat overloaded by the many people wanting lunch, staff hurried back and forth laden with food, so I had to wait a little while to order. Soon after though I was working my way through two trout, a pile of boiled "mountain greens" (spring vegetables) and a large plate of chips. A bit more than I expected but not more than could handle!
Leaving Planitero up a path through the oak bushes, a bit heavier than before, I met two Russians walking the E4, although in the opposite direction to myself. We exchanged news of the trail while one of them filmed me, at least his camera was pointing at me. They had met several walkers like me heading south on the E4 in the Peloponnese whereas they were the only ones I had met since I entered Greece!
A little way after the village of Agios Nikolaos I followed the path through bushes up a steep hill and pitched my tent on a flat area of grass at the pass where the path crossed the ridge. The grass extended down the hill a little on some ancient man-made terraces. I was very pleased with the quality of the paths and waymarking today, much better than in the Pindus mountains where I was walking the E4 a few days ago. There was evidence of recent maintenance with freshly cut branches on the ground. Much of the credit for the good quality of the E4 in the Peloponnese goes to voluntary efforts, particularly by Rolf, an expatriate Swiss living in Greece, and George, a Greek mountain guide. I am very grateful to such people who make hiking much more enjoyable.
Hidden in my tent as the light was beginning to fade, calling home, I became aware of goat bells. Furious barking then erupted outside while I stayed firmly inside. Before making camp I had checked the area for buildings etc. and as far as I could see I was alone, miles from anyone. Clearly I was mistaken, the goatherder called the dogs off and the goats were taken to somewhere not so far away. I could hear their bells jingling late into the night...

27.2 kilometres walked today and an ascent of 1390 metres.

Stalls and taverna by a river source below Planitero.

Low mountains and broad flat valleys characterise this part of the Peloponnese, note the lack of tall trees.

Diakofto to Kalavryta on the E4: Day 50

Today, a walk up a railway line in a gorge, something a bit different for the E4.
Not much of a navigational challenge today, it was simply a matter of walking up the 120 year old railway line, known as "Odontotos", from the station at Diakofto to the one at Kalavryta. It is a narrow gauge railway with rack and pinion used on the steep sections and runs through the Chelmos - Vouraikos National Park. The first half of the 23 kilometre ascent was the most exciting, as the gorge was narrow in places with steep sides of conglomerate and limestone rock. Deep red poppies and other flowers spotted the sides of the track. There were numerous bridges and short tunnels, the bridges had an open construction so I could see the Vouraikos river beneath me as I carefully stepped across. "No pedestrian" signs were posted on the bridges, a bit silly as the maps and waymarking clearly showed the E4 crossing them. There was no alternative as the river below was in full flow, its massive volume foaming white as it raced across the rocks. Shapes formed by the river as it cut down into the rock made for dramatic scenery. I had confirmed that there were no trains scheduled and was glad as the gap between the rails and the river or rock face was not always that large. Then, just as I was sitting down on a pile of sleepers beside the track a train passed me! No passengers so I suppose they were just checking things.
I found the train stationary at the village of Zachlorou, roughly the halfway point of my day's walk. By a memorial to, I assumed, those who died in 1943 I ate my lunch, bought at a bakery this morning. A flaky slice of spinach pie and bread with cheese and ham baked in with it. Too much for lunch really. I had over-indulged and felt guilty as I looked at the memorial and the suffering it recorded.
The tracks above Zachlorou were not as shiny as those below and sleepers stacked on top of the track prevented trains from continuing. I passed beneath some roadworks, maybe the reason why scheduled trains had been cancelled. Not far above the village the valley opened out, soft and green instead of hard rock. I met a few people walking the other way, out for a short walk on a sunny day.
Tourist type shops lined the pedestrianised streets of Kalavryta but there is no room in my rucksack for jars of honey or a hand carved shepherd's crook. On the main street a railway line motif is worked into the cobbles that I walked on. I am staying the Hotel Filoxenia, a modern, efficient place with a helpful receptionist. It is reasonably busy, in part with middle aged German bikers, but the tavernas in the village are almost empty. I am the sole diner in the one I arbitrarily chose (for a meal of goat, potatoes and salad).

23.5 kilometres walked to day with an ascent of 750 metres.

One of the many short tunnels on the railway line

One of the many bridges, note the "no pedestrians" sign on the right and the yellow and black waymark, indicating the E4 on the left

An unexpected train

Patra to Diakofto on the E4: Day 49

A sort of rest day, just a bus journey from the surprisingly interesting city of Patra.
The E4 continues in the Peloponnese from the town of Diakofto (or Diakopto). Patra's railway to Diakofto is not currently in operation so I caught the substitute bus service. There was time before my bus to have a look around Patra. Although a bit run down (faded paint, graffiti, grass sprouting where it should not etc.), I found it attractive with its bakeries, clothes shops and cafes. I walked up to the castle and the Roman remains (unlike Delphi, planted with carefully tended roses).
My journey to Diakofto was a bit stressful as greek buses seem to stop at random places (or not stop just pull in and pause). I kept an eye on our position on Google Maps as we followed the south coast of the Gulf of Corinth, however it turned out to be straightforward, the coach stopped in front of the railway station. After I frantically pulled on my rucksack to extract it from under piles of other luggage, the bus was quickly on its way.
From Diakopto the E4 follows the mountain railway line to Kalavrita, so I checked on the train times at the station as I did not want to be caught in a tunnel with a train coming. Fortunately for me (but not other visitors) there were no trains running tomorrow so I would be safe. After a cappuccino, cheese pie and custard pie in the station cafe with its helpful staff I was off to the Hotel Alkistis where they let me check in early. A whole apartment to myself although a bit cool to use the swimming pool.
Diakopto has a pretty little harbour for small boats and after a beer at the adjacent bar it was into the village for a small animal stew (rabbit I believe).