Day 06 - Ioannina

16 September 2016: Thessaloniki to Ioannina.

The route from Thessaloniki to Ioannina.

Got up at 06:00 exactly, cleaned up, packed and went to pay the bill. €315 (R5178.44) for 5 nights. Took the 31 bus to the bus station and bought my ticket to Ioannina. Ticket cost €30.50 and the journey of km lasted 3 1/2 hours. A very pleasant trip through mountains covered in pine forests. So many tunnels! We must have gone through about 20. The road was in very good condition. I really did enjoy the trip. The bus was fine and the driver very careful. Not many people on the bus either. We eventually arrived in Ioannina and I took a cab to the hotel. 5 minutes, and a very well spent €5.00. As I could only book in at 14:00, I left my luggage and went walking. I'm staying at the Kastro Guesthouse.

It's located within the castle walls right at the road up into the citadel. So that's where I went first. A very nice Byzantine museum with some stunning icons, a silver museum, Fethiye Mosque and Ali Pasha's grave.

He is a fascinating character and you should Google him and read upon him. All in all a very nice 

excursion.

I made a little friend.

I walked around town a bit more and at 14:00 made my way back to my hotel. Booked in and asked about a taxi to Dodoni for tomorrow. Went to my room and stayed there for a bit. After yesterday, I

wasn't taking chances. What I didn't mention was that Ioannina lies along a huge lake. I took the 16:00 ferry to the island in the middle of the lake.

It's a 10 minute ride and costs €2.00. On the island is the Pantelimon Monastery where Ali Pasha was killed. Did I mention that you should read up on him. He really was a fascinating character and even though he was an Ottoman ruler, the Greeks seemed to like him. I wandered around the island, went to the monastery where he was killed. It has a 700 year old sycamore tree on the grounds.

Had a coffee before taking the the ferry back when I was done. Back on land, I took a walk along the promenade, found a seat and sat there for the next 2 hours watching the world go buy while listening to music. What a life! Went back to the hotel to freshen up and went out for dinner. I had Anthrax salad.

Lettuce, sesame, soft cheese, nuts, crab apples & vinagrette (€6.50)

2 x mutton souvlaki with tzatziki and pita (€6.30). Don't ask about the name of the salad because I really don't know! Maybe somebody can correct me. All I can say is that the salad was delicious and I shoveled it in like a glutton. After all that I had an ice cream. It's supposed to be 2 scoops for €2.50 but it was more like 4 scoops. I wouldn't dish up that much at home! Staggered back to the hotel and went to bed.


Ioannina

Kastro Guesthouse

Ioannina Castle

Ferry Ride

Ioannina Island