Day 09 - Kalampaka & Meteora

Day 09 - 18 September 2016

A brief word about the monasteries:
Hermits first started to inhabit small caves and crevices in around 900 AD. As time passed, they got together and started building monasteries. They got significant funding from the Byzantine empire and to this day, the monasteries fall under the auspices of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople who resides in Istanbul. The monks of Meteora are basically autonomous and answer to themselves only. Meteora was unknown to the outside world until 'For Your Eyes Only' was filmed here. Since then roads have been built and stairs to the monasteries were added.
Six of the monasteries remain today. Of these six, four were inhabited by men, and two by women. Each monastery has fewer than 10 inhabitants. The monasteries are now tourist attractions and the biggest employer in the area, using 300 locals to clean and maintain.
The income the monasteries generate is astounding. The entrance fee per monastery is €3.00. More than 1 000 000 people visit Meteora a year. On average, you visit 4 monasteries. That's €12 000 000 a year!

Anyway, I got up rather later than usual, went down for breakfast (tomato, cucumber, cheeses, bread, cold meats. Coffee and cake) and off on my morning tour of Meteora. The first monastery was the Great Meteora.

The largest and most important one. 567 steps!!!! That's how many you climb to get to the entrance. I was FINISHED by the time I got there. The nice thing is that we are driven around to the monasteries, and then given more than enough time to actually wander around on our own. The tour guide does not come in with us. He gives us the history of the monastery and then we are on our own.
Then off to the Monastery of the Holy Trinity.

Only 140 steps this time. It's one of the most difficult to reach, so there were not as many tourists. Only the crazy people.
After that we went to The Monastery of St. Barbara Roussanou. It was a very pleasant walk through the forest to the nunnery.

Beautifully laid out pots of herbs and flowers. After that it was another walk down through the forest to our combi. We went back into town and that was the end. I really enjoyed the tours and I am really glad I took them. Going at it on my own would have been the worst decision. Our guide also said it is do-able, but rather in spring or from October when it cools down.
I had a gyro for lunch and have spent the afternoon siting in front of the hotel updating my blog. Something that I am adding is maps of where I travel, so you can go back and check. I have to go to bed really early tonight, because I am taking the 05:42 train to Levadia. I'll have to get up at about 04:30.
I'm taking that train because I get to Levadia at 09:00. If I take the 08:19 train, I only arrive in Levadia at 14:01 and that's a day wasted.

The Monastery of Saint Barbara-Roussanou

The Monastery of the Holy Trinity

The Monastery of the Great Meteora