Monks, Hairy Beds and Expensive Taxis

We have spent our last three days in Greece on an inland adventure up to Meteora.

Tuesday afternoon we took a bus from Athens up to Kalambaka, Greece. Getting to the bus station was an adventure in itself and it was a miracle that we actually made it to the well hidden and out of the way bus station, thank goodness for the group of ladies who helped us. The bus ride was much longer than we expected, 5 hours of listening to Greek music (less than fun) and hundreds of pages read in our books, we finally found ourselves in Kalambaka. Kalambaka is a small town that looks at two of Greece's mountain ranges and it sits at the bottoms of massive rock formations. The rock formations are geologic wonders and host many monasteries. There once were 28 monasteries built into the rock formations, but today only 6 remain.

We were so happy to get off the bus after the long trip, but were unsure of where we would stay for the night. Within 30 seconds of us surveying the scene and which way we should begin our hotel search, our travel angel appeared- an old kind faced man on his motor scooter. He handed us a brochure of a nice looking hotel and told us 35 Euros. We were in shock and agreed to see the place. Well, our old man did deliver on his promise of a cheap place to stay, however it was not the nice hotel we had seen in the pictures. The place he was offering for the cheap price of 35 Euros was a bedroom above his store.... The bedroom was simple with 3 single beds and with a quick glance it would appear to be just fine. However, with a closer look we could see hair on the sheets, the floor, and just about everywhere, as well as a leaf in the toilet and oh, the light bulbs were all dead... We decided to take the cheap price aware it would be an adventure. We had to go down into his store to pay, and there are no words that could describe his store in a way to do it justice. This small store contained everything and the kitchen sink: belts, chains, nails, mugs, tools, birds (yes live birds) and much, much more. I don't think he had added any products since about 1955 and I think his last customer purchased something soon after that. The amount of dust made our noses go nuts. He fished out some traditional Greek candy as a thank you, I hesitantly put it in my mouth not knowing if the white chalky outside was due to age or on purpose.

Wednesday, we spent the majority of the day exploring the rock formations and the monasteries. We walked for 5 hours and went into 3 out of the 6 still functioning monasteries. The beautiful weather along with the incredible views made it fun to explore. The monasteries were unbelievable- they looked as if they were impossible to reach perched up on top of isolated rock pillars. But back entrances bridges and hundreds of stairs always led to the peaceful residences. The last monastery we visited was the Great Meteora, and it was well deserving of it's name with the most impressive church and the most extensive facilities. The church practically had the whole bible painted on the walls.

We were both running on empty by time we finished seeing the Great Meteora. We arrived to catch the bus 10 minutes early but Greek maybe time was against us, and the bus had already left. With low blood sugar we began walking the 8 km back. Within 10 minutes a car pulled up and offered us a ride, as they had heard our disappointment of the bus leaving without us. We were so grateful for the ride and even learned some more information about the monasteries because the lady was a tour guide.

We enjoyed the small quiet town, delicious chocolate cake, and eating our last big of raw greens. Today is a day full of travel... First an hour long bus, then a 4 1/2 hour bus to Athens, then a expensive taxi ride (because Athens is on strike again there is no public transport), now we are waiting for a flight to Cairo (delayed because of the strike), and then to Bangkok.

P.S. We just learned that 92% of Greeks smoke cigarettes.