Meteora the Gates to Enlightenment

We arrived in Kastraki “dead” tired.....who planned this trip??

We had just settled into our room when I heard a familiar sound ....buck, buck, cluck, cluck..... walked out onto our balcony and there below us the flock of chickens with several roosters to keep the hens in line. A sigh of relief all is well in the world, it had been a long 24hrs. travelling but here at last.

The view from our balcony.

Kastraki is at the base of the incredible rock formations known as Meteora the sacred cliffs. The grand scale of these is equal to the Rocky Mtns or Gros Morne. Geologists are still uncertain as to how they were actually formed but the theory is that they were carved by a river.

Rock climbers come from all over the world to scale these rock faces.

 

On these rocky outcroppings are six working monasteries. At its height in the 14^th century there were 23 some of them built right into the cliffs but all of them were built as strong holds only accessible by rope ladders. Incredible to think that they hauled all the supplies for building and living up to these heights....we certainly experienced how easy it is to drop materials while working at these heights. They are doing maintenance and construction during the off season, and we were nearly showered by bricks while hiking up a ravine to Varlaam. The libraries in these monasteries are full of archives and artifacts that document the beginnings of the Greek Orthodox church...they have become museums. There is also evidence of habitation in many of the larger caves where monks would live and pray in solitude.

A working monk.....

It amazed us how easy it was to access them by foot. Initially we were told we should take a taxi but then our hostess, a lovely hard working woman, explained the local trails. So we set off with a bottle of water and some biscuits...... six hours later we were ascending down into Kalambaka, exhausted but feeling accomplished, even though we only made it to three of the six monastaries. We promised ourselves we would ease into this adventure ..... no such thing. Hope you're all well so long for now.