Freya & Us

From Meteora we drove to the city of Ioannina. This is a small city built on the banks of lake Pamvotis and is about 50 miles east of the port of Igoumenitsa on the Ionian Sea. Our hotel was in one of its suburbs, Perama. Perama is famous for its large limestone show cave. It was wonderfully cool and full of the most beautiful stalactites and stalagmites which didn't need embellishing with tales of witches and the like to amaze us.

In Ioannina itself we explored the old walled town visiting the fort and the tomb and mosque (now a museum) of Ali Pasha before heading down to the lake to catch a boat for a trip to the island in its centre. We spent a pleasant couple of hours circumnavigating the island and having a drink while we waited for the boat to take us back.

The next day we visited the ruined Sanctuary of Dodoni, where yet another Oracle did their stuff. Here the priests interpreted the rustling of the leaves on a sacred oak tree to deliver their prophecies. The most impressive building at the site was the amphitheater, which could seat 40,000 spectators. Before returning to our hotel we decided to drive around the lake. The lakeshore was lined with cafes in the city, but soon we were driving along the shore looking across the waters through gaps in the very tall reed beds that lined the banks. We were lucky enough to spot some pelicans at one point and we really enjoyed the day.

The following day we headed north into the Pindus mountains to visit the Vikos Gorge. The gorge is about 20km long and 1600m deep at its deepest point. According to the Guinness Book of Records its the worlds deepest canyon in relation to its width, but this apparently is very controversial. Thankfully it was much cooler when we set off, but the clouds soon thickened and we were driving through the mountains into the clouds and rain. Between the showers we did manage to walk to the various viewpoints without getting too wet, but the views were stunning and the low clouds just added to the atmosphere. At times the showers were torrential making driving all but impossible. We timed lunch to sit out one of the worst downpours and ended up in a wonderful restaurant that specialised in mushroom dishes. While we ate our wild mushroom pasta and truffle risotto we watched the lightening work it's way through the mountains and wondered if our car insurance covered bodywork damage caused by the marble sized hailstones that fell for a around 10 minutes.

Before the modern road around the gorge was completed (sometime in the 1960s) many of the villages that cling precariously to the sides of the gorge could only be reached by foot. Some were linked by steep stone staircases carved into the mountainside which would challenge even the fittest amongst us. The foot paths crossed the rivers that run through the gorge on arched stone bridges which seem to blend into the natural landscape. The gorge was a beautiful and stunning place, so different from the coast and the sea which is the picture of Greece most of us have in our heads. It was my (Paul's) favourite part of Greece.

After a final night in Ioannina it was time to return to Freya, but of course there was more to see on the way. First stop was the coastal town of Parga. We nearly stopped here with Freya when we returned from Albania in May but chose to anchor in nearby Mourtos instead. Parga is a beautiful bay almost totally enclosed by low lying rocks and a small island, but the village is now a large and buzzing tourist town with hotels and bars aplenty. Its more a package tour destination rather than a quaint fishing village, but it had a certain charm nonetheless. We walked along the seafront, around the ruined fort and had lunch in a taverna with fabulous views and mediocre food, before heading back to the car.

Our final stop was at the town of Arta. Arta is not really on the tourist trail, but does have a pretty medieval bridge and a very neglected fort to look at. There were a number of other buildings and ruins to see, but as we were there on a Monday they were all closed. So after a quick wander through the town centre we headed back to Freya.

We spent the next couple of nights sleeping aboard Freya on the hard, which always feels very strange, boats should be in the water not propped up 8ft above the ground. We did some socialising with friends, did a little maintenance work and put Freya to bed before flying back to Bristol for the rest of the summer.

The link to our map seems to be stopping people leaving comments on the blog, so I've removed it from these posts for now. I will be keeping it up to date so simply go to one of the special map only posts and click the link there to see it