While we were still stateside in March, our dear British pals Sandra and Chris on Deep Blue wrote and suggested that we share a hire car - that'd be a rental car in American English - and take a trip inland upon our return. Our destination was to be one of Greece's most treasured sights - Meteora. The name is derived from the Greek adjective 'meteoros' which means "suspended from the air" and, indeed, the 14th and 15th century monasteries we were to see, atop soaring 1,500 to 2,000 foot tall rocky pinnacles were very high 'up in the sky' to say the least.

Luckily for us, Sandra volunteered to make all the arrangements, so a few days after our return to Messolonghi, the four of us drove north amidst spectacular views of springtime green fields and wildflowers, the massive "inland sea" called the Gulf of Amvraki and snowcapped mountains in the distance, as we approached the city of Ioannina, a former Byzantine and Ottoman empire cultural center.


Undeterred by rain, we walked around Ioannina's lakefront and old town (the Kastro) to see "Its Kale" (the inner citadel) the Victory mosque and the palace and tomb of Ali Pasha, the Albanian warlord whose fiefdom included most of Albania and Greece in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The picture here is of the palace and the decorative cast iron grillwork covers the tomb.


Sandra had picked a winner in the Hotel Brettania which provided comfy respite for the night replete with an elaborate bakery and breakfast bar for evening and morning treats.

Our second day saw unexpected morning sunshine for our drive to higher altitudes and the World Heritage site of Meteora. We were graciously welcomed at the family run Tsikeli Hotel in the town of Kastraki, and we even caught a live telecast of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Katharine before beginning to explore the strange and beautiful landscape.

In the earliest times the monasteries were reached by removable rope ladders, making them ideally inaccessible retreats that provided safe haven for hermit monks when Turkish incursions into Greece were on the rise. Today they are linked by roads at the bottom and then one walks up flights of heart-stopping steep stone steps to get to the rocky pinnacle tops where the monasteries themselves are precariously situated.

Our afternoon tour included visits to the largest Monastery (Moni in Greek) - Megalou Meteorou, plus Moni Agiou Niklaou and the peaceful nun's quarters at Moni Agias Rouanou. At each site Sandra and Kath were required to don full length wrap-around skirts over their long slacks and thus, modestly attired, we were able to see a portion of each monastery's grounds, courtyards, Katholikon (church), well preserved frescoes and, just to top it all off, witness the amazing surrounding scenery.

After a rest from our climbing back at our hotel, we toasted Meteora's rocky forest with traditional ouzo and then drove just 10 minutes out of Kastraki to a village called Dhiava where we dined at a unique tavern called Neromylos. Unique because they actually raise their own delectable trout in tanks constantly fed by the rushing fresh water of a former mill stream. Also amazing was that we four all had appetizers, grilled trout dinners, wine and dessert for just 53 € ($75)!

Saturday's itinerary included touring a couple more "Moni"s. One of those - Moni Agias Triados (Holy Trinity Monastery) - happens to have a recent claim to fame as it was featured in the 1981 James Bond film 'For Your Eyes Only'. We'll have to catch that up on Netflix this winter.
Nevertheless, the views from here across the valley are incredible and the true religious purpose of the Moni's dominates as each dawn and dusk, the talando is struck to call the faithful to prayer. That's a large wooden board suspended from the rafters on which an ancient rhythm is tapped out with a wooden mallet.

You'll see photos not only of the talando but also of Ioannina and the incredible views from atop the rock pinnacles of Meteora. Just click on "Photo Gallery" at the top of the column to the right and enjoy clicking through the show.