Dubrovnik

So we arrived in Dubrovnik and stepping off the bus we were bombarded with people wanting to rent their rooms out. So after a bit of negotiation we found one that was fairly cheap and in a good location so we set off for it. After dumping our bags at our room we set off to find the bus that would take us to the old town. After a few minutes of wandering we found the bus and made our way there. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the picturesque streets of the old town and gazing up at the beautiful old buildings, churches and the famous clock tower. After wandering the streets for a bit we set off to find a sea kayaking company to book a day trip. The rest of the evening was spent just returning to our room where, with the use of the common kitchen, we cooked a delicious dinner. The first time that I had cooked in about 10 months.

The next day we made our way back to the fabulous old town to take in more of its sights. We started by visiting the Rector's Palace which has been turned into a museum showing how the rector used to live. During the Rector's one month term he wasn't allowed to leave the palace without the permission of the senate and so there were rooms containing everything from offices to bedrooms, and even some prison cells in the basement. After the Rector's Palace we made our way to the Maritime Museum which was located in Fort St John, an imposing building built on the edge of the harbour to protect ships. Inside the museum is an extremely detailed description of the maritime industry based in Dubrovnik from the 1st century right up until present day. After visiting the museums we wandered around the picturesque streets some more and visiting a few churches inside the old town before taking a walk around the city walls. The city walls are one of Dubrovnik's most famous sights as they enclose the entire old town and are over 2km long and at some points over 25 meters high, built right over the water. The walk around the walls was absolutely fabulous as it gave some great birds eye views out over the red roofs of the old town and out onto the sea. Definitely a highlight of Dubrovnik. After walking along the walls we returned back to our room to enjoy another home cooked meal.

Our third day in Dubrovnik we spent sea kayaking out to a nearby island about 4km off the coast. The day was beautiful and paddling on the perfectly blue sea was great. We set off from just Northwest of Dubrovnik and quickly left the mainland bay to head for the island. Upon reaching the island we took a short break on the southern point of it where we got to spend a few minutes snorkeling around (there weren't any fish to be seen though) and also some time cliff jumping into a small pool of water. After our break we hopped back in the kayaks to paddle around the island to a small beach complete with a few houses where we left our kayaks and walked for a couple of kilometres to the other side of the island to enjoy lunch. The island was extremely peaceful as there weren't any roads for cars on it and you could tell that everyone there had the relaxed island lifestyle so it was quite enjoyable. After lunch we returned to our kayaks where we enjoyed a short swim before getting back in them and setting out for the mainland again. Once we had crossed the open water we enjoyed a paddle back along the coast passing several caves to our starting point. All said it was a very enjoyable day and the weather was perfect for it. That evening we made our way down to the old town so that we could have a chance to see what the area looked like all lit up at night. Upon arriving there we wandered the streets for a bit and enjoyed a beer while sitting below the clock tower, quite nice.

The next morning we rose nice and early to make our way to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus bound for Korcula Island, our next destination just a little ways up the coast.










A view from the city walls looking down the main street to the clock tower at the end of it.



















A view along the city walls where you can see them towering over the brilliant blue Mediterranean sea.
















Standing on the city walls with the red roofs of all the buildings within the old city behind me.















Jumping off the cliff into the small pool of water during our first short break of our kayaking adventure.
















Lianne practising her paddling skills while we make our way back towards our starting point during our day out kayaking.












The clock tower lit up at night in the old town.

Kotor

Arriving in Kotor we were amazed at how beautiful of a location it was in: located right on the shore of southern Europe's deepest fjord it's surrounded by beautiful mountains on three sides and gorgeous water on the other. When we got off the bus we immediately set off in search of the old town where we hoped to find some reasonably priced accommodation. After being told that there was a hostel located right in the centre of the old town by the tourist information office we set off in search of it, but 15 minutes later with no luck we ended up at a travel agency hoping they could find us a cheap room somewhere. Unfortunately the lady working there wasn't able to and we would have to wait until 6pm when her colleague arrived for work before they could start looking for us but we did bump into another Canadian searching for a room, Maryhelen, so the 3 of us set off in search of one. Luckily for us we quickly bumped into a guy who offered us a beautiful room right on the edge of the old town so we quickly decided to take it.

Dumping our gear in the room we set off to spend the rest of the day exploring the old town and surrounding area. So the next few hours were spent walking through the narrow cobble stone alley ways of the old town admiring the gorgeous old buildings and popping into the odd church that we came across. We also went for a nice walk along the shore of the fjord to see more of Kotor and gazed up at the fortress perched high above us on the cliff wall but decided that we would climb up there first thing the next morning when it wasn't so hot outside. After our time exploring we spent an hour or so using the internet before heading out to an enjoyable dinner and then headed to bed so we could wake up early to climb up to the fortress.

Unfortunately when we awoke the next morning it was slightly raining and still soaked from the downpour that occurred during the night so we postponed our trip up to the fortress. So instead we passed the morning visiting the small fruit and vegetable market before finding a nice cafe in the old town where we just relaxed over a cup of coffee. Before we knew it it was noon and Maryhelen had to get ready to depart so we said our farewells and saw her off before Lianne and I decided that the weather was nice enough to attempt to climb up to the fortress. The climb up went fairly quickly although it was quite steep and we often stopped to admire the gorgeous views over Kotor and the fjord that lay in front of us. Upon reaching the fortress we spied a small hole in the wall that led along a little path to a small church located a couple hundred meters back in the valley so we decided to check it out. The church was quite beautiful, although starting to get ruined, and its location was even nicer as it sat in a green field with the fortress walls to one side and the cliff face to the other. Returning back to the main trail through the hole in the wall we continued up to the top of the fortress where we got to walk around the ruins for a bit and although they weren't anything spectacular the views that we got more than made up for that. Returning back down to the old town we returned to our hotel for a short break before heading out to find a bit of dinner.

The next morning we got up and headed to the bus station where we quickly caught a bus bound for Cetinje, a beautiful small town that was the former capital of Montenegro and so contains some beautiful old buildings. We arrived in Cetinje and set off to wander around the town to take in the sights and one of the first things that we saw was a huge church procession making its way down to a small chapel where it appeared they had communion, although we couldn't be too sure of that as we couldn't understand anything they were saying. None the less it was quite something to see and was obviously a big event as the entire town seemed to turn out for it. After watching the procession for a while we set off to see the rest of the town which was mainly some old museums and lots of old buildings that royalty used to live in or were foreign embassies. After admiring several old embassies we entered the National Museum of Montenegro and toured through a HUGE art gallery, where most of the art was quite beautiful but towards the end there was almost too much to absorb, before learning a bit about the history of Montenegro. Unfortunately most of the captions weren't in English so we couldn't understand too much but it was still quite interesting to wander around it. After the museum we enjoyed a picnic lunch in one of the many parks in Cetinje before checking out the Ethnographic Museum which had a small display of traditional Montenegrin clothing. This was followed by the State Museum which was the former residence of Nikola Petrović I, the last king of Montenegro. The State Museum was quite well done as we got an excellent tour through the rooms that were still set up as they had been in the king's days. Finally we visited the monastery and were rewarded with getting a chance to see the treasury which included the mummified right hand of St John the Baptist. After touring around all of this we caught a bus back to Kotor where we enjoyed our final night in Montenegro.

The next morning we set off bright and early to catch a bus bound for Dubrovnik in Croatia. Settling onto the bus we quickly left Montenegro, and after what seemed like forever at the boarder, we entered Croatia the next destination on our adventure.










A view of St Tryphon Cathedral in the old town of Kotor, probably the most beautiful church there.



















A typical old building in the old town of Kotor.




















A view of the main square just inside the entrance of the old town at dusk.


















A view overlooking the old town and out on the fjord from the climb up to the fortress.
















Lianne standing in front of the small church that we found hidden behind the fortress walls.


















The small church in Cetinje where we saw what we think was communion take place.

Ulcinj

Arriving in Ulcinj we picked up our bags and headed off trying to find a room. According to Lonely Planet all of the budget accommodation was just spare rooms in peoples houses so we planned on visiting a travel agency to find out if they knew of any; but before we could get to one somebody pulled up to us in his van and asked if we needed a room. Thinking we might as well check it out we hopped in and were taken to a lovely little room in his house in the middle of the old part of town.

After getting settled in our room we decided to head out and check out the town. So we wandered around the tiny old town for a little bit admiring the narrow alleyways and stone buildings before returning to the main part of town. Here we wandered along the beach and were completely shocked at how many people were there: on a stretch of sand about 500 meters long and 20 meters wide there had to be thousands of tourists just relaxing on the beach and playing in the water. I guess the high season had arrived and in full force. Deciding that we would wander around town for a little bit before competing with the hordes on the beach we set off up the main street. The main street was quite nice but absolutely packed with souvenir shops, restaurants and clothes shops all geared towards tourists. So we quickly got bored of wandering around those and made our way back to the beach to fight for a spot. The rest of the afternoon was spent just relaxing on the beach and fighting the other tourists in the water before we got tired of that and headed back to our room to get ready for dinner. That evening we joined the other tourists strolling along the waterfront and up and down the main street for a short while before picking a restaurant and settling down for dinner. After dinner we made our way to a nearby pub to enjoy a few more pints of the delicious local beer and to listen to a very good cover band.

The next morning we decided to head slightly out of town to the nearby famous Velika beach which is a 12km long stretch of sandy beach stretching south towards the Albanian boarder. After a short taxi ride we found ourselves on what we hoped would be a beach where we could find a relatively quiet section. Man were we wrong. The place we were dropped off seemed to be smack dab in the middle of where everybody goes because all we could see in either direction were beach chairs after beach chairs. After wandering in one direction for a while we just decided to join the other people as it wasn't as many as yesterday and to just enjoy the beach. So that day was spent lying on the beach and playing in the huge waves that kept breaking there. After the beach we flagged down a taxi to return to Ulcinj for the evening. Again that night we joined the tourists for a stroll along the waterfront before finding an enjoyable restaurant for dinner. After dinner we made our way back to our room as we were both pretty tired from our late night the previous day.

The next morning we awoke pretty early and made our way to the bus station in Ulcinj. With the plan of just heading to Kotor from Ulcinj we were told that we would have to take a bus to Bar and change there. No problem. So once we got to Bar we looked into buses to Kotor and finding that the next one wasn't for two hours we figured well we might as well sit down and wait for it. While waiting for the bus we started playing cards and after a few hands we were approached by a little girl playing with her doll. At first she was content just watching us and playing with our unused jokers but after a few minutes she grabbed an ace off the table and took off with the two jokers and an ace. Unable to find her again we sadly packed up the rest of our cards and boarded the bus for Kotor our next destination.










Looking out from the old town at the sun shining through some clouds just before sunset.



















Lianne standing next to a wall in the old town looking up at one of the fancy restaurants perched on the edge of the cliff in the old town.

















A look back at the old town from the small section of beach in the heart of Ulcinj.

Shkodra

I made 2 updates today so Tirana, which we visited before Shkodra, is also new and right below this one. Hope you enjoy them.

Leaving Tirana we arrived in Shkodra around midday and after wandering around the city for a little bit we eventually found a dirty but cheap hotel that would do for the night. After setting down our bags we set off for the Rozafa Fortress which was set on top of a hill about 2 kms away from the centre of the city. After a long walk in the summer heat we finally emerged on top of the fortress so that we could have a wander around. The fortress wasn't anything too special as most of its buildings were in ruins and not much was left of them. However from the top of the fortress we were rewarded with spectacular views out over the city of Shkodra and the surrounding countryside. The good part of the fortress was that we were able to freely wander around it and quickly discovered hidden passageways and small tunnels hidden underground. Also in the fortress was a small museum containing artifacts from the area and a little bit of information about the fortress although still not very much. One interesting thing we learned though was that a woman, named Rozafa who the fortress is named after, was walled into the ramparts as an offering to the gods so that the construction would stand. Additionally two holes were left so that she could continue to breastfeed her baby even after being walled in. After leaving the fortress we made the hot walk back to our hotel where we relaxed for a little bit before heading out to find the walking street for dinner.

We left the hotel and were rewarded to find what seemed to be the walking street in Shkodra and although it wasn't nearly as busy as the one in Saranda or Berat we still joined the crowds strolling along it. While out walking we also searched for a famous status in the centre of town but since all we could find was an area under restoration we decided that must be it and so it no longer existed.

The next morning we got up and very quickly packed our bags before finding a "minibus" to take us across the boarded to Ulcinj in Montenegro. We were quickly shown to a guy with a little jeep jammed our bags in along with 4 other people and set off. Thinking this might be trouble as we had no idea what we were really getting we were a little worried at first but after about an hours drive we made it to Ulcinj, our destination.








A brightly painted house similar to the ones that we saw in Tirana.














One of the bunkers that are everywhere in the countryside in Albania. I tried to find a closer one on our last bus trip but didn't succeed so I guess most of them are in the southern part of the country.












An old church in the Rozafa Fortress, one of the better preserved structures along with the walls.













Lianne standing on top of the walls in the Rozafa Fortress.

Tirana

Leaving Berat we made our way to the capital city of Tirana. Arriving at the "bus station", really just a random street corner as far as we could tell, we were forced to hop in a taxi for the short ride to the Tirana Hostel. We quickly got checked in and were delighted to finally find some laundry services so we set to work to get a load done. After getting settled in we set off to explore the city and spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around and admiring the old communist buildings. That was how most of the afternoon was spent just wandering the streets of Tirana and admiring the old communist buildings that had been painted bright colours with interesting designs on after the communist rule had ended. They were quite interesting to see. After that we returned to the hotel for a brief period to hang our laundry up to dry. That evening we set off hoping to find the ever present walking street and to join the locals going for an evening stroll before dinner. However after wandering around for a bit we came to the conclusion that Tirana must have been too big to have a single walking street because although we saw hundreds of people out walking or sitting in parks we couldn't find a single walking street like we were used to. So after our short walk we just decided to find a place for dinner instead of searching some more. After dinner we proceeded to enjoy the night by sitting at one of the bars with seats in the middle of the pedestrian only road while having a few drinks.

The next day we started off by again doing a second load of laundry before heading out to see the city. While the laundry was being washed we decided to do the short walking tour recommended by Lonely Planet which takes you past several significant communist buildings. The first stop was a huge pyramid shaped building which used to contain the Enver Hoxha Museum (the communist ruler) although now it just seems empty and outside the pyramid is the Bell of Peace, a memorial to the country's post communist years. After that we headed by the newly rebuilt St Paul's Catholic Cathedral which was rebuilt when religion was finally allowed within the country again. Next we passed by the parliament buildings and a few statues en route to the Et'hem Bey Mosque which is one of only a handful of religious buildings that has survived from before 1900. Just across the street from the mosque is Sheshi Skenderbej which is a square in the heart of the city. In the middle of the square is an equestrian statue of Skanderbeg while surrounding the square are several nice palaces and other other government buildings. From here we left the walking tour to make our way up to a market that our hostel told us about and upon finding it we spent a few minutes wandering around it although it was fairly small and nothing too special. From here we returned to our hotel to hang our laundry up to dry before heading down towards the university complete with a statue of Mother Teresa. We then tried to make our way to the former palace of King Zogu but couldn't quite find it so we just ended up returning to the hotel to relax for a little bit before heading out to dinner.

The next morning we awoke and quickly packed up and headed off to a different "bus station", again just a random street somewhere, where we boarded a bus bound for Shkodra our last destination in Albania before entering Montenegro.










Lianne standing underneath the Bell of Peace.

















Some of the colourful government buildings around Sheshi Skenderbej.













The equestrian statue in Sheshi Skenderbej with the Albanian flag flying next to it.

Saranda and Berat

We left Ioannina bright and early in the morning and made our way to the boarder with Albania being fairly confident that we would be able to find on ward transportation to Saranda from there. Arriving at the boarder we were disappointed to find that no buses serviced the boarder post and so we were at the mercy of the taxi drivers to take us for the 45 minute drive to Saranda. Picking a driver we quickly set off to our new destination and enjoyed our first sights of Albania. Driving through the countryside we quickly decided that it was fairly beautiful and also the Lonely Planet didn't lie about the fact that there are bunkers everywhere. Just on the short drive to Saranda we past by what seemed like hundreds of small grey concrete bunkers scattered all over the landscape (according to Lonely Planet there are about 700 000 bunkers in the tiny country of Albania).

Arriving in Saranda we found a beautiful hotel right on the beach and went for a walk along the waterfront. We found a very helpful tourist information centre and after finding out that we could visit the ancient ruins of Butrint in about an hour or two we took off for them. Traveling about 45 minutes south of Saranda on the bus we arrived at the ancient ruins and started to tour around them. The first major site that we came to was the Greek Theatre which was fairly well preserved and surrounding the theatre was Ascelpius' Temple, the Agora and the small public baths. After these ruins we continued on to the Christian Baptistery which supposedly contain some beautiful mosaics but they were all covered with sand so we couldn't see them. Past here we came to the well preserved Basilica which sat next to the start of the Cyclopean wall. Climbing up through a gate in the wall we continued up to the Acropolis which sat at the top of a hill. Here we were rewarded with some great views over the countryside including a view over the river to a triangle shaped fortress. In the Acropolis we saw the castle which sat at one end of the top of the hill. In the castle was a fairly well done museum describing the history of Butrint and how the city evolved over the years that is was used in. Climbing back down from the Acropolis we made our way back to the exit where we proceeded to wait an hour for a bus to take us back to Saranda.

Back in Saranda we took a short break in our hotel before heading out to join the locals wandering all along the waterfront seemingly just enjoying the weather and other peoples company with no destination in sight. We thought that this was due to the nice location next to the sea so we joined them to enjoy it also. Along the waterfront we also eventually found some dinner and enjoyed our meal in Saranda before heading to bed.

The following morning we got up and made our way straight to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus bound for Gjirokastra. Arriving in Gjirokastra we eventually found a place that would store our bags for the day and could tell us what time the bus to Berat departed that afternoon. As a result we took off into the city and started by climbing up the side of the huge hill to the castle perched on top. Climbing to the top we entered the castle, which has been converted into a "museum" although really all there is to see is to wander around the old buildings and get some nice views of the city. After wandering around the castle we left and decided to spend our remaining time just wandering around the steep cobblestone streets of the old part of town looking at the Ottoman style houses. The area that we wandered around was quite nice although from the description in the Lonely Planet we were expecting it to be slightly eerie and vampireish, which it definitely wasn't. Returning back to the bottom of the huge hill we collected our bags from the restaurant that stored them for us and boarded a bus bound for Berat. The following 4 hours were spent on the bus and we finally arrived in Berat just as the sun was starting to set. So we quickly found a hotel for the night and went out to find some dinner. Leaving our hotel in the evening we again found a street that was absolutely packed with locals just walking the length of it, seeming to just walk from one end to the other and back. We were very fascinated with this and since we also saw something similar in Saranda we figured that there has to be some national activity to go walking at night.

Berat is one of the most famous towns in Albania and the old part of the town has been extremely protected for about the past 50 years so this means that the city is full of beautiful Ottoman style houses. The next morning we set off to explore this town and started off by climbing up the hill to the Citadel which is a walled off area of the city on top of a large hill. Entering the citadel we decided to wander around the streets where people were still living in beautiful old houses with superb views out over the rest of the city. Also within the citadel are 12 churches (only one of which we could enter as it had been turned into a small museum) and the ruins of an old mosque and old fortress. Descending from the citadel we started to wander through the narrow and steep cobblestone lanes in the old part of town and gaze upon the beautiful houses there. Along with the houses there are a few mosques and a couple of churches which survived throughout the communist reign in Albania when religion was outlawed. Other than just wandering around the town there wasn't much to do other than visit a couple of small museums so we didn't get up to much else. That evening we again went and joined the hundreds of locals strolling along what we started to call "The Walking Street" before enjoying dinner and then heading to bed for the night.

The next morning we got up and made our way straight to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus to Tirana, the capital city of Albania and our next destination.










One of the ruins near the Theatre in Butrint complete with a small pond at its base that housed some small turtles.



















A sunken boat at the edge of the ruins of Butrint where a sign read "Boat Rides Around the Lagoon". I hope it wasn't supposed to be in this boat.



















Lianne standing on a wall in part of the castle in Gjirokastra.




















The steep cobblestone streets in Gjirokastra.



















One of the churches in the citadel in Berat.















A view back up the hill in Berat looking at some of the old Ottoman style houses seemingly stacked on top of each other.

















A view across the river in Berat looking at more of the Ottoman style houses.

Ioannina and Zagora

Leaving Meteora we made our way to Ioannina which is a nice town close to the Albanian boarder. We weren't really heading to Ioannina to see the town itself but mainly to use it as a point to get into the nearby Zagoria region. However buses only went to the region three days a week so we had to spend the rest of the day in Ioannina and the night before we could get a bus to Monodendri the following morning. So after finding a hotel and settling in we decided to go and explore the town starting with the tourist information office so that we could get some information about hikes in the area that we were heading to. After spending about 20 minutes trying to find the place we eventually stumble upon it only to find out that it's closed on Sundays so we couldn't get any more help. Additionally since it was Sunday almost everything in Greece closes down so the town seemed pretty dead. We ended up wandering around the old town and the castle within it. The castle was really just a large area surrounded by walls with a few old buildings around them. Inside two of the buildings was a well done museum detailing the regions (particularly the city's) past. After wandering around some more we just settled down to an early dinner and then bed.

The next morning we awoke at the ungodly hour of 5:15am so that we could make it to the bus station in time for a 6am bus out to Monodendri which is in the centre of Zagoria region. Arriving in Monodendri at 7am we quickly found a new hotel and walked out onto our balcony to enjoy the spectacular view. At that wonderful time in the morning the mist was just clearing from the surrounding hills and the view over the green hills of the Vikos-Aoos National Park was amazing. We then went down to enjoy some coffee in our hotel before wandering around the charming little town which was mostly composed of narrow cobblestone walkways zigzagging through the stone walls of the houses there. The town was just beautiful. In the town we found a good map of the area and returned to our hotel to get ready for a day of hiking and to plan our route.

Leaving our hotel we descended into the world's deepest gorge, as claimed by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1997. The Vikos Gorge is on average 1000 meters deep and runs for about 15 km from start to end. Monodendri lies near one end of it and so a popular hike is to walk the length of the gorge to Mikro Papingo, a town at the other end, but we were saving that for the next day. The first day when we finally got to the bottom of the gorge we decided to turn south towards the near end and the town of Kipi. En route we planned on passing some magnificent stone bridges along with admiring the gorge. After passing under the second of three that we hoped to pass by we came to a section of the gorge that was completely flooded with water. Seeing no route around the water we were forced to backtrack to a nearby road from where we decided to then follow the road up to the town of Koukouli where we hoped to find some lunch. After wandering around all 30 houses in the village and finding nothing open we stumbled into an old British lady who lived there and she quickly invited us over to her house for a drink and a tour around. Her house/small hotel was absolutely stunning and the stories that she and her husband had of living in the area were fascinating. After spending near an hour with them they phoned a friend to ensure that the gorge was hikable the following day for us, gave us directions on how to get back to Monodendri and a copy of their book containing the story of them moving there. We bade them thank you and quickly made our way back to Monodendri by crossing over the gorge and getting some great views of it. We arrived back at our hotel none too soon as a few minutes after arriving it started to rain so we spent the rest of the evening relaxing there and enjoying dinner just across the street.

The next morning we got up and after enjoying a leisurely breakfast we went back down to the gorge to hike the length of it. We started off walking along the dried river bed at the base which was fairly slow going and very soon we were forced onto the side to follow the trial due to a large waterfall. Hiking along the trail was much faster and before we knew it we were at the midway point and stopped to enjoy our packed lunch while sitting on a large boulder in the middle of the gorge. After lunch we continued on and quickly came to the end of the gorge so we were just left with the hour long climb out to the village of Mikro Papingo. About 15 minutes into the climb the heavens opened up and it started to just absolutely pour on us. After standing under the shelter of trees for a few minutes we decided it wasn't going to stop any time soon so we would just throw on our raincoats and make a run for it. The next hour or so was us slogging up a hill while a river run down the path and buckets of water continued to get dumped on us. By the time we reached Mikro Papiongo we were absolutely drenched so we found an open restaurant to try and warm up while we phoned and waited for our ride to come pick us up and take us back to Monodendri. The restaurant was really nice and the guy even felt sorry for us as he brought me a new t-shirt with his restaurant name on it when he saw me wringing mine out. A long taxi ride later we ended up back at our hotel in Monodendri where we enjoyed warm showers before heading to the restaurant downstairs for a fabulous dinner.

The following morning was our last day in the Zagoria region as we had to take the Wednesday afternoon bus out or else wait until Friday. So we spent the morning relaxing around the hotel and continuing to dry our clothes before having to pack them. After finally packing up we wandered around the beautiful town one more time and out to a church built on the wall of the gorge. After admiring the view from the church we found a passage that lead around the wall of the gorge on a narrow ledge to a small cave that seemed to be used for protection of the villagers during times of danger as the ledge had a gate on it to block anyone from passing. After exploring this area for a bit we returned to the hotel to wait for the bus back to Ioannina.

Back in Ioannina we got settled in our hotel again and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the town before enjoying dinner and heading to bed. The next morning we awoke and made our way back to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus heading to the Albanian boarder for our next adventure.










The Fethiye Cami (Victory Mosque) in the grounds of the castle in the old town of Ioannina.



















Lianne stopping on the descent down to the gorge to admire the great view.





















The second stone bridge that we passed underneath on our first day of hiking in the region.



















Lianne standing in a very green forest on the side of the gorge which we walked through for a small part of the hike.















Lianne and I standing at the viewpoint of the church built on the side of the cliff face overlooking the gorge.


















Lianne standing at the edge of the rock ledge that led away from the church to where the town citizens would hide during times of danger.

Delphi and Meteora

We arrived in Delphi at about 11pm so all we did was walk a little ways down the street, find the a close hotel and settled down for the night. In the morning we enjoyed a decent breakfast before heading to the ancient site of Delphi which was the centre of the universe for the ancient Greeks. Here was also the Delphic Oracle which was the most important oracle in the ancient Greek world.

Arriving at the site we first toured around the ruins of the city outside which started with a street flanked by treasuries, statues and other donations to the god Apollo who the city was dedicated to. Most of the treasuries and statues were only ruins that we could see the foundations of but one treasury, the Athenian Treasury has been restored and is quite stunning. From the street flanked by treasuries we emerged at the Temple of Apollo which was the largest building at the site although now only a few columns remain. After the Temple of Apollo we continued to climb until we reached the theatre which provided its patrons with spectacular views over the city. After the theatre we continued to climb through the woods for a couple of minutes before we came out at the stadium, a really long track with seats built one on side of it where Greek athletes would come to compete.

After walking back down to the base of the ancient city we proceeded to enter the museum. The museum was extremely well set up and first talked about how large the Greek empire was before showing recovered statues and wall carvings from the site. Wandering around the museum was just as fascinating as the ancient site as things were described fairly well and the statues were amazing works of art to look at. From the museum we returned to the city of Delphi where we wandered around its picturesque streets and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and using the internet before enjoying dinner from a spot with a great view.

The next morning we awoke fairly early in order to catch a bus out of Delphi to Meteora, our next destination. Practically the entire day was spent riding buses because even though the two sites were only 300 kms apart we had to take 4 different buses to get there. As a result we didn't arrive in Kalambaka (the town right at the foot of Meteora) until the early evening so we only got to enjoy dinner there and not much else.

Awakening in Kalambaka we quickly had breakfast and went out to catch a bus which would take us the 4 kms or so to Meteora. Meteora is really a unique place as it is an area where several monasteries are built on top of rock pillars jutting up from the edge of a plain. Currently there are 6 monasteries which are still functioning and tourists are allowed to visit so our plan was to spend the day walking between these amazing monasteries. Today staircases cut into the cliff faces and bridges are used to climb up to the monasteries but in the ancient times wooden ladders were used and in some times monks were even hauled up in nets. The first monastery that we visited was also the largest and called The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron. Inside this monastery there are a couple of small museums as well as great views of the area and a small church. Most of the rest of the monastery was off limits to visitors but that didn't matter too much as there was still lots to see.

After the first monastery we continued to the Holy Monastery of Varlaam is the second largest monastery and also quite spectacular. From there we continued to the Holy Monastery of Rousanou which was pretty small and just contained a small church and a couple of small rooms for the monks to sleep in. While we were here it started to rain quite heavily so we ended up enjoying our picnic lunch from one of the balconies and enjoying the view of the area while the rain pounded away. Once the rain stopped we made our way to the Monastery of Holy Trinity which is probably the most famous monastery in Meteora as it was used in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. This monastery also gave the impression of being fairly remote as the rock pillar it stood on was completely separated from nearby cliffs so no bridge could be built to span its gaps. Finally I continued on to the Holy Monastery of St Stephen while the girls (Lianne and Naomi, an American girl we were spending the day with) went back to Kalambaka. This monastery seemed huge from the exterior and had an excellent location but you couldn't see much once inside it so it was kind of a let down. After this last monastery I also returned to Kalambaka to meet up with the girls and to relax for an hour before dinner. The site of Meteora was truly magnificent and although the monasteries were also fantastic I thought the most amazing part was how they were all built on huge pillars of rock, completely cut off from everything surrounding them.

The next day we got up and made our way to the bus station where we quickly got on a bus to Ioannina where we were stopping off shortly before heading into the Vikos-Aoos national park. But more about that next time.










Lianne standing in front of the Athenian Treasury in Ancient Delphi.


















The theatre at Ancient Delphi.














Lianne and I standing in front of the remaining columns in the Temple of Apollo.















The Tholos at the sanctuary of Athena which was located just outside of the ancient city of Delphi.















The Holy Monastery of Varlaam as seen from the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron.


















Looking back up at the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron.















A ladder that used to be used to climb up the side of the Holy Monastery of Rousanou.



















A view of the Monastery of Holy Trinity, the one used in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.