Last week Stavros and I took a little road trip to Mount Pelion, Metéora and the Pindus Mountains of central Greece. We started our trip in the most unbelievably picturesque little village of Portaria, on Mount Pelion, the home of the Centaurs. Each little square, overlooking the Pagasetic Gulf, is shaded by 8′ diameter plane trees, mountain spring water spurting out of fountains and burbling down the hillsides everywhere… There’s not just an occasional whiff of wild flowers, there is a constant intoxicating aroma of honeysuckle, jasmine, roses and, of course, the ubiquitous bouquet of souvlaki. Like characters in a Disney film, we hopped from town to town, nibbling on and imbibing various local products, past wild horses and mooing cows, hiked along meandering streams, singing our happy tune.
An old steam engine train runs from Ano Lehonia to Milies, through the lush mountainous Pelion region. The track is only 2 feet wide, almost a toy train. Evaristo de Chirico, Giorgio’s dad, was chief engineer on the construction of the railroad. Little Giorgio grew up here, and images of the trains and arched stone bridges of the area figured into Giorgio’s paintings later on.
Metéora, which translates to something like “suspended in the air” is a complex of Eastern Orthodox monasteries built on natural sandstone pillars. A group of hermit monks took up residence in the ancient pinnacles in the 9th century, living in hollows and fissures in the rock towers, some of which reach 1,800 feet high. By the late 11th and early 12th centuries, a rudimentary monastic state had formed. More than 20 monasteries were built over the years. Only 6 remain today. Remnants of Byzantine frescoes can be seen in the various churches, as well as newer frescoes painted in the Byzantine style.
The Pindus Mountains form the backbone of Greece, running south from the Albanian border to just north of the Peloponnesus. We visited many quaint villages, winding our way up and down steep mountain roads past white water streams, a centuries-old monastery tucked at the base of a mountain, more wild horses, more lovely arched stone bridges…
If Stavros and I ever tie the knot, it’s going to be hard to figure out where to have our honeymoon, as I can’t imagine anything more honeymooney than our adventures thus far.
