The Road To Meteora

I arrived in Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens at around 2pm and I was feeling very anxious as my connecting flight to Thessaloniki was leaving at around 4pm, giving me only 2 hours connection. Well the thing is, it is a very acceptable connecting time but given the fact that I am a little bit crazy, it got me really stressed out. It’s a very good thing that the check-in agent in Dubai checked-through my luggage otherwise, it could’ve added to the stress that I was feeling that time if I had to wait for it. Thankfully though, the immigration procedure even if the line was quite long as compared to the first time I went there went quite fast and I still had some time to waste to browse through the Duty Free shops at the airport before my connecting flight. Athens airport is manageable, it isn’t as big as Dubai airport and is very well signed so it didn’t take a long time for me to look for the gate that I’m supposed to go to.

The flight I took from Athens to Thessaloniki was via Aegean Airlines, it’s only about 50 minutes. I arrived in Thessaloniki airport at around 5 in the afternoon where the boyfriend was already waiting with his friend. We headed straight on to our first destination for this trip, Meteora.

Greece, as previously mentioned, has a very diverse nature so the 3-hr drive wasn’t as painful as I have imagined it to be. Of course we made a couple of stops (for frappe and toilet stops) along the way which made the supposedly 3 hours to about 4 hours, LOL. We arrived at the hotel at 9:30pm, I probably wouldn’t recommend the drive late at night. Some of the roads we took were very dark and if you are not an experienced driver, it might be very hard for you since there will be a lot of driving through the mountains which basically means zig zag roads. That was pretty scary. So the next day, at around 12nn after check-out we made our way to the Great Meteora.

The rock formations of Meteora.

You must be reminded though that for ladies, you are required to wear a skirt which covers your knees and your shoulders must be covered too. I came prepared as a sign of respect but I’ve seen a lot of other tourists wearing skimpy shorts and tank tops, that’s just very disrespectful I think. They will provide wraps for you though if you are not wearing the proper clothing but please, it’s not really rocket science to understand that it is better if you wear the appropriate clothing – right? For men, trousers covering the knees is also required.

One of the monasteries of Meteora.

Meteora which translates to “suspended in air” is one of the many UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Greece. The Meteora wasn’t intended to be a tourist destination, it was built by the monks primarily to seek spiritual isolation and then later on acted as a refuge as well during the Turkish occupation but even then – the religious aspect of these monasteries was not lost. However now, tourism is essential for it to survive which ultimately destroyed the very reason why it was built in the first place – it is no longer contemplative.

The rock formation alone will leave you in awe, what more if you see the monasteries on top of these rock mountains which gives out an illusion that the monasteries sprung out of the mountain itself. 24 monasteries were built but only 6 remains to date. I’m surprised that there was no rumor about it being built by aliens because clearly, if you look at it from afar you’d think that humans can’t possibly build it without the help of the modern technology that we have these days. I watched in some documentary about it that they used to hoist up people/building materials by means of a rope at the side of the mountains which of course is no longer being done these days. Thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go there.

Once you’ve entered one of the monasteries (we just went to the Great Meteora which is the biggest one) it will again leave you wondering how in the world were they able to do it. From the outside, it looks very basic and simple. I was expecting to walk in a cage or something when I finally reach the top but to my amazement, it is a proper tiny town with livable conditions. It’s amazing and I’m pretty sure by then that an alien did it if not entirely, at least with their assistance. LOL. I wouldn’t recommend a visit to Meteora for more than a day unless you are planning to visit all of the monasteries or are planning some other activities like advanced rock climbing, hiking or rappelling. It must be heaven for outdoor-sy type of people. There is a EUR3.00 entrance fee for non-Greeks visiting the place and free for the Greeks. It isn’t very much but with the massive influx of tourists each day to visit this majestic site, they probably earn enough to keep the place running. I advise you to go there early to avoid the crowd. We went there at around 12nn after our check-out and left at 2pm which is the same time as all the buses carrying huge numbers of people arrived. There was a huge queue of people all waiting to get in when we left and it is really recommendable if you visit the place with less people just to feel experience the peace and quiet of this place. Also, the monasteries are not open all week – there are 6 monasteries and everyday one of them is closed. We went on a Monday and luckily, the Great Meteora was open which was the only monastery that I would really love to see. You may need to wear comfortable shoes as a lot of walking are involved, mostly uphill going towards the monastery. We were winded when we reached the entrance but that’s just because we were not very fit – me and the boyfriend. LOL.

The closest towns to Meteora are Kalambaka and Kastraki, the latter is where we stayed. We didn’t explore the town at all as we just stayed there for a day but Kastraki has a village feel to it and is closer to the rocks. In fact, our hotel had a view of the rocks which was pretty amazing to see in the morning as soon as you wake up. It’s probably a good area for meditation.

Meteora is accessible also through Athens by bus and by train but it really isn’t that easy to go around the area while you’re there if you don’t have a car or a motorbike. I’ve seen very few taxis.

Yes, there is a courtyard.

Meteora is a must-see before you die. It’s really amazing not only to see it but to know the capabilities of man back in the days. That’s another thing from the bucket list that I have successfully crossed out from this trip.

For more photos, please do visit my Facebook page: Pinay Flying High