Igoumenitsa-Olympus

Well, leaving Corfu was hard. The Isle really is gorgeous. The only problem was the number of Italian tourists who infect the island like locusts. They were so thick you could smell the slime they ooze from their pores in place of sweat!! Kidding, of course...

Greece continues to stagger me. It is truly a land of contrasts. The younger generation is so "hip" and modern, pulling off that classic chic European style with ease, while right beside them are the aged traditional Greeks, who look as if they are a part of the landscape; weathered, jagged features, battered by time and the elements. During the many hours of busing between Igoumenitsa (the port closest to Corfu) and Meteora, you see so much of the wild northwest of the nation, and are able to see first hand that Greece is a nation in the grip of sweeping change.
Money from the EU pours in, and massive infrastructure programs are in progress. The roads we took clung to the mountains, following the sweep of the land, while below us in the valley was a mega highway that ran straight as an arrow through all obstacles (mountains, mainly). That is but one example of the work...all over the nation, improvements are underway as Greece modernizes.
As we rode along, however, I was struck not only by the push to modernize, but also by the huge sections of society being left behind. Improvements are occuring, but right beside them are ramshackle homes, poor people scratching a living from an unforgiving soil. As you can imagine, the push to level themeselves with the rest of modern Europe has begun, it has created social divisions, as some people become prosperous, and yet, others do not. It is a curious situation. Initially, of course, Greece was deemed to backwards to join the EU, but was ushered in during the second entry process due to a "nostalgia" vote, Greece being the craddle of Western civilization. As a result, The EU has been forced to pump money into the country in an attempt to even the tables as it were. No matter where you go, there is evidence of that money.
I wonder, though, having just seen the movie Cars, if the super highways are truly a good thing; don't get the wrong idea, sitting on those buses and literally being able to look down out the window and see the valley floor thousands of feet below was a little intense (the roads are 1.5 lanes wide by our standards, and sit right at the edge of the presipice, no lie). But after a few close calls with oncoming transports forcing you even closer to that edge (about 2-3 feet past the edge of the road), you appreciate the scenery, the way the road seems almost a part of the landscape. Even if the new highway wll be faster, and it will be a lot faster without all the switchbacks, and slow ascents/descents, I am not sure it will be better. What about the little Taverna that sits on the roadside of the old road? When the new road opens, the traffic will die out, and that prosperous Taverna that overlooks the mountain pass will cease to be...a casualty of progress.
The sites at Meteora were spectacular. They are these massive rock formations that rise out of the valley floor and jut upwards towards the sky. I do not know for sure, but they seem to be formed from the glaciers. The rock is not a solid hunk, like granite, but rather billions and billions of small stones that have been forced together by a great weight (a glacier). We took a day and wandered on foot up through them on "footpaths" that had not been walked by a human being in a long while, but I am sure plenty of goats! Up and down, through the gorges, across saddles, down ravines. It was a great day of rugged exploration. Intersetingly, there are monasteries built on the tops of some of these peaks, like massive stone eyries. I am not sure what the monks do with all that time, but I imagine that they must spend a lot of time "curing" their flesh after watching the female (or male, it is the new millenia) tourists wander through their abodes. We did not enter one, as you needed pants, and we were in shorts (only a fool, a monk, or a tourist with a car would wear pants in this heat!). Of course, I do not think Jesus would support such discrimination, but hey, thats just my interpritation.
When on the road, the travel itself does not tend to wear on you; it is the waiting. We sat in the train station in Larisa (a town of no real interest) for 6 hours waiting for a train that lasted 50 minutes. It is a torturous experience. The boredom becomes all pervasive, and actually starts to exhaust you even though you do nothing.
When the train eventually came, we took it to the Litohoro station. The station is down near the water, and through the rain (yes, rain in Greece in August!) could see the great sweep of Mountain that is the throne of the gods. Of course, the top could not be seen. Even on clear days, Olympus is "Cloud Shouldered". The station itself, despite looking new was utterly deserted, and looked ominous. You can only get off there, not board, and as such, there was very little life to be seen, only garbage and animal (i hope) feces.
According to Lonely Planet, the campgound we wanted was in Litohoro, 6 km away uphill (steadily for hundreds of feet). there were no taxi's at such a desolate station, so we hoofed it all the way and spent the next 2 + hours searching for the campground, only to discover that it was in Plaka, down on the Aegean coast, near the station. Oh, how ironic. We decided to cab it, as it was after 8:30, and we were dog tired by then, not to mention wet. When we arrived, the camp proved to be very nice, and the sky cleared. We ate at the camps Taverna, on a patio 50 m from the Aegean, and watched a full moon rise. It was wonderful, and made the walk seem all that much better!
Today we woke to sunny skies (except around Olympus, who stayed shrouded in cloud). After lunch we again walked up to town. Today, instead of rain, we were soaked by sweat. God, it was hot. However, we did discover a path that followedthe towns working Aquaduct onto the mountain. The path did not ascend very far, but ended at a small dam that held back the spring water that fed the aquaduct. In the little bit of water that was allowed to flow down the canyon, there were these stunning crystal clear pools, the "springs of the gods", it would seem. Naturally, I could not resist, and dove in for a swim. Althought the water was brisk, it was very refreshing. Splendid, in fact. To my mind, it was quite a thing to do, take a dip in a mountain spring on the very slopes of Olympus, the throne of Zeus. Jer even convinced me to dive down to the various pool bottoms to pilfer the coins I found. After getting 42 cents, I gave up. Beside, it would not due to anger the guardians of the mountain by stealing their offerings.
Evenb though Greece officially made it legal last year to worship the old Pantheon of gods, I have yet to see any eveidence of worship to them. It may be legal at long last, but still frowned upon it would seem.
Well, tomorrow, we attempt to climb some more of the Mount. I am not sure how much we will achieve (it is 2917 metres), but whatever we do get in will be spectacular, I am sure!!
Cheers all, Lots of love