Greece - Volos and the Pelion

Hello again!

We caught the ferry from Skopelos back to Volos on the mainland. This weird cloud floated motionless over Volos for quite some time!

John drove the car off the ferry (passengers have to walk off) and we only drove five minutes to our apartment. Volos' streets were narrow and many were one-way but we got there ok. We decided to stay for a couple of days in Volos as it's supposed to be an interesting place and it has a unique type of meal here. Tsipouradika are simple restaurants where you order a bottle of tsipouro, the local firewater, and you are automatically served a number of small plates of food (meze). As Volos is on the sea, these meze plates are usually seafood-based. Volos is renown for having the best seafood meze in Greece.

But first, we had to visit a wine shop! Two years ago, during a brief visit to Bulgaria, we met a Canadian guy who runs a podcast on wines. He said the wine shop in Volos was the best in the world - a big statement! It turned out that the shop was only a block from where we were staying so this was our first port of call.

The wine shop was lovely but the owner was the real attraction. Not only did he have a passion for wines but, once he realised we were heading to the Pelion, a stunning mountainous area near here, he wrote out a list of restaurants that we should visit. He spent ages with us. He was such a lovely guy.

John also asked him which tsipouradika we should visit. He asked if we were going there now. It was about noon and we hadn't eaten lunch yet but we had planned to go there for dinner so we could have a drink. He looked at us a bit confused. "No, most will be closed in the evening." he told us. He then explained that men traditionally worked until about 2pm each day. On their way home from work they would stop at a tsipouradiko and would get food with their drink so they didn't get drunk. Greeks don't actually like to get drunk. It's not good form. So, on the spur of the moment, we decided to go straight away!

We found the place he recommended and the waiter spoke really good English. He explained how it worked. If you ordered one bottle of tsipouro, you got seven meze plates. I usually hate tsipouro but we chose a homemade one with aniseed and it was lovely!

John was a very happy Vegemite!

We mentioned that I don't eat seafood but clearly there was no option of changing the plates as he just told John to eat my share! The plates soon came out and they were amazing! John's favourite was the mussels but there were plates of prawns, fried red mullet, strongly pickled samphire, smoked fish and another plate of small fried fish. Luckily for me there were a couple of delicious dips and a huge plate of grilled bread topped with olive oil and spices. Yum!

We headed home and I promptly fell asleep. I'm such a one-pot screamer. 

That night we headed out to find somewhere to get a salad for dinner as we were a bit lacking in the vegetable department. On the way we found a partly excavated ruin with huge amphorae partly exposed. The site was just in among other buildings.

We tried several restaurants but they were all closed! This town has such weird opening hours. Finally we found an Italian restaurant that was just opening - at 7.30pm. They sat us down then we had to wait while the waitress and the Italian owner who was also the cook sat down at another table and had a cigarette! Our expectations of the food weren't high after this but the salads we ordered were superb! Just what we needed.

The next day John went for a ride in the hills and I went for a walk. I started along the foreshore where a cat sat happily between two young gulls. It was far more interested in the fish in the sea than the birds.

Next to the town is a hill called Goritsa. Under the hill lie the unexcavated ruins of an entire ancient city. They're not sure exactly what city it is yet. I found a few exposed rock walls at the top.

The views to one side were not pretty. At the base of the hill sits the one of the largest cement plants in the world. Its grinding noise carried easily up the hill. 

To the other side there was a spectacular view over Volos. I didn't realise how white it was!

My walk back led me along popular beaches and old train lines that have now been turned into pretty laneways lined with cafes.

It's funny how sometimes it's the little things that we notice about a place. We were walking through the streets of Volos and a young woman on a motorbike was trying to have a conversation on her mobile phone while she rode. Not an easy task. She solved the problem by tucking the phone under her helmet, over her ear. The helmet kept the phone in place and she then had two hands free to ride the motorbike. Problem solved! Most people can't do this here though as we rarely see locals wearing helmets.

We left Volos and drove towards our next destination on the Pelion. The Pelion is a long peninsula to the east of Volos that's roughly in the shape of a boot. As we climbed up over the ridge we had fantastic views back to Volos. Beehives were lined up picturesquely in front.

Our destination was the mountain village of Kissos. There are a couple of dozen of these mountain villages perched on steep hillsides in lush green vegetation in the Pelion region. This area receives the highest annual rainfall in Greece. People have been living here growing food in the fertile soil for a very long time and have built gorgeous villages with stone houses and slate rooves. Old cobblestoned paths have connected the villages for centuries and many are still in use today. It sounded like a hiker's heaven and we were both looking forward to this part of the trip!

The roads got narrower and windier as we went, with multiple switchbacks and tight bends. The trees grew taller and lusher and we started to see some spectacular mountain and sea views. People were really into growing flowers, which just added to the beauty.

Car parks were rare so people had to park on the roads which made driving extra difficult as drivers had to squeeze between cars and road edges and there was not always a lot of space. We arrived at our village and the road seemed to narrow even further. To our dismay, we found that our little house was at the far end of the village at the bottom of a steep hill. Just driving through the village was a challenge as the roads were tiny with drop-offs, sharp curves and more parked cars. The first time we drove in we were horrified that we would have to do this regularly.

One section of road had a sharp drop-off over one edge.

The road squeezed between buildings, stairs, stone walls and shops.

Fortunately it wasn't too hard to avoid the power pole that was IN the road as there was usually a car parked behind it anyway!

We found our house, unlocked the door, walked in and were disappointed - or at least I was. From the outside, the top floor of the house, which was our part, looked cute. 

The place was old and a bit cramped (again!). It did have a lovely view from a tiny balcony but it was otherwise dark and uninviting. It was just ok but the mattress was as hard as a rock. And we would be there for a week! I was quite deflated by it all.

We hiked back up to the town square a bit later for lunch. There was a beautifully located restaurant in a cool shady spot and we had a lovely lunch but the waiter lacked any enthusiasm for us or his job.

It was all beautiful but a bit disappointing, But, slowly, over the next few days, things began to change.......

The temperatures soared and our house had three aircons, all of which worked well. We discovered the lovely shaded table outside that was cooler at most times of day than most other places. We learned to treat the hike up the hill to the shops as exercise and came to recognise some of the people and places along the way. 

We tried some other restaurants which was a huge bonus. We met a lovely family at one of them. Mum and dad had four daughters, at least three of which worked in the restaurant. The oldest sister had two children - both girls. As everyone seemed to live at home, there was a big female presence here! The second oldest was a sociologist but had come home to open a shop next to the restaurant with her older sister. We were a bit surprised she came back from a city to a village of about 250 people but she seemed to think that was nothing unusual. The next youngest sister was studying to join the air force. She would sit at one of the tables in the restaurant to study. When customers came, she stopped her studies and became a waitress. When another sister helped out with the waitressing she went back to her studies but she often babysat her sister's baby and/or older child at the same time. How was this girl ever going to get any studying done?

At the next restaurant we met Kostas, the fabulous, friendly waiter and Konstantina a young waitress with great English. She had just finished school and was going to Thessaloniki to study business. She hoped to establish a number of restaurants of her own. When we asked if she would come back to Kissos her reply was, "Of course! My family are here!" We find it astonishing - and great! - that kids want to go to the cities but come home afterwards. The Greek sense of family is so strong. It's wonderful that the smart young people come back to their village instead of the typical 'brain drain' that we tend to get. 

Once we adjusted to the physical tightness of the village, we could see how beautiful it was. In the centre of the village is one of the best squares we've ever seen. A huge church built in 1650 stood in one corner. The style was like nothing we've seen before. With its wide verandahs it looked more like an Australian colonial building than a Greek church, however the traditional slate roof and stone walls were distinctly Pelionian. 

Above the outside of a door were very old paintings.

The 'iconostasis', the carved wooden panel that divides the main part of the church from the back in orthodox churches, was created in the 17th century and took approximately 60 years to carve. It was then gold-plated in 1793. It was huge and was extremely detailed. This is a tiny part of it.

Every inch was decorated with paintings. I found a website with info on the church and loved this quote:

"On the fourth dome there is a painting that illustrates God as an old man. At this point, it must be made clear that nobody knows exactly what God looks like, and we cannot accept this image of an old man, because this image could show that God is perishable.

However, the image of an old man is acceptable because this represents a very wise entity. Only Michael Angelo dared to perform the graphical depiction of God on the famous fresco "Creation" at the Cappella Sixtina in Italy."

Here is the (not very clear) picture of God as an old man!

The whole area was shaded by gorgeous trees, mostly plane trees, some hundreds of years old. We had to love that the only other building that was actually in the square was the a bar!

The restaurants we ate at sat on narrow, cobblestoned roads just off the square. There was a central roundabout in the middle which nobody obeyed as people just parked on it in the way of traffic anyway (not that there was much traffic!).

The tree even got used as a local notice board. We watched people staple notices about an upcoming classical music festival to the tree one evening.

On one corner was a small cafe/supermarket/bar run by the wonderful Anestis. John had coffee there a few mornings and we got to know him. He told us a lot about the village. He had lots of old photos and was proud to show us. 

We learned that he ran his shop, a hotel, a chestnut farm and a bus line! Some of these were in conjunction with other family members. He also made his own sausages and sold them from a separate room in his shop, plus he was the local school bus driver. Funnily enough, he still had time to sit and chat.

He was once the head man of the village. We later met Yiannis who is the current head man.  They're all just local blokes really!

We were discussing the Volos tradition of having tsipouro in the early afternoons one day. Anestis told us that this is the tradition in Kissos too and invited us over for drinks at 1pm the next day. Yikes! We couldn't knock back the offer to learn about the local culture though and duly turned up. He had the aircon going inside as it was getting close to 40 degrees outside. Men rolled up and obviously all knew each other. They drank a few glasses of tsipouro, ate some meze plates then went home for a sleep! We did the same, but without the sleep. It was good fun hanging out with the locals. It was a bit like being in the Gordon pub really!

We went to the bar in the square a couple of times. Much to our surprise, the somewhat strange woman who worked there - and who doesn't drink! - made many of the drinks by hand. I ordered a sweeter tsipouro. What came out was a warmed homemade tsipouro that she flavoured with spices and honey. It was delicious! Another time she had run out of tsipouro (How is that possible? It is home-made though) so she made me up a cocktail of sour cherry spoon sweets (spoon sweets are fruit soaked in syrup) with vodka. It was amazing! Meanwhile she freshly squeezed a lemon and made lemonade with vodka for John. 

Most houses in the town were double-story and built of stone. Some were empty but in good condition. I suspect there are many holiday homes here as it's only an hour's drive from Volos and it gets very busy on weekends. It's clearly a local tourist destination, as are most of the villages in the Pelion.

Our house had what we thought was an unusual roof but we soon realised that many houses are like this. It must be too expensive to repair the slate rooves so they cover the problematic parts with modern tiles. It looks weird. There mustn't be any heritage rules about maintaining the slate rooves. The slate underneath our shutters is the verandah above the floor beneath us.

Whenever we sat outside, we could hear an occasional strange rumble. We simply couldn't work out what it was and it drove us crazy! Finally John worked it out when he was on a ride. This old bridge had obviously been damaged by a rockfall. They built a new bridge above it by laying wooden planks on metal framework and, instead of bolting them in place, the planks were held in place by metal railings along each side. As cars drove over the bridge, the planks jumped up and down against the metal railings. The whole valley could hear every time someone went over the bridge!

This is the only Greek town we've ever been in where dogs seem to outnumber cats. The few dogs that roam loose are all clearly cared for and well fed. Sadly, we saw (and heard) a few very lonely dogs who seem to be permanently tied up. I hate it but I know that it happens in many parts of the world.

We came here to exercise, however the unusually hot weather made it difficult. Every day was in the high 30's, even though we were at an altitude of about 500 metres. We had to get up very early each day and exercise as soon as possible.

I wandered around the tracks outside our village on our first day and discovered a treasure - my first old path that was used to connect the villages in past centuries. These paths became a great source of walks for me.

Parts of the path were covered in chestnut shells.

Fresh water flowed from springs in many places. This one, with the date of 1900 inscribed above it, wasn't working, but it was gorgeous, even if it did look a little like a toilet seat!

The views back over the village were beautiful.

On another walk I simply walked straight down the tree-lined road from our house. Chestnut and walnut trees provided heaps of shade.

I passed apple orchards, a big thing here, plus plenty of self-seeded plum trees in full fruit. All the fruit was out of reach so I whacked a few branches with my walking stick and got some that way They were so juicy that they burst juice all down the front of me when I ate them! They were delicious.

Even though we were in the mountains, we were only 20 minutes from the nearest beach. We visited Damouchari Beach a number of times. Not only was it our closest beach but it was the one they used to film Mamma Mia on! Seriously, I feel like we're doing a Star Wars and Mamma Mia film trail on this trip! The beach was nice and was great for swimming, especially after a long hot walk. 

It also was a great place to snorkel. I saw thousands of fish here, which is thousands more than I've seen at any other Greek beach! They were mostly small but it was good to see some life in the water. 

Nearby Fakistra Beach was mentioned as being one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece in our guidebook. After squeezing into one of the few car parks at the top of a cliff above the beach on a hot Sunday afternoon, we hiked a loooong way down a steep track to see it. It was nice but we didn't think it was any better than thousands of other stunning Greek beaches.

Getting out was challenging. Someone had parked on a steep hairpin bend so we had to do a three-point turn to get around the bend. It was so steep that the wheels just kept spinning. In the end, the only way we could get out was to let the tyres burn and inch forward until the tyres finally got a grip. Ugghh!

I tried to hike between the two beaches one day. It was stinking hot so we left early. A pretty bridge crossed a stream at the end of the beach and a stone path so beautiful it was film-worthy wound its way up the hill from the bridge. I actually have no idea if it was in the Mamma Mia movie but it seemed too pretty for them to have not utilised it.

The view looking back down the coast was stunning. 

The track was on the east and I soon baked as the sun rose higher in the sky. It might look lovely but the track was a killer! I didn't go as far as I would have liked but at least it was pretty.

Further north, other beaches were more commercial. We'll stick with our simple Damouchari Beach thanks!

Our village might have had the amazing church but a nearby larger village, Tsagkarada, had the famous plane tree in its square. The tree is 1,000 years old! It was enormous. Just imagine the things that have happened in its lifetime!

One of my favourite walks led from this village. I followed old paths between villages. I passed a gorgeous little church seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

The old path had been washed away where it crossed a river (they had serious floods here two years ago) and it had been replaced by a pretty bridge made of hand-hewn logs.

I can only imagine what it must have been like when these beautiful paths were the only roads. There would be no motor noises, just birds. The paths were nearly always about two metres wide, presumably so donkeys and/or people could pass easily.

On another walk I started at Tsagkarada again and walked down to Damouchari Beach. I followed the old trail the whole way. I love that when it crossed a road, they paved up to both side of it but left the track intact!

Another water fountain. This one was dated 1907 and was working.

Right next to it was another stunning village square with a huge plane tree in the middle. This village was tiny!

It was another great walk but it was downhill all the way from the village to the sea. Damouchari used to be the main port for the area. As beautiful and romantic as these paths are, I'd hate to be the poor donkey that had to carry goods down from the mountains to the port then carry traded goods back up again. The climb up was relentless!

John and I arranged to meet at Damouchari a couple of times after walks and rides and I loved going for a swim straight after a hot walk. After a swim, John would have coffee at the beach cafe there while I snorkelled, then I'd join him in the cafe and just chill. It was really lovely and one of my favourite ways to spend a morning.

We discovered a number of places just by getting to and from our rides. Some drives took us past spectacular views.

Finally, when it was time to leave a week later, I realised we would both miss this village. The small, close-knit community was very friendly once the people realised we weren't just there for the day. Anestis was a wonderful person that anyone would be proud to call a friend and he introduced us to other lovely local guys. 

The village was stunning - from its ancient church to its even older square and plane trees. Beautiful views were around many corners and we soon thought nothing of the tricky drive through the village to our house. Ok, I confess, it was John who did most of the driving!

Even our little house grew on us. I came to love the worn, old-fashioned door latches that I vaguely remember seeing somewhere as a child and the small wooden doors between some of the rooms that were clearly added as an afterthought. The thick stone walls kept most of the noise out - not that there was much - and I even enjoyed watering the garden when the hydrangeas started to wilt! The water came from a spring and was drinkable, unlike nearly everywhere else we've been in Greece.

On our last night we had another sensational meal at the restaurant where Kostas and Konstantina worked. Our favourite dish was slow-cooked beef with pears. I will always remember this dish with a watering mouth. Gosh it was delicious! Both of the staff members were so sad that we were leaving. We were shouted the wine that we ordered and got free panna cotta for dessert as we always did here. Strangely, all the restaurants had their own free desert specialty and it was the same dish every night!

We were getting so sad at the thought of leaving. What a change from my thoughts when we first arrived!

With all my walking research, I learned that there's a 170km walk from one end of the Pelion to the other. Hmm, now there's a good excuse to come back!

Til next time,

Heather and John