Meteora

Today I visited four of the monasteries at Meteora.
- Started with guided hike from carpark with guide Evangelis (Evan). There were only 2 others in our group: a Belgian couple. Evan says few people want to do a hike in summer.
- Evan says "Meteora" is from two words stuck together. "Meta" (after/beyond) and "oros" (mountain) - literally "beyond the mountain". Because when they have fog here, it looks like the rocks are floating.
- We reach Megalo Meteoro (the Great Meteora monastery) after 3.5 hours. I get free entry (citizen), the Belgians have to pay 3 euro each.
- The monastery has been heavily renovated in the last 50 years. A gruff "no photos" gets repeated ad nauseum by the guards when inside.
- In the afternoon I then drive to three more: Agios Nikolaos, Agias Barbaras (a nunnery; she is the patron saint of coal miners, the diseased and the Greek artillery regiment) and Agios Stefanos.

Evan tells me that the price of 0.5L bottled water is set in law as EUR 0.60. This seems correct on an internet search - it is illegal to sell it for more. This came up because a place we passed was selling it for EUR 0.75.Читать далее