JEEP TRIP TO GREECE

ONE OF THE SMALLER MONASTERIES LOCATED IN METEORA JUST AFTER SUNRISE.
METEORA IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE SITE IN GREECE.

We took an 8-day jeep trip to Greece in April, 2006 with an Israeli tourism company called Ayalla. This was our fourth jeep trip and we enjoyed it very much. The group was terrific, the weather was almost perfect, and our guide, Raanan was a great guide. The route we took was into the mountains west and northwest of Athens. You can follow our route by clicking here to see a great map. Our route is the blue line with the numbers.

Below is a description of our itinerary.

Day 1:
Actually we arrived at night, picked up our 6 jeeps at the airport and spent a very short night in a sea resort near Athens called Nea Makri. In the morning we drove off in the direction of Delfi, where we visited the ancient sacred site dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. Overnight in Delfi ("1" on the map) at the Acropoli Hotel. Delfi is a small town well attuned to the high number of tourists who visit the area. Delfi is one of the leading tourist attractions in Greece today and was a very iomportant place in ancient Greece. Here's a site with a full description.

Day 2:
Drive by the Itea Bay, and Lake Mournos on the way into the mountains. Cross the snowcapped Vardousia mountain range. Overnight in Elatou ("2" on the map).

Day 3:
Drive through the Panetoliko mountain range, visit the Prousus monastery and overnight in Micro Horio ("3" on the map), where we spent 2 nights. This particular spot was one of the most beautiful places of the trip. The view from the hotel reminded us of spectacular Alpine scenery in Switzerland.

Day 4 & 5:
We spent day 4 and part of day 5 visiting the area north of Micro Horio called Evritania or the Switzerland of Greece. Visited Lake Tavropos and drove over and around the Agrafa mountain range. Finished day 5 in Meteora ("4" on the map), home of the spectacular hanging monasteries. Overnight in Meteora. Here's a site with practical information for visiting Meteora and here is a general site with background information.

Day 6:
Visited the hanging monasteries of Meteora, one of the most spectacular places in Greece. In the afternoon a long drive to Zagoria visiting Metsova and drive by the Pamvotis lake where Ioannina is located. 2 nights in Monodendri ("5" on the map) a town not far from the Albanian border.

Day 7:
Mainly dedicated to visiting the Vikos Canyon, one of the most remarkable canyons in the world with the deepest gorge in relation to its upper width. Here's a site with information about the area with details and pictures about Vikos. We also visited many villages in the area, finishing with Micro Papingo, one of the most picturesque villages of the entire trip.

Day 8:
Mainly driving from Zaguria south, crossing the incredible Rion-Antirion Bridge ("6" on the map) into Pelloponesia and then east to Athens. Due to a delay in our flight home, we spent the entire night at the airport.

Our general impression of Greece from this visit is that there's a lot more to see in Greece than the Greek islands. The Alpine scenery was fabulous, the people were friendly and places like Delphi and Meteora are "one of a kind"! The only negative we experienced was the disappointing "Greek kitchen" we found in the mountains. Beyond Greek salad, and feta cheese prepared 5 different ways, there wasn't much. There was a limited variety of grilled meats and occasionally overcooked fish. Even mousaka was hard to find!
But this was a minor irritant and didn't spoil our overall enjoyment of the trip.

BELOW, IS A SELECTION OF PICTURES FROM THE TRIP.
CLICK ON ANY THUMBNAIL TO SEE A FULL SIZED PICTURE.

RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO AT DELFI, HOME OF THE ORACLE OF DELPHI,

A VIEW INSIDE THE TOWN OF DELFI - 3 PARALLEL STREETS WITH LOTS OF CONNECTING STAIRS.

HERE'S A VIEW FROM DELFI OF THE TINY TOWN OF ITEA ON LAKE ITEA.

MONUMENT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO A DECEASED FAMILY MEMBER,VERY COMMON IN THE RURAL AREAS.

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHURCHES WE SAW. THIS ONE IS IN MICRO HORIA.

IT TOOK US SEVERAL HOURS TO MANEUVER THROUGH THIS PASS IN THE PANETOLIKO MOUNTAIN RANGE.

HERE'S A TYPICAL SPOT WITH A MAGNIFICENT VIEW FOR A COFFEE BREAK.

HERE'S A TYPICAL DINNER IN ONE OF THE MANY TAVERNAS WE VISITED - LOTS OF FETA AND LOTS OF CHEAP WINE.

ALISA AND STEVE WITH MT. GIONA IN THE BACKGROUND.

MOST OF OUR LUNCHES WERE PICNICS IN THE FIELD. HERE'S ONE SPOT.

THE MONASTERY WE VISITED WHICH IS CALLED METEORON. IT'S THE BIGGEST IN METEORA.

HERE'S A VIEW OF THE TOWN OF METEORA TAKEN FROM ONE OF THE MONASTERIES.

HERE ARE THE GIRLS OF THE GROUP WEARING THE SKIRT PROVIDED BY THE MONASTERY WE VISITED.

HERE'S ALISA IN A LOCAL RESTAURANT WHERE WE ATE LUNCH IN A TOWN CALLED TRIKALA.

BRIDGE OVER A PART OF LAKE TAVROPO IN EVRITANIA, NOT FAR FROM THE CITY OF KARDITSA

ALISA AND OUR GUIDE, RAANAN WITH THE BRIDGE ON LAKE TAVROPO IN THE BACKGROUND.

BRIDGE IN ZAGORIA NEAR KIPI

ANOTHER UNUSUAL BRIDGE NOT FAR FROM THE ONE TO THE LEFT, ALSO NEAR KIPI

ALISA AND HENRIETA SITTING ON THE EDGE OF THE INCREDIBLE VIKOS CANYON IN ZAGORIA.

THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE VIKOS CANYON FILLED WITH EARLY MORNING FOG. IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE SIGHT AND CLEARED UP COMPLETELY BY 10 AM.

MICRO PAPINGO, OUR LAST VILLAGE OF THE TRIP. IT WAS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST PICTURESQUE.

ANOTHER VIEW OF MICRO PAPINGO

THIS IS THE INCREDIBLE RION- ANTIRION BRIDGE INTO PELLOPONESIA.

A NICE SHOT OF THE WHOLE GROUP, SHOT BY URI, SITTING IN THE LOWER LEFT.

	A GREAT COLLECTION OF MAPS OF GREECE
	A SITE OF "GREAT SMALL HOTELS" IN GREECE
	A GOOD SITE ABOUT HE HISTORY OF DELPHI
	A GOOD SITE ABOUT METEORA
	A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF EACH OF THE MONASTERIES AT METEORA
	ALL ABOUT EVRITANIA
	MAP AND INFORMATION ON EVRITANIA
	ALL ABOUT CENTRAL GREECE, INCLUDING SOME NICE PICTURES
	WALKING ON THE TRAIL OF BYRON A DELIGHTFUL DESCRIPTION OF A TREK THROUGH CENTRAL GREECE

BELOW IS THE SOURCE OF MY WONDERFUL GREEK GRAPHICS