3 Oct: Meteora

With the information given to us the day before (bus timings the hotel uncle gathered from the papers) we woke up early for the buffet breakfast to stuff our face so that we'll not have to buy food until lunch time.

screwed to the wall so that we cannot 'accidentally' check out with them

We're beginning to think that all the 3 Star hotels have the same caterers for breakfast: ham, cheese, hard boiled eggs, coffee/tea, juice & bread. Exactly the same as the last one. Wasn't hotel level stuff but we didn't pay hotel level prices either. So all is good. They were kind enough to let us check out and deposit our luggage. Actually all we did was leave it at the reception. No security whatsoever.

It was raining and Meteora is covered in a shroud of mist which cast a mysterious feel on the towering rocks.

the view from our room. The balcony actually works this time round.

Our Hotel was in this super lame area where all the hotels were named after some country. Hotel Syndey, France etc. We were told to wait outside Hotel France for the bus up to Meteora. It was early morning and raining. Both of us huddled in the rain, clinging onto the umbrella which the strong wind threatened to take away form us.

Time passes by slowly. Dozens of buses (mostly tour buses) zipped by and yet none of them is the public bus. We made sure we reached there early: we couldn't have missed it! But half an hour later, we felt that something was amiss. Dozens of taxis zoomed by. We must resist the temptation!

after this shot, i stuck the G10 into my wind breaker's pocket. a stoke of genius...

A taxi pulled over and roll down the windows. The taxi driver was kind enough to inform us that since today's Saturday, the schedule is different and we have missed the bus and that the next bus, if any, could very well be 3 hours away.

We couldn't afford 3 hours! So we thanked the driver for his kindness (at least he bothered to stop and inform us unlike the jerks that drove by) and paid him to drive us up to the largest monastery: Megalo Meteoro (Metamorphisis). It is also on the highest rock of the lot.

Meteora is a mountain range full of skyscraping rocks. There used to be 24 monasteries around there but now, there is only 6: 5 monasteries and 1 convent (you know like C.H.I.J).

The driver introduced himself and gave us his namecard. He says that he can bring us around the place at 20€ per hour. We kindly refused thinking that we can cheapo this part of the trip and walk from monastery to monastery. Little did we know that this taxi driver would turn out to be our hero of the day which would save us from certain logistical doom.

Georgio dropped us at the entrance of Megalo Meteoro. There is a few souvenir shops there which got no love from us. The mist was so heavy you feel that you are walking in suspended water. Time to act like tourist! Whip out the camera!

WHERE IS THE CAMERA?!

I left the camera on the taxi (remember the wind breaker?). My face turned pale: we just got that new camera days ago! But as fate would have it, we have Georgio's namecard and there is actually reception on the god damn rock we were standing on.

Georgio came back (my hero!) with our camera and we decided to hire his services. So he would wait at the entrance for us and whisk us to the next monastery. After returning us our $800 camera, it would be not nice not to let the man earn some right? Besides, the monasteries are very far apart and we're not really recovered from the nightmare that is Mt Olympus.

whew. what a relief.


what did I say about the mist?


entrance to the monastery

You can't help but be a little disappointed with all the mist limiting the amount of scenery you can see. Just google Meteora and you know what I mean. But the mist does makes everything looks so mystical huh? When you google photo it, you ain't never see stuff like this before!

2 headed bird crest we see all over the monastery.

Actual lever system where they used to transport stuff up to the monastery. Similar systems were used to transport personnel in the olden days. Some faith they had.

With a taxi on a timer waiting at the entrance going at a rate of 20€ per hour, we suddenly became very efficient tourist. We came, we saw, we took photo. And we're out! There wasn't too much information in these places (at least not in English).

Generally the history goes like this. In the 11th century when the Turkish bastards took Greece, they harass the monks like no tomorrow. The monks have no choice but to go to super ulu and inaccessible places to avoid the irritating Turks. Besides, there is something about sky scraping rocks sticking into the sky that screams HOLY! The monks feel that the higher up they were, the closer to God, the better it is. Meteora proved to be a good idea as the monks are now too mafan to pester. Would you climb up a vertical rock surface just to be a jerkface? The Turks would rather eat some kebab and be find other things to do.

no animals are safe anymore

mummyyy!






graffiti

The mist was so heavy that I fear for all the photography equipment.

After Mt Olympus (highest point in Greece), going to the highest point in Meteora did not seem too much of an agenda for us. Our legs were still kinda wasted too.

The monasteries all quite small (at least the portion tourists can visit. the living quarters are off limits) and it was quite easy to cover. Right outside the souvenir shop in the monastery, my phone rang.

'could be important' I thought as the caller held on to the call even though it was an overseas ring tone. It turned out that my JC classmate Linda is getting married and is inviting us for her wedding in January. Shuyi found it funny and made a joke that she would bring up for the rest of the trip. Congratulations, Linda!

There is a dress code by virtue that these are actual monasteries (can't have some hippie bikini prancing around the holy ground can we?). From our experiences in Vatican, we know that these people take the dress code seriously.

Women must wear skirts below the knees. Men's arms must be covered and they must wear long pants.

Skirts. If you wear pants, you've have to put on one of these.

Meteora Spring/Summer 2009


very flattering

Monasteries are closed between one and three every day and each of them are closed 1 day of the week.

We went to Agios Stefanos and Monastery of Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas. Was there another one? It don't really matter. The views were great, the mist is slowly lifting and all the monasteries' interior looked the same. In fact the chapels in all of the monasteries we visited we EXACTLY the same. From the murals, to the chandeliers to the chairs.

'Same main contractor' I told shuyi. No photography were allowed in the chapel and we respected that.

fog is clearing up


i'm not a fan of stairs... or heights, for the matter.


for once, motion blur is good


I anointed myself with the holy spring water

You light these candles before going into the chapel. Why? Cos it feels so right. Like some Ren Ci charity event.

为我点盏灯，让我心照亮！

The cat did not comprehand that by not looking at her don't mean that she will go away.

just a nightmare, just a nightmare... it's not there...




their kitchen. don't be expecting too much Yen Can Cook action here

The fog is still there but we can see a bit more than a while ago now.

We saw this gentleman with a very retro looking Pentax (I think) camera.

'nice camera' I commented as I walked by.

'not as nice as yours' he nodded at my dSLR.

With the lens hood on, it sure looked menacing. Though not necessary in low light conditions like the morning, the lens hood is superb for protecting the lens against knocks and smudges. But it made the camera stand out and I feel like an awful fine tourist to mug.

I don't even know which monastery i am visiting


Varlaam Monastery


Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) or Roussanou Monastery. I don't care.

Which monk temple you're in or is looking at does not really matter. What matters is the view. The experience is all that counts. And what an experience it was!

Shuyi seems to like it.



Not very fitting for a place of peace.



The question that comes to mind is: why do all old folks wear red?




Agios Stefanos: the nun palace


the nun walked with such swagger. so pai kia.

Our hero Georgio. He whisked us from place to place with haste and told us some background story of Meteora along the way, stopping by at various strategic spots where he would wind down the windows and allow me to take photos.

At some vantage points, he would ask us to step out and take some shots. Once take, were hopped back into the taxi and continued. He knows that time is money for us (and for him) and accommodates by speeding thing up.

hero

Georgio stopped at one point and asked us to follow him. There in front of us was a rock pearched on the edge of the cliff and a scenic view of Meteora.

'come, follow me' he gestured.

Shuyi smiled and shook her head, rejecting the kind offer politely. But Georgio would have none of that, he held shuyi's hands and practically dragged her over. There is this little leap of faith where you need to really step out from the ground to the rock jutting out into the sky.

Shuyi just froze there.

'no no it's fine!' she shrieked.

Georgio lifted her up and swung her over. I saw BOTH her feel leaving the ground. There is no stopping him! The moment she got on, Shuyi squatted and clung to the rock.

Next was my turn: seems like there is no refusing the man. I gingerly stepped over (it was easier for me as I am taller) and joined shuyi in clinging to the rock. Georgios signalled me to pass the camera to him for a shot.

try... to... smile.


she grabbed my thigh and i grabbed her ass for assurance
and we mustered all our effort to smile


what the heck. let's do one standing up

this fearless dude was one step from certain death but all he did was did an ass tilt and take photo with his camera. Total badass.

This shot reminds me of the scene at the dam in the movie The Fugitive.

stop! or i'll shoot (my camera)!

Harrison Ford jumped down the dam shortly after this.

Shuyi proceeded to do her legendary ass creep move back to safer ground.

Meanwhile, Gerogios is already preparing to move off.

tsk... tourist.


Roussanou Monastery

After neglecting Frank for the last climb, we bought him out for some fresh air.

At this monastery, we met Bruce, the kung fu kat!

taste my drop kick of furry!
Look at that intense look.


i'm kidding. I just wanna lick myself all ovaaaaa...






should I claw or kick her?


the future of shuyi... international cat lady: feeding and groping cats around the world

Shuyi wore this beautiful dress she got in Zara, Dubai. Apparently, she only saw it in Dubai and nowhere else. Capped sleeves, draping details on the skirt in navy. Gorgeous.

Yet another one

The sky cleared up and we decided that enough it enough.

A few more photos along the way.





And we were on the way down.

The coloured 'flags' in cave etched on the side of the mountain in the distance are actually t-shirts. 1 for each family in the village. Every year, they would climb up there and change another t-shirt for good luck throughout the year.

Georgios even take into account the 7€ he charged the first time he drove us up and gave us a rebate. We gave him a 50€ note and asked him to keep the change. He totally saved our day. Twice. By not letting us freeze to death by the road and returning our camera. Though he did fling my wife onto a rock in the sky, he is still our hero of the day.

Time for the important stuff: lunch! Going by the mantra of 'everywhere also good' we stopped by a tavern and had lunch.

We had lamb kebab and moussaka: an eggplant based dish. The Israeli couple who gave us a ride back to Litochoro were singing praises of the dish that we had to try it. This marks the first time in my life whereby I ordered eggplant voluntarily.

let me bless it with the power of Meteora!





Frank got some as well: leftovers.


#!@$~

We went back to the hotel for our luggage and we saw this at the door.

Shuyi is dedicated to making me look silly in pictures.

Shuyi found it so cute that she made me take photos of it. This is actually how they hoist people up back in the days.

i couldn't fit my ass onto the swing

Our next stop would be to Athens to catch a plane to Santorini. Finally some RnR! We have no idea how we were going to get there. Bus or train? Information was not available online and we don't trust the fools at the hotel no more.

Luck was on our side when we chanced across a bus and they told me that it is going to Athens (though we need to change bus at Trikala). So we hopped on.

This is the interchange for the 2nd leg of the ride to Athens.

I got our ticket. This is where we would meet Annette whom we had a nice chat with on the bus.

As with the previous bus journeys, we took a break halfway through.

childish

Annette comes from Amsterdam but have been living in Greece for years. She lives in Corfu, a beautiful island in the Ionian sea. She is heading towards one of the islands to get to one of the famous sulphuric springs. ahhh the life!

We told her about our tour of Meteora earlier in the day and she was interested to see the photos. So we traded email addresses.

the sky reminds me of the opening scene of The Simpsons

The night is upon us and we were treated to a beautiful sunset from within the moving bus.

As Annette absolutely abhors Athens, she refused to spend the night to Athens. After consulting with the driver and some insistence on her part, the driver dropped Annette along the road. Both of them were unsure if there is another bus to her destination. It was getting really dark and we were worried for her. So we gave her Shuyi's almighty Daiso torch so that at least she can read the map.

* Annette emailed me yesterday enquiring about the photos. She got a ride to her destination eventually. What a brave woman!

We reached the Athens and took the Metro to the Airport. Emotions were high and tears welled up in my eyes when I saw the free internet access.

I read all the mangas I missed for the week. euphoria!

We got a few hours to wait for our 5am flight (saved 1 night of accommodation! score!) so Shuyi deployed the notebook and watch more CSI.

I walked around the airport a bit.


these beads were sold everywhere. lots of locals have it.

I ordered a coffee at Mac Caffe and they have me this plastic cap which totally melted after 20 secs. Macdonalds should know better than make mistakes like this! I went back and asked the staff to 'use ur blain!' and split the coffee into 2 cups where they have the usual heat resistant caps.

i'm sure they would get sued in the US for shit like this