Envoy is currently in Lefkas marina, Greece, and we are in England.
During our recent visit to Lefkas we hired a car to visit some of the mainland’s mountain villages just an easy half a day’s drive north-west towards the Albanian border.
The great thing about driving in Greece and Italy is that every couple of miles there are stunning things to see – the natural rugged scenery, interesting villages and historical ruins – not only Greek but from the Roman and Turkish occupations. The not-so-great thing is sharing the roads with local drivers for whom speed limits and no passing zones represent a challenge not a restriction. You need to keep a constant lookout for drivers approaching you on the wrong side of the road as they overtake, expecting you as oncoming traffic to pull well over to avoid them. However I must say that we’ve not seen any accidents or cases of road rage. Greece has some superb toll motorways, where the speed limit ranges up to 130 km/hr, with spectacular viaducts bridging valleys and long tunnels piercing mountains - we drove through some up to 3 km long putting to shame anything we have home in New Zealand.
On the other hand when you leave the motorways and climb into the mountains, the roads are winding, narrow, potholed, mostly one-way through the villages and frequently shared with flocks of sheep and herds of goats.
The sheer walls of one of Lefkas's medieval castles
First stop for us was Papingo, high on the slopes of Mt Astraka, looming 2,436m above sea level, where we stayed in a traditional inn (see a previous Foodies comment). This is within a national park featuring rugged mountains, forests and rivers, although high on the mountain slopes the trees give way to stubby shrubs, rocks and slopes of scree. The hewn-stone village buildings with slate roofs blend with the landscape as if they were always meant to be there. This is a noted skiing area during the winter months.
Next we make a lunch stop at Ioannina – a bustling town built from the 6th century around the western side of Lake Pamvotis. Here the notorious Ottoman-Albanian ruler Ali Pasha ruled the larger area from a formidable, largely still-intact castle.
We found this incredibly interesting and rustic antique shop
We moved on to the village of Metsovo, using it as a base to visit the area’s highlight – the monasteries of Meteora, a word meaning “suspended in the air”, as the monasteries are built on seemingly inaccessible towering rock pillars. There is evidence of cave habitation here 23,000 years ago, but the first monasteries were built around the 12th century. Eventually they numbered 20 but today only six remain, each inhabited with less than 10 monks or nuns. In former times the monasteries could only be accessed by long wooden or rope ladders, or using wicker baskets lowered by hand-powered winches. But these days roads have been built to accommodate the lucrative tourist trade – as Diane said, “these nuns have got a right little earner going” as you pay for the entrance fee and then extra to visit certain areas. As Lonely Planet says – visiting two or three is probably going to suffice, but they sure are spectacular.
The hilltop monasteries of Meteora
Our last night was spent at the delightful seaside town of Parga with its incomparable harbour overlooked by what remains of an 11th century castle. Nearby there’s yet another of Ali Pasha’s many castles, but this one has only ruins left. Ottoman rule of Greece lasted nearly 400 years until 1821.
Parga waterfront scene
FOR FOODIES
In the Med countries we’ve visited so far the dynamics of most restaurants are quite different to what we’re used to at home. Most of them are operated by families who between them do the cooking, maitre de duties, waiting and clearing. Hardly any of them seem to employ chefs, although the larger ones employ additional waiting staff.
In Greece there are very large numbers of restaurants (called tavernas), particularly in tourist areas where they only open from about May through October and then close for the winter. Although we’ve always found the fare to be good and well-priced there is little variety from one to another. Home in New Zealand we’re used to a huge ethnic diversity of eateries but apart from the occasional Italian restaurant and an even rarer Chinese one, it’s all very much Greek. We always get a very courteous and friendly reception and menus are available in English. A custom we really like is that they always offer you something a little extra for free – typically an appetiser, a plate of dessert fruits, a round of wines or ouzo.
During our recent visit to Lefkas we hired a car to visit some of the mainland’s mountain villages just an easy half a day’s drive north-west towards the Albanian border.
The great thing about driving in Greece and Italy is that every couple of miles there are stunning things to see – the natural rugged scenery, interesting villages and historical ruins – not only Greek but from the Roman and Turkish occupations. The not-so-great thing is sharing the roads with local drivers for whom speed limits and no passing zones represent a challenge not a restriction. You need to keep a constant lookout for drivers approaching you on the wrong side of the road as they overtake, expecting you as oncoming traffic to pull well over to avoid them. However I must say that we’ve not seen any accidents or cases of road rage. Greece has some superb toll motorways, where the speed limit ranges up to 130 km/hr, with spectacular viaducts bridging valleys and long tunnels piercing mountains - we drove through some up to 3 km long putting to shame anything we have home in New Zealand.
On the other hand when you leave the motorways and climb into the mountains, the roads are winding, narrow, potholed, mostly one-way through the villages and frequently shared with flocks of sheep and herds of goats.
The sheer walls of one of Lefkas's medieval castles
First stop for us was Papingo, high on the slopes of Mt Astraka, looming 2,436m above sea level, where we stayed in a traditional inn (see a previous Foodies comment). This is within a national park featuring rugged mountains, forests and rivers, although high on the mountain slopes the trees give way to stubby shrubs, rocks and slopes of scree. The hewn-stone village buildings with slate roofs blend with the landscape as if they were always meant to be there. This is a noted skiing area during the winter months.
Next we make a lunch stop at Ioannina – a bustling town built from the 6th century around the western side of Lake Pamvotis. Here the notorious Ottoman-Albanian ruler Ali Pasha ruled the larger area from a formidable, largely still-intact castle.
We found this incredibly interesting and rustic antique shop
We moved on to the village of Metsovo, using it as a base to visit the area’s highlight – the monasteries of Meteora, a word meaning “suspended in the air”, as the monasteries are built on seemingly inaccessible towering rock pillars. There is evidence of cave habitation here 23,000 years ago, but the first monasteries were built around the 12th century. Eventually they numbered 20 but today only six remain, each inhabited with less than 10 monks or nuns. In former times the monasteries could only be accessed by long wooden or rope ladders, or using wicker baskets lowered by hand-powered winches. But these days roads have been built to accommodate the lucrative tourist trade – as Diane said, “these nuns have got a right little earner going” as you pay for the entrance fee and then extra to visit certain areas. As Lonely Planet says – visiting two or three is probably going to suffice, but they sure are spectacular.
The hilltop monasteries of Meteora
Our last night was spent at the delightful seaside town of Parga with its incomparable harbour overlooked by what remains of an 11th century castle. Nearby there’s yet another of Ali Pasha’s many castles, but this one has only ruins left. Ottoman rule of Greece lasted nearly 400 years until 1821.
Parga waterfront scene
Looking down on Parga from Ali Pasha's castle
FOR FOODIES
In the Med countries we’ve visited so far the dynamics of most restaurants are quite different to what we’re used to at home. Most of them are operated by families who between them do the cooking, maitre de duties, waiting and clearing. Hardly any of them seem to employ chefs, although the larger ones employ additional waiting staff.
In Greece there are very large numbers of restaurants (called tavernas), particularly in tourist areas where they only open from about May through October and then close for the winter. Although we’ve always found the fare to be good and well-priced there is little variety from one to another. Home in New Zealand we’re used to a huge ethnic diversity of eateries but apart from the occasional Italian restaurant and an even rarer Chinese one, it’s all very much Greek. We always get a very courteous and friendly reception and menus are available in English. A custom we really like is that they always offer you something a little extra for free – typically an appetiser, a plate of dessert fruits, a round of wines or ouzo.
