Tuesday 20th February
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Our campsite for tonight: Meteora, Kalambaka (Kalampaka) 39.7259. 21.6323
Meteora is just the MOST AMAZING place to see and rates amongst the most beautiful and unusual scenery we have been lucky enough to experience. The roads up to the top are excellent and many tourist coaches visited here during the day. Our trip up was hampered by rain and really heavy fog, sometimes not travelling more than 5kms per hour.
This campsite is set on a plateau right at the top in between the monasteries of Grand Meteoro and Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas with Varlaam in the distance. The fog was so heavy, we had to wait several hours before we even had a small but foggy glimpse of just one of these monasteries and very occasionally when the fog lifted a little more (only for minutes at a time). We saw a little more each time.
Managed to get a few photos over the next couple of hours but hoped for more and better ones tomorrow.
Spent a very quiet night on the plateau (alone again) in the hope that tomorrow would give us more visibility to see this Meteora phenomena.
Wednesday 21st February
Still showers and fog next morning but we waited and were rewarded when the fog lifted occasionally offering more photo opportunities and views across the valley below.
These monasteries are built on top of vertical cliffs with overwhelming rock formations and caves or craters. Seemed like the cliffs had been hit with a shower of meteors at some time. With the clouds resting just below the monasteries, it appeared as if they were floating on the clouds. Just so magical and mystical and breathtaking.
This is a BIG must see for anyone travelling to Greece – and would strongly suggest trying to see this on a clear day.
Our campsite for tonight: Parking Taverna Arensis, Kalambaka (Kalampaka) 39.708618. 21.654341
We decided to stay on for another day but as the temperatures were expected to drop substantially overnight we chose to stay in town.
The town itself is very very touristy with lots of accommodation and tavernas but the parking area was too difficult to get Ziggy in so opted to go up the mountain a little instead.
This campsite is at a taverna and even though it was raining when we arrived, the boss man came out to greet us and booked us in for dinner that night – no cost for camping but a bit of pressure to eat In house. We were the only customers for dinner but the raging fire place and the Greek salad was excellent (souvlaki and Greek sausage wasn’t the best). Dinner was home cooked by his mother and she did try hard and was just lovely.
Thursday 22nd February
Headed back up the mountain again this morning with the hope of getting better photos but no luck and with the long range weather not looking at all promising – rain, rain and more rain expected for about a week, we reluctantly moved on.
Our first stop was at Vergina to see the tombs and the ancient palace but it was raining so heavily and with no chance of letting up, we headed off again. We saw the tombs from the road but the gates were locked and the were tombs covered with plastic. Have heard they are worthwhile seeing but not in this kind of weather.
Our campsite for tonight: Methoni – 40.4544 22.5923 (no photos)
This is a small seaside fishing village with a few tavernas along the harbourfront. Again no one around except for a few locals in the tavernas and a few fishermen coming and going from the small Marina. Like all these seaside villages, the seafront views are just wonderful.
Friday 23rd February
The tollway system is really hard to understand and sometimes you travel only a short distance before hitting a toll station and other times we travelled 70 kms with no tolls at all. Took the tollway today as it was still raining and at times the fog was so thick, cars travelled at only a few kms per hour on the 130km roads. Very scary as we climbed over mountain passes with no sign of the fog lifting until we headed down into Thessaloniki.
This is a massive town and very industrial.
Our campsite for tonight: Zampetas, Kalamaria – 40.502892. 22.970530
If you need to have any repairs done or motorhome supplies, this is definitely the spot to stop. They offer a few places for motorhomes to stay and provide all the facilities you need including water, electricity and wifi (though very limited range). Phone ahead if you need parts so they can order in for you.
There were three other motorhomers here – Aussies, Brits and South Africian. Had a super time sharing stories with the Aussies (Jordan and Alexendra) and the Brits with their two young boys 10 and 6 who were travelling the world. ROB TO ADD FURTHER NFO HERE.
Jordan and Alex called in here to have some major repairs done including a new dashboard for their Hymer (had rotted away from constant condensation) and repairs to their overhead bed structure.
We didn’t need any repairs or supplies but spent a few dollars in their shop – they have absolutely everything you could wish for here and are the friendliest and nicest people from the shop attendants to the managers and service people – so helpful and full of advice for places to see in Greece.
Such a shame that Metereo was shrouded in mist – must’ve made it mist-erious! We reckon it is the highlight of Greece. Hope the weather improves for you.