WALKING WITH GODS – Part 1 – The Olympic Riviera

Sad as we were to be leaving Macedonia behind, we were looking forward to the next part of our adventure.  Continuing southwards, we took a taxi across the border into Northern Greece – an area recommended by my good friend Michelle who had enjoyed a road trip here last year.

After a fairly easy border hop, we were dropped off in the border town of Florina.  The “bus station” consisted of a small, rather shabby shop in street where nothing appeared open due to “Pentecost” (I feel seriously hard-done-by with the UK’s lack of public holidays)!  So, we were surprised when a nice young man behind the counter greeted us by name, handed over our bus tickets, and asked us to take a seat.

Our travels are partly dictated by my desire to visit certain areas, but are also partly dependent of transport logistics.  We had planned to take the train from Florina down to Thessaloniki, but the service had been suspended and despite the Hellenic Trains website advising that it had resumed, my lack of confidence in Greek trains (plus the fact that the train actually took longer than the bus!), led us to continue our journey by road.

The journey was pleasant enough and we soon arrived in the port of Thessaloniki – Greece’s second largest city. We wandered through fairly quiet neighbourhoods (the Greeks take their religious holidays seriously!), to the livelier port area.  We were planning on spending a few days here before the end of our trip, so after a pleasant stroll along the prom and a bite to eat, we enjoyed a nightcap and a spot of people-watching at a waterfront bar, before hitting the sack.

Picking up a hire car the following morning, we set off along the coast to Leptokarya, a beach resort on the rather grandly named “Olympic Riviera”.  The sun was shining as we sat out on our balcony overlooking the sand and shingle beach watching the holidaymakers relaxing on their sunbeds.  The small resort was pleasant enough attracting mostly Greek and Balkan families but seemed full of pizza/pasta restaurants.  After a short walk along the coast, we did manage to find a friendly family run taverna serving more authentic food.

The following day we drove inland to the town of Litochoro, which was the gateway to the Mount Olympus National Park.  We had wanted to check out the start of the famous and spectacular E4 long distance route which reached a staggering height of over 2000 metres (truly “up in the gods”!).  While there, we noticed an event happening in the local park and being nosey I wandered over to see what was going on.  Parents and participants in brightly coloured costumes lined the small amphitheatre and were rehearsing for some kind of music festival/competition. 

I love these moments when we travel and unexpectedly stumble upon something genuinely local. It was delightful, and sometimes quite hilarious, to watch the preparations and interactions between the teachers and their groups of kids, and we enjoyed their performances of modern and traditional songs.

The weather put paid to our plans to start our hike the following morning, and with grey clouds looming we took a drive further down the coast to Platamon Castle.  Built by the Crusaders in the 1200’s, its imposing tower could be seen for miles and offered great views down the coast and of Mount Olympus (well it would have done in better weather!).  The walls were well preserved and we enjoyed exploring inside – interesting fact:  New Zealand troops were stationed in the castle in an attempt to stave off a German invasion in 1941 but they (and sadly some of the castle walls) were bombarded by the 2nd Panzer Division and had to retreat.

A local had recommended we visit the small town of Palaios Panteleimonas up on the mountain slopes, but after a very winding drive, we were disappointed to find it full of souvenir shops, cafes and school groups. We did however follow a Google maps recommendation, and stopped for lunch at a small taverna attached to a petrol station on the way back.  This unlikely spot turned out to be one of the best home cooked meals we’d had so far in Greece!  Certainly nothing like our motorway “services”!!

Bracing ourselves for some serious walking, we set off on the “E4” trail the following morning, which took us along a beautiful, serene riverside path.  The water was crystal clear and looked so inviting, but when I dipped a finger in it, it felt distinctly chilly! The route took us uphill and then along the edge of a ravine (the safety barrier was reassuringly sturdy this time!).  The views of the Enipeas Gorge were…well simply gorgeous.  Disappointingly (although I’m not sure just how “disappointed” Ian was to be honest!) our hike along the E4 was cut short as the path was closed due to the bridges connecting it being “damaged”. We consoled ourselves by continuing along the gorge to an impressive waterfall named “the bath of Zeus”, before retracing our steps back to town.

Not to be defeated, we drove further up into the pine clad mountains to the other end of the trail and the site of the ancient monastery of Dionysos. It was in the process of renovation, but was impressive nonetheless.  We did venture down the path until one of the damaged bridges stopped us in our tracks, but at least we could say we trekked “some” of the E4!

Next stop: A Meteor(a)ic Rise!