We were heading further north in Greece than we have ever travelled in our many visits. The problem when one heads inland in Greece is that there are very few campsites. We knew that we would have to wild camp for a few nights but needed to keep that to a minimum. The Rough Guide and Camperstop Europe books both mentioned a monastery in Kastoria that had a very basic camping place – that was our target. Our route took us via Volos and Larissa stopping in the middle of nowhere for lunch. We chose a spot with a view of the highest mountain in Greece – Mount Olympos – the home of the ancient Greek gods. As always, the mountain had its own weather system and the peak and most of the sides were covered in cloud.
The roads had been good for the first part of the journey but when we approached Kozani, they became even better and the journey to Kastoria was completed at speed. The roads into Kastoria were fur-lined! The name Kastoria comes from the Greek for 'beaver' and it was the centre for the production of beaver skin products until the beavers were hunted to extinction. It is now famous for production of fur products skilfully made using the off-cuts from skins from other countries. Almost every other building on the main roads is a factory or shop selling fur products. As we headed for the monastery we passed along the side of the large lake on which Kastoria is built. Passing a huddle of twenty or more pelicans swimming past, we felt as if we had arrived in a very different and somewhat exotic part of Greece.
The monastery is positioned on the tip of the headland that sticks out into the lake and on whose base in the town of Kastoria. We arrived at the monastery and were directed by the priest and his lay worker to a patch of ground next to the narrow road – hardly a camping place, not even a basic one. Later the priest explained to us in basic German that the proper campsite closed 25 years ago and the basic camping facilities closed 10 years ago! However we were welcome to stay and it was a very pleasant place to wild camp. We watched the monastery ducks waddling backwards and forwards along the lakeside, taking great delight in annoying the very occasional passing car driver by wandering across the road very slowly or just stopping in the middle.
Photos: The multi-layered chapel at Sarantaporo, typical of many that we would see over the next few days, it had a commanding view over the huge fertile plain below; Ducks sheltering from the pouring rain – so much for the saying “good weather for ducks”!
The roads had been good for the first part of the journey but when we approached Kozani, they became even better and the journey to Kastoria was completed at speed. The roads into Kastoria were fur-lined! The name Kastoria comes from the Greek for 'beaver' and it was the centre for the production of beaver skin products until the beavers were hunted to extinction. It is now famous for production of fur products skilfully made using the off-cuts from skins from other countries. Almost every other building on the main roads is a factory or shop selling fur products. As we headed for the monastery we passed along the side of the large lake on which Kastoria is built. Passing a huddle of twenty or more pelicans swimming past, we felt as if we had arrived in a very different and somewhat exotic part of Greece.
The monastery is positioned on the tip of the headland that sticks out into the lake and on whose base in the town of Kastoria. We arrived at the monastery and were directed by the priest and his lay worker to a patch of ground next to the narrow road – hardly a camping place, not even a basic one. Later the priest explained to us in basic German that the proper campsite closed 25 years ago and the basic camping facilities closed 10 years ago! However we were welcome to stay and it was a very pleasant place to wild camp. We watched the monastery ducks waddling backwards and forwards along the lakeside, taking great delight in annoying the very occasional passing car driver by wandering across the road very slowly or just stopping in the middle.
Photos: The multi-layered chapel at Sarantaporo, typical of many that we would see over the next few days, it had a commanding view over the huge fertile plain below; Ducks sheltering from the pouring rain – so much for the saying “good weather for ducks”!
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