Northern Greece, Albania & Macedonia: Ancient Lands of Alexander the Great Day 8

Day 08 - Tuesday, October 17, 2017 - Explore Zagoria Region; Vitsa and Vikos Gorge; Hike to Kapesovo; Afternoon at Leisure or Vikos Gorge Rafting

It was amazing what a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice will do to start your day! The temperature was 46 degrees and it was very dark when we got up at 7:00 and then went to breakfast at 7:30. We were on the western portion of the time zone, which made for less morning light.

Our meeting time was 8:30 in the lounge. We walked down the limestone path to the bus and to meet our hiking guides, Alex and Nikos again.

Tasso navigated our bus up the mountain road to the next village. We have been on some zig-zaggy roads in our travels, but this road was “the close your eyes and hope for the best” category!

The air was so still we could see hour old jet contrails in the clear blue skies. As if the winding road was not interesting enough, we had a Lamb Jam. The shepherd and his dogs herded the sheep off of the road so we could move on.

After 40 minutes of the white knuckle ride, (Did I mention it was our turn to sit in the back of the bus today?), we reached Vitsa. Vitsa was a tiny limestone village tucked into the Pindus Mountains.

Ten of us began our trek on the Vikos Gorge Trail with Alex and Nikos at 9:45. The other six rode the bus with Anna and met us at the end of the trail.

As we hiked, Nikos gave us even more details about the little villages and the Gorge. We were in the Vikos-Aoos National Park of Greece and it was also a UNESCO Geo Site.

We made several stops along the 2.2-mile hike; the first was at the Vikos Overlook and the Chapel of St. Nikolas. The next stop was about half way at the Misios arched stone bridge where we had a little picnic of several kinds of cheeses, bread, and tsipouro, a liqueur like grappa.

The trek ended at noon at the Kokkori Bridge, also built in the mid 1700’s. We met Tasso, Anna, and the others and drove back to Vitsa for lunch. Lunch was at the Cinnamon and Clove café that served everything mushrooms, even our cheesecake for dessert had candied mushrooms on top.

After our lunch Vassily, the owner gave us a description of the wild mushrooms he harvests and the three varieties he grows. He reminded us that all mushrooms are edible – at least once!

By 2:30 we were back at our hotel to change and prepare for our afternoon optional activity, a four-hour rafting excursion on the Voidomatis River. The river was very low as it was the end of the spring and summer run-off.

We were divided into three rafts; we were in a small raft with Christos. Only 8 of us went on this adventure, but we all enjoyed the beautiful views of the towering cliffs above, the vibrant fall colors, and the clear mountain stream.

At 7:00 we got off of the river and turned in our helmets, life jackets, wet suits, and water shoes. Tasso met us at the raft headquarters and drove us back to the hotel.

Dinner was a little later because of the rafters, but we had another lovely buffet and then went back to our room to begin looking at the photos and writing our experiences of a very full day!

Although it turned out to be a late night for us, we are happiest when we have active days full of outdoor adventures. Sleeping will not be a problem tonight.

More about the Gorge:

The renowned Vikos Gorge in Epirus is registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the deepest gorge in the world in proportion to its width, with a depth of more than 900 meters, while its narrowest opening is just 1.1 meters.

http://www.greece-is.com/epirus-zagori/#

Accommodations: ARISTI MOUNTAIN RESORT - - - Meal: B, L, D