On The Road

I took the ferry from Venice to Igoumentisa in Greece to save some time on my way down. We ended up having four bikes on the ferry, two V-Stroms, one GS, and my Ten. We were told to park between the loading ramps at the very back of the ferry. No tie down points at all and the bikes were really close to each other, practically touching. When I asked I was told that they’ll be fine. With mixed feelings about this I went upstairs to my cabin.

I spent the evening in the company of German and Dutch retirees, who made the crossing with their camper vans, and Greek truck drivers. I had a chance to play bingo but decided against it. My only bingo experience is of the South Pole extreme, full impact bingo kind and I didn’t want to get into trouble. I opted to watch a bloody action flick in one of the lounges instead. After a good night’s sleep I watched a Rambo movie in the morning before it was time to disembark. Somehow Greek ferry companies don’t have the same qualms when it comes to movie selection and some of the kids enjoyed the bloodfest.

The bikes were fine and I drove off as soon as the doors opened.

I let the Zumo pick a secondary road through the mountains north of Igoumentisa. It was a fantastic ride. No cars on the road, just the odd cow, sheep, or dog. When I passed through a small village with a couple of restaurants I decided to stop for a late lunch. My question for a menu was answered with a grand tour of the kitchen. It then turned out that Mama spoke German and all was well after a nice meal and a Cafe Frappe.

Just at the start of the road I saw a guy on a smallish, probably 125cc bike with a ton of luggage and a small puppy peeking over the handlebar. This guy was obviously on a longer trip and I would have loved to talk to him. We exchanged greetings but unfortunately he didn’t stop. In fact, he looked pretty miserable. I would soon find out why. As I headed up the pass I soon find myself in thick fog. There was plenty of snow at side of the road too and the temps were way down. Time to crank up the heated grips again.

I rolled into Kastraki at the foot of the Meteora monastaries just before sunset. After setting up my tent and taking off the luggage I went for a great sunset ride around the monastaries.

No cars on the road, just cows

Nice curvy road

Lake near Ioannina

At the begınnıng of the Katara pass road

At the beginning of the road heading up to the Katara pass.

Katara Pass. Pretty nasty but I made it through

The little church on the side of the road was a great spot for a break

I have been fascinated by the Meteora monasteries since I saw them as a child in the 1970s, much under appreciated, cinematic masterpiece “Jupiter’s Thigh”. One of the main characters is hauled up to one of the monasteries in a basket. The place just looked very interesting to me as a kid. When I found out that Meteora is near my route I had to visit.

All of the monasteries are now linked by roads and can be accessed via steps that have been added in the last century. So, it is just a matter of finding a parking spot between the coaches hauling in the geriatric crowd and climbing up the stairs. Some of the monasteries are really small and some of them are quite big. The main point of interest is usually the basilica with ancient frescoes depicting martyrs being killed in all kinds of gory ways in great detail.

During the day I met a Swiss guy on a KTM Adventure 950. We had a quick chat and he told me that he got soaked the day before and he needed to dry out his stuff. How lucky was I to stay dry! I had a great time exploring the area.

Looking toward Kastraki

Meteora monastaries

My Ten posing in front of one of the monastaries

Modern day cargo delivery

Basilica inside a monastery

Frescoes adorn the walls inside the basilica

Very spooky

I’m glad I don’t have kitchen duty here

Beautiful spot along a dirt road

At the end of a dirt road, after getting past some aggressive sheep dogs, I found yet another monastery