Today, we are leaving Lefkada and driving to Meteora. After eating breakfast, we loaded up the car and off we went. Our first stop was Griva Castle. We had to park the car and walk up the hill to the castle. The first part of the hike was through overgrown weeds, but then they cleared out. The views from the castle was beautiful. On the way down from the castle, someone yelled “Do you speak English?” I replied that I did, they were looking for the trail to the castle. I showed them the way. Three of them headed up the hill through the weeds, but the fourth person did not make the hike. He did not like walking through the grass because of ticks and Lyme disease. I talked to him for a bit and foound out that he was from Holland. I told him that I had been to Amsterdam before. He mentioned Germany and I said that I wanted to visit the Christmas markets in Germany, so he proceeded to tell me which was his favorite market. We finally was able to leave and head on our way.
Our next stop was Vonitsa Castle, about 9 miles away. We found a road that we thought led up to the castle, but it just went around in a circle. We eventually gave up and continued on with our journey to the Stone bridge & waterfall of Palaiokarya. It was a long drive, 116 miles. At one point along the way, the nice paved road stopped and we were driving on a very rough gravel road through the middle of nowhere. We had to dodge rocks and boulders that had fallen off the side of the mountain. The road wound around the mountain up and down. I don’t know how long we were on this part of the road but it seemed to take forever and we never saw anyone else or met another car. Eventually, we got back to the paved road and found the stone bridge and waterfalls. It was very beautiful in a peaceful and serene setting. A little farther down the road was a stone arched bridge. We stopped and took pictures. There was also a little cafe there where we stopped and ate a late lunch.
Finally, we headed on to our hotel in Meteora. We got checked in and rested some, then we walked across the street to eat dinner. After we finished eating, the restaurant owner brought us ice cream. She also asked if I had ever been to Meteora before because I looked very familiar. I told her, it was the first time visiting Meteora and the first time in Greece. I said I just have that kind of face that looks familiar to people. After dinner, we got in the car and went off in search of a market to buy snacks. It took three tries before we found one. Then back to the hotel to call it a night.
