Saturday 4 April 2015

On the way to Galaxidi


We had a four-day break this week visiting Sterea Ellada, mainland Greece. We stayed in Galaxidi which is absolutely delightful, spent some time in Arachova and visited Delphi, something I had not done since I was a child.




On our way we saw the peaks of Parnassus covered in snow. I had not seen snow in Greece since my late teens when I used to go to Neurokopi which is as far north as you can get.  The purpose of my visits then was to see my first husband who had been conscripted to the army and this was his first post. It was a bleak place in the middle of nowhere and bitterly cold - that was the only time in my life when I got chilblains.




We had excellent weather for our four-day trip: sunny days and temperatures of around 22oC and the snowy peaks afforded an excellent contrast
 
 

 
 
as did all the wildflowers that lined the road.
 

 

 
It's spectacular countryside and the road wound around one mountain peak after another
 
 
 

 
 as we climbed higher and higher.
 
 
 

 
Churches of all sizes provided distraction on our way.
 
 
 


The first sighting of Arachova took our breath away.




 
Perched on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus, at 970m above sea level, above the small river Pleistos, it has become a tourist resort for people who want to go skiing.
 
 
 
 

Ragged, majestic, the views from the top are awesome




 
and each valley 
 
 
 


is followed by another.



 

Our next stop was the village of Delphi. We stood at one of the several plateaux that the village is built on and looked down on the dramatic gorge that runs through Parnassus




 
and which leads down to the sea




 
 it is truly spectacular.






The drive down the mountain was breathtaking






my basic camera cannot do justice to the depth of the view.  The whole area leading down to the sea is a vast elaionas, an olive tree field




 
One of the first things we saw when we reached the sea was this fish farm
 
 



Twin round islands, with a house built right in the centre of one of them






red poppies and other wildflowers lined the road



 
 
 
 

The scene changed completely once we reached the bauxite mine and everything was a deep red





 
 
 
 
a view of the mine once we reached the other side of the bay
 
 
 
 

 
and again, after the next bay
 



Another dramatic change once we reached Galaxidi





but this is the subject of another post.



4 comments:

  1. Ah you have reminded me, ... when I last went to Arachova - it was 1985. After my brother's wedding my husband and I went on a short tour, staying a couple of nights in Delphi in one of those hotels right on the edge of the hillside. The reception at road level was in fact the top floor, and our balcony on the sheer drop looked over that valley of olive trees - at first in the strong sunlight I thought it was the sea!
    As you show, that landscape is magnificent.

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    1. It must have been wonderful staying in that hotel, having that view on tap. I know the one you mean - my sister (they came with us) stayed there years ago. It's empty now and on the way to becoming a ruin - the way places tend to go sometimes in Greece. Such a shame.

      It's impossible to convey the magnificence of that landscape on photograph. It really is something else, and I can totally understand why the ancients chose that area for the oracle in Delphi.

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  2. So lovely, Eirene! I love Greece! xoxo

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Linda. You must come to Greece soon.

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