The Road to Atros...
There are so many amazing places to visit in Kefalonia, you will be spoiled for choice when you visit her. We've talked about so many places we wanted to see together, both being fellow Sagittarians, we love to travel! I am hoping that our travels will unfold throughout the blog as we visit them.
He had previously told me of Atros, a monastery at the top of a mountain just outside of Poros. Atros Monastery is some 760m above sea level and has fantastic views, it is also the oldest monastery on Kefalonia.
The climb up to the summit where the monastery is built is around 4.5km of well worn track, so if you decide to follow in our footsteps, I would recommend you have suitable footwear. There is the option of driving up, but I think I would only risk it in a 4x4! We drove through Poros, a beautiful harbor village that is great for a wander and a frappe, and stopped at the supermarket there for some provisions for our expedition, mainly water and some salty snacks to stop dehydration setting in. Now fully prepared for the ascent we drove a further 3km and left the car in an pff road area at the bottom of the track.
The track is concrete to start, but is steep, with all the twists and turns one would expect from a mountain road. This luxury of solid ground beneath your feet is very short lived. The first turn sees it revert to a dirt track, with pebbles and shingle underfoot, it can be very slippery in places. At around the half way point there are some transmittors. I had been given the option of making it as far as there and coming back down, so, ever the optimist, I thought I would see how I went, but I wasn't making any promises. I put my best foot forward and tried to stay focused. It was a really interesting walk now I look back, beetles pulling things four times their size and all types of interesting insects, flora and fauna, but no snakes at this point thank goodness! I saw three during my stay but not at too close range! I was enjoying the climb, although it was very tough and hard going. I was offered words of support and encouragement all along the way.
It may have been due to the amount of exercise we had already endured, I cannot say, but I only about 1.5km into it and I flipped out and gave up. I remember throwing my water bottle and stamping my feet like a small child. Inside, I had given up. I was so angry with myself, and the fact that I was not feeling like I could carry on, the whole effect had snowballed, I was in a real tizz. My own Mr Motivator came and put his arms around me, told me everything was okay and I was doing fine. I told him to carry on ahead, I probably needed a few minutes to sort myself out. I had kind of already made the decision in my head though not to carry on at that point. I wanted to stay put. My feet felt like lead, but my mind felt heavier so I stopped, dug my heels in, stuck out my jaw and folded my arms in defense and waited for him to come back to me to tell him my decision. Within a few minutes I saw him running towards me. He saw my stance, and without saying a word, he turned me around, pointed me up the hill, and started to push me so I didn't have to take the strain. I shook my head and a laugh erupted from my mouth, he is pretty impossible to be cross with sometimes.This gesture from him was all it took and I told him I would aim to get to the transmitters sit for a while and that would be it for today. With a smile now on both of our faces, I somehow found the energy from to make the half way point. It was well worth it for the view alone. The vista over Poros was sublime. The ferry came in to port and everywhere below looked like a toy village. You could see for miles, even the mainland across the sea was in crystal clear focus. We perched on some rocks, had a drink of water and chatted about how I was feeling. It never ceases to amaze me how just speaking with him makes me feel so much better, and five minutes later sprinkled with hugs and reassurance we were ready to go. He started to walk back the way we came. I called after him and asked where he was going. He looked back at me confused.
I told him he was going in the wrong direction and I pointed up the hill. It was worth me making the decision to carry on just to see the look on his face alone. He looked really proud of me, and without hesitation, we set off up the hill for the monastery. It took about a further 40 minutes to reach the top, we have plans to better this on my next visit! I had found the strength inside me again and was so pleased when I made it to the top, not just from a personal perspective, but we had shared something special together, oh and there is the view at the top of course.
A brand new monastery has been built here, which is spectacular, and has the sweetest puppy there I have ever seen. The new building however is kind of over shadowed by the ruins of the original monastery, parts of which are still standing. It is out of this world. We spent some time taking pictures, climbing to the top of the old monastery and enjoying the stunning scenery. It really is worth it, and helps to burn off those holiday calories. Once we had drank in the beauty of being at the top, we made our descent back down, it took around 30 minutes from start to finish on the way down, not too bad at all really. I felt I had achieved something mammoth, and something had stirred inside me. Before I had even reached the car, I was asking him of similar places that he could show me. He was so happy I was showing this interest and we had already picked tomorrow's destination before we had reached home.
Spoiler alert... views from the top!
He had previously told me of Atros, a monastery at the top of a mountain just outside of Poros. Atros Monastery is some 760m above sea level and has fantastic views, it is also the oldest monastery on Kefalonia.
The climb up to the summit where the monastery is built is around 4.5km of well worn track, so if you decide to follow in our footsteps, I would recommend you have suitable footwear. There is the option of driving up, but I think I would only risk it in a 4x4! We drove through Poros, a beautiful harbor village that is great for a wander and a frappe, and stopped at the supermarket there for some provisions for our expedition, mainly water and some salty snacks to stop dehydration setting in. Now fully prepared for the ascent we drove a further 3km and left the car in an pff road area at the bottom of the track.
The track is concrete to start, but is steep, with all the twists and turns one would expect from a mountain road. This luxury of solid ground beneath your feet is very short lived. The first turn sees it revert to a dirt track, with pebbles and shingle underfoot, it can be very slippery in places. At around the half way point there are some transmittors. I had been given the option of making it as far as there and coming back down, so, ever the optimist, I thought I would see how I went, but I wasn't making any promises. I put my best foot forward and tried to stay focused. It was a really interesting walk now I look back, beetles pulling things four times their size and all types of interesting insects, flora and fauna, but no snakes at this point thank goodness! I saw three during my stay but not at too close range! I was enjoying the climb, although it was very tough and hard going. I was offered words of support and encouragement all along the way.
It may have been due to the amount of exercise we had already endured, I cannot say, but I only about 1.5km into it and I flipped out and gave up. I remember throwing my water bottle and stamping my feet like a small child. Inside, I had given up. I was so angry with myself, and the fact that I was not feeling like I could carry on, the whole effect had snowballed, I was in a real tizz. My own Mr Motivator came and put his arms around me, told me everything was okay and I was doing fine. I told him to carry on ahead, I probably needed a few minutes to sort myself out. I had kind of already made the decision in my head though not to carry on at that point. I wanted to stay put. My feet felt like lead, but my mind felt heavier so I stopped, dug my heels in, stuck out my jaw and folded my arms in defense and waited for him to come back to me to tell him my decision. Within a few minutes I saw him running towards me. He saw my stance, and without saying a word, he turned me around, pointed me up the hill, and started to push me so I didn't have to take the strain. I shook my head and a laugh erupted from my mouth, he is pretty impossible to be cross with sometimes.This gesture from him was all it took and I told him I would aim to get to the transmitters sit for a while and that would be it for today. With a smile now on both of our faces, I somehow found the energy from to make the half way point. It was well worth it for the view alone. The vista over Poros was sublime. The ferry came in to port and everywhere below looked like a toy village. You could see for miles, even the mainland across the sea was in crystal clear focus. We perched on some rocks, had a drink of water and chatted about how I was feeling. It never ceases to amaze me how just speaking with him makes me feel so much better, and five minutes later sprinkled with hugs and reassurance we were ready to go. He started to walk back the way we came. I called after him and asked where he was going. He looked back at me confused.
I told him he was going in the wrong direction and I pointed up the hill. It was worth me making the decision to carry on just to see the look on his face alone. He looked really proud of me, and without hesitation, we set off up the hill for the monastery. It took about a further 40 minutes to reach the top, we have plans to better this on my next visit! I had found the strength inside me again and was so pleased when I made it to the top, not just from a personal perspective, but we had shared something special together, oh and there is the view at the top of course.
A brand new monastery has been built here, which is spectacular, and has the sweetest puppy there I have ever seen. The new building however is kind of over shadowed by the ruins of the original monastery, parts of which are still standing. It is out of this world. We spent some time taking pictures, climbing to the top of the old monastery and enjoying the stunning scenery. It really is worth it, and helps to burn off those holiday calories. Once we had drank in the beauty of being at the top, we made our descent back down, it took around 30 minutes from start to finish on the way down, not too bad at all really. I felt I had achieved something mammoth, and something had stirred inside me. Before I had even reached the car, I was asking him of similar places that he could show me. He was so happy I was showing this interest and we had already picked tomorrow's destination before we had reached home.
Spoiler alert... views from the top!
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