After our adventures in the small town of Galaxidi, we drove northwest to Vikos-Aoös National Park, which is inside Pindos National Park. That evening we visited the early 15th century Eastern Orthodox Monastery of Saint Paraskevi. The stone buildings with slate tile roofs stand on the edge of the cliffs of the Vikos Gorge. The top photo in this post shows the fresco just above the iconostasis in the monastery chapel.

The stone bridges in Pindos National Park were quite a contrast to the contemporary Rion-Antirion Bridge described in our previous post. The mid-18th century Kokkorus Bridge is one of oldest and most impressive in the area. The stone arch spans 24 meters and extends almost 12 meters above the Vikos riverbed. Officials named the bridge for Grigoris Kokkoros, who owned a nearby mill and paid for the structure’s restoration work in 1910. 

The triple-arched Kalogeriko Bridge (also called Plakidas Bridge) is understandably the most photographed bridge in park. The 1866 stone structure, paid for by the Plakisas family, replaced a wooden bridge. And the same family continues to pay for the bridge’s upkeep over 150 years later. 

We found the Bridge of Lazaridis (also called Kontodimos Bridge) by walking down a short stone pathway. The single arch over the Upper Vikos or Vikaki River was built by Noutsos Kontodimos or his brother Tolis in the 1750s. It measures only 2.4 meters wide and 17.8 meters long. Yannis Lazaridis purchased the nearby watermill at the beginning of the 20th century. 

In 1997 Vikos Gorge achieved Guinness Book of Records status as the deepest canyon in the world, with a depth of up to 900 meters. Its 20 kilometer length includes walls 400 meters apart down to cliffs with just a few meters of separation. We hiked to several of the gorge viewpoints to get a good look at the UNESCO-designated world geopark. The unique Stone Forest (Petrodasos) in Vikos-Aoös National Park stands among the oak and maple trees. The tall, corroding columns of slate resemble petrified woods.

One of our favorite destinations on our Greece road trip was the valley with the amazing cliff-top monasteries. From Vikos-Aoös National Park we drove about two hours to Meteora to see the 14th to 16th religious complexes perched somewhat(?) precariously on the very tall, steep rocks. Of the 24 Eastern Orthodox Christian monasteries in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, six are still functioning as religious sanctums and open to visitors. We went inside two of them. 

We climbed quite a few sets of stairs carved into the rock to reach the Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas (or Anapafsus), the smallest of the monasteries. Anapausas means resting and we were ready for a little break when we reached the historical chapel. (There is no place to park a car at or near the top of the rock.)

The Monastery of Varlaam, the second largest in Meteora, is named after the monk who scaled the cliffs in 1350 to begin construction of the sanctum. He hoisted large quantities of building materials up the face of the rocks. 

The monastery complex includes a church, common dining area, several chapels, plus displays of beautiful religious icons and historical artifacts. It is home to the largest group of monks in Meteora. 

The Monastery of Rousanou can easily be seen from several other monasteries, which is probably why it is Meterora’s most photographed complex. It sustained significant damage during World War II, was later rebuilt, and is now an active convent. Two theories exist for the origin of the monastery’s name: 1) after the first group of monks (Russian) who settled on the cliff or 2) after the first hermit who settled on the rock. 

And then we went northeast to Thessaloniki – stay tuned for part 3 of our Greek road trip adventure!