Trekking in Greece. Tim Salmon
and locked. The palaver involved in getting and returning the keys far outweighs any benefits.
Monasteries are a better bet, if you are a man. You can always ask for food and shelter, but you have to be modestly dressed, which means no shorts. Women are not always allowed in.
Camping, on the other hand, is possible anywhere in the mountains and no one will object. As the land belongs to no one, there is no question of trespassing. You do not need a tent in summer; a bivvy bag is quite sufficient. Just be careful of sheepdogs.
Camping is possible anywhere in the mountains
Dogs
This is a serious warning. The sheepdogs – guard dogs, not collies – are the greatest danger you are likely to encounter in the mountains. It is not the little mongrels that guard some flocks that you have to worry about, but the Molóssi. They are wolf-sized, half-starved, unused to strangers and very fierce and, like the arrows of outrageous fortune, rarely come one at a time but in gangs. If at all possible, give them a very wide berth. Do not approach the flock they are minding and certainly do not walk through it. If possible attract the attention of the shepherd; he will call them off. Always carry poles or a stout stick and be aggressive. Keep them at pole’s length and throw rocks at them – with the intention of hurting them. Don’t panic. You will survive.
Getting on with people
Mountain people are extremely friendly and hospitable. It is, however, up to you, the stranger, to break the social ice by saying hello first. The simplest greetings are kaleeméra, good day, or yásoo, good health to you (yásas, if there is more than one person). That immediately dispels what can appear to be hostility, but is in reality merely polite reserve.
Do not forget that mountain people are still rather old-fashioned in their attitudes. Women, in particular, should be careful how they dress and act.
Weather and when to go
There is snow on the mountains from November to April. Quite extensive patches sometimes persist until mid June, and later on the higher and more northerly ones. The weather begins to settle in April or May, and to break again some time in October. June–September is the most settled period. It is also the hottest, but once you get into a big range like the Píndos, and high up, the heat is not too bothersome. Above 2000m the temperature rarely rises above 25° even in July and August, and at night drops to 10° or 12°. I have found my water frozen in the morning at 2000m near the Albanian border in September.
The table shows average monthly temperatures (°C) throughout the year 2016–17 in Thessaloníki (north), Yánina (mid-north in the mountains), Athens, and Sparta (close to the southernmost point of the Peloponnese Way).
Source: www.worldweatheronline.com
Certainly, the weather can be beautiful, but you should not be lulled into a false sense of security. Greek mountains behave like other mountains. Even in midsummer violent storms can blow up with little warning. Nights are cool, especially in contrast to daytime temperatures; you definitely need a fleece.
Vália Kálda in June (Píndos Way, Stage 23)
What to take
In summer conditions, you need a combination of light and warm clothing. We would recommend a hat, and shirts with collar and sleeves, if you are at all susceptible to sunburn. Take sunscreen if you have a vulnerable Anglo-Saxon nose and, especially, do not forget the backs of the knees, and the thumb and index area of the hand, one of the most exposed if you are using poles. Warm clothing (including your sleeping bag) does not need to be heavy, just enough to protect you in bad weather and against the chill of tiredness and night. Take a windproof and waterproof cagoule. A good pair of lightweight Vibram-soled boots is sufficient in the way of footwear, although consider taking hiking sandals or water shoes if you are likely to do any of the riverbed sections. Take a tent or survival/bivvy bag and basic first-aid kit, including some mosquito repellent for use in the lowlands.
If you are packing a stove, petrol is the most widely available fuel; but remember that, if you are travelling by air, empty fuel bottles need to be scrubbed clean enough to pass for water bottles. There must not be any whiff of petrol, otherwise you risk having them confiscated at the airport. Self-sealing camping gas cartridges are available in specialist shops in Athens and big towns, but not elsewhere. A safe bet is Polo Center at 52 Patisíon Avenue, in Athens, close to the National Archaeological Museum.
Emergency services
There are no emergency services or mountain rescue, so you would be wise to have an insurance policy that will get you home if you need serious treatment.
Access to the mountains
For most destinations in this book, buses are the best means of transport. All major country towns have daily connections with Athens. Buses for the Peloponnese and parts of central Greece west of the Píndos mountains (Yánina, for instance) leave from the terminus at 100 Kifisoú Street (referred to as ‘KTEL Kifisoú’); to get there, take bus 051 from the corner of Vilará and Menándrou Streets near Omónia Square. Buses for Delphi, Ámfissa and parts east of the Píndos leave from 260 Liosíon Street (‘KTEL Liosíon’), near Áyios Nikólaos metro stop. The only way to be absolutely certain about departure times is to go to the appropriate terminus.
Onward journeys from provincial centres into the mountains are more problematic. Bus services are much less frequent than formerly and the only way to find out times is generally on the spot. There is always the chance of a lift – easiest to arrange from village to town, when you can ask in the magazeé (village shop, café) if anyone is going. Alternatively, just step into the road and flag someone down. That is what the locals do. Vehicles are rare birds in out-of-the-way places, and you cannot afford not to make your intentions absolutely plain.
Dhrakólimni tarn (Zagóri, Stage 4)
Of the four sections of the Píndos Way, only Mesokhóra, the end point of Section 2/start of Section 3, and Mt Grámos, the very end of Section 4, are unreliably served by buses. The Peloponnese Way is better served, with daily connections to Dhiakoftó (start point), Kalávrita, Vitína, Kápsia, Trípoli (mid point), Áyios Pétros, Sparta and Áyios Nikólaos (end point); plus occasional services to Dhára, Vamvakoú and Árna.
Taxis can always be summoned with the help of the magazeé and are not expensive by general European standards. Ask the locals beforehand what the fare is and be sure to agree the price before you get in.
Using this guide
The book comprises four parts. The main route, the Peloponnese and Píndos Way, which constitutes by far the greater part of the book, is split into two: Part 1 covers the Peloponnese Way, and Part 2 the Píndos Way. Parts 3 and 4 cover the Zagóri district, which can easily be incorporated into the Píndos Way, and Mt Olympus, home of the gods of the ancient Greeks.
It may at first glance strike the reader as rather illogical that the two parts of our main route should be described as running in opposite directions – north to south for the Peloponnese and south to north for the Píndos – rather than as a continuous route. We accept that this will create some difficulties for hikers wishing to do the whole route in one fell swoop. For example, it would entail having to do one of the two halves in reverse – probably the Peloponnese Way, since it is the shorter half and better signed; and in terms of transport, getting to the further end of both halves would prove relatively complicated.
There are, however, some persuasive reasons for running the two halves in opposite directions. First, sea divides the two, in the form of the Gulf of Corinth. Second, Athens, the most convenient