Kastoria and Travel to Litochoro

Wednesday June 6 – Day 12 of Intrepid Trip

I was excited to get up this morning and head out on a run around the lake! It was a beautiful cool morning, and I was happy to be running again, albeit slowly. The lake shimmered in the cool early morning sun; the reeds swayed gently in the breeze, and the birds and ducks sang at the top of their lungs. It was serene, calm, beautiful! I was in my dream. I ran round the lake and came to the market in Kastoria, and ran past. Peter had told us to stick to the lake, you couldn’t go off track. Wrong!!! I ran out of the lake trail, but thought it would just be momentarily, and then I would be back on the trail. I ended up on a highway, and thought I must come to a road to the lakeside soon. I came into a small town, and knowing that I had now climbed up above the lake, sought a route to go back down. All the time I was thinking: “I don’t remember Peter telling us we had to run on a highway!!” From the little town I headed towards the water down a narrow road that led through the fields and down to what I thought was an archaeology site. I asked someone there if there was a path around the lake to Kastoria. “No!” Was the reply. Then I knew I must be wrong. The chap taking money at this tourist site directed me back across the fields to the little town. I saw a Shell garage and went in and asked the way to the Hotel Kastoria. The guys didn’t speak English but told me 5 minutes down the road I had just run along. I ran for 5 minutes and was running out of town. I thought I’d check with someone else. They told me that Kastoria was indeed back the way I had come, and it was about 6 km. By this time I had run 16.78 k. It was getting hot, and I knew I had to get back to the hotel, have a bath, pack, and be ready to check out at noon. It was about 10:30 a.m. I started to look for a taxi. None came. I called Ray and told him “Well, I am truly lost, no idea where I am!!” I thought he could order a cab from the hotel to come and pick me up. He calmly told me to go into the Shell garage and ask the guys to call a taxi. “But they don’t speak English” I insisted. Keeping Ray on the phone with a very poor and intermittent connection, I walked back into the Shell garage, and indicated I wanted them to phone a taxi. They were trying to tell me there wasn’t a taxi, and I think one of them was getting ready to drive me himself to Kastoria when all of a sudden a taxi appeared at the junction and all three of us yelled out “Taxi.” The taxi driver couldn't have missed the voices through his open window and turned into the garage. He knew where the Hotel Kastoria was. And I was on my way back. We drove for quite a distance, but soon I was stepping out of the cab with a light heart. When we checked the route I had run from the upload of my watch, I had run about 7/8 k past the town of Kastoria and the market, where I was supposed to turn off the trail and head through the tiny town and up the narrow streets, over the hill, and back down to the lake and shortly the hotel on the other side!!   I had time for a quick shower, finished packing, took our bags down to the lobby, and we walked along the water front for lunch.

At 1:30, we loaded into two very nice vans that drove us at break-neck speed along the smooth and modern highway – 120 kph speed limit – no idea how fast we drove, and after siting the Aegean Sea and Mt. Olympus in the distance we arrived in a beautiful little mountain town called Litochoro. It’s claim to fame is that this is the town people stay in to hike on Mt. Olympus.We took our bags to the room in the Guest House Papanikolaou. Once again the room is simple but perfect. A nice verandah, a little kitchen, bathroom, and all other amenities.

We headed out for a walk around town, eyeing Mt Olympus with dread and excitement for tomorrow’s 5 ½ hr to 6 hr hike up….not to the top, but to a restaurant for a late lunch. We start at 8 a.m.

We ended our walk for an early dinner – which took about 2 ½ hrs! We are in Greece now, and you don’t hurry your food!!

Peter is going to keep strict tabs on me tomorrow. He doesn’t want to lose me on the mountain!