Hiking on Mt. Kithaironas

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Hey guys!

Well, this post is pretty late! But I have actually been having a rather hard time not only finding the time to write the blog, but also to load the pictures! It takes a really long time to upload these pictures, and as you will see, this post is full of them!

Anyway, I went hiking 2 weekends ago on Mt. Kithaironas in Biotia with the Greek Hiking Club. And I had a pretty amazing day! We left at 7:30 am, and got home around 8 pm, so I can't really describe everything I experienced in as much detail as I would like. But I should be able to give you a pretty good idea of what an awesome time I had!

So here goes...

STARTING OUT

To get to the mountain, we took a bus from Syntagma (in Athens), and road all the way to the top of the mountain (as the first part of our hike was concentrated on making it all the way down the mountain, to the coast.) The road was winding, and pretty scary at times (seeing as our bus was huge, the roads were narrow and twisty, and the driver was driving like he was trying to get a woman in labor to a hospital on time!) But it was very scenic, and it only took about an hour and a half to get there.

When we got there, I was struck by how beautiful the landscape looked from the top of our little mountain. And while there were rumors of rainy/bad weather expected for the weekend, the sky was perfectly blue, with large, white, puffy clouds. And the temperature was practically perfect—not too hot, but not too cold, with a nice gentle breeze.


So the following is a basic account of what the hike was like. But unfortunately, I can’t remember every place we went and everything we saw, and in what order they came in. So I’ll just stick with the major areas we traversed. But the whole first part of the hike took about 4-5 hours, then I spent another 2 on the second leg of the hiking journey, and another 1-2 hours at the ruins and exploring the little town by the sea. So don’t think this is by any means a comprehensive inclusion!

GOING DOWN!

On this hike, I think I saw a little bit of just about every type of Greek landscape.

We started out by walking down a little trail that quickly turned into an open hillside, full of these little shrubbery bushes that had rather large thorns! Ouch! The bushes came up to about my knees, and thus walking through them was rather painful.

When we got out of the bushy area, we moved on to a forest area with a lot of trees. It reminded me a lot of what the forests look like in PA.

A ROSE AMONG THE THORNS

Then we came upon a little church, which had clearly been deserted for some time. (Although my Greek friend explained to me that the local people may still use it--but only for special occasions…)


But it was a great spot to sit down and take a rest, and the church itself was pretty cool. It had this rustic looking bell hanging from the tree in front of it, and inside it was very interesting. There were all kinds of paintings, artwork and decorations, along with a just a few chairs and a few altar-type structures. I have been in a few
churches since I’ve been here, and I wish I knew more about modern Greek religion, so I could know what exactly each artifact and area in the church was used for. I’ll have to look into that for next time!




But after a short exploration of the tiny church, an apple, and a drink of water, we were off again!

TRAVERSING BOULDERS

After that we had to pass down a huge downhill area that was completely comprised of large boulder-type rocks. The problem= with all the rain lately, they were so slippery! Pair slippery rocks with muddy sneakers, huge boulders and a severe incline, and what do you get?








A near-death experience.

And for the first time in my life, I felt myself wishing I were a mountain goat.

I found myself jumping, crawling, sliding on my butt—trying to find any way possible to get down without dying (or at least breaking a limb). And luckily for me, I survived!

OLIVE GROVE

Next we walked through one of the many olive groves found in Greece. As you may know, the olive tree is basically the single most important resource found in Greece. It is often wondered how civilizations have been able to flourish in such a harsh environment throughout history, and the reason for this is due largely in part to the olive tree.

Not only can the wood itself be used for burning—but the uses of the olives and olive oil were endless throughout the entire history of this country. The oil was used to burn, (for light and heat), to cook and eat, to clean (the way the ancient Greeks cleaned themselves often times was to cover their entire body in olive oil, and then scrape it off!), and also, olives and olive oil were used heavily in trade, which was often a vital aspect in encouraging the growth of ancient civilizations throughout the entire Aegean.

In fact, the olive tree itself is part is so important to this culture, that is actually won a god possession of the city of Athens itself! The myth goes as follows:

The god and goddess Poseidon and Athena both wanted to claim patronage of the city that is now called Athens. So, to decide who would get to claim it, they decided to have a contest. In the contest, each of them gave a gift to the city. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident, and gave Athens a saltwater spring. Athena, however, gave the gift of the Olive tree. Thus, because her gift was far more valuable to the people of Athens, she won the contest, became the Patroness of Athens, and even gave it her own name! (Which in Greek, both the goddess and the city have the same name, pronounced the same way; but it is pronounced the same way we say “Athena” in English. But I can’t type it/spell it out on here, because I don’t know how to make Greek letters appear on my keyboard! haha) But there is no difference between the City and the goddess herself in Greek.

Also, here is an interesting fact about olive trees and what they symbolize. In many cultures and traditions, the olive tree is used to symbolize peace and prosperity. This is even true of Christianity, for in the bible there are references to olive trees and olive branches, most notably in the story of Noah and Ark. But the reason for this association with peace is really kind of interesting.

Throughout history in Greece, whenever a city or civilization was attacked, the enemy (who often shared the same religious beliefs) would come in and burn all the olive trees in the city's orchards. They did this because they did not want to destroy the city’s temples, or do anything that would desecrate any mutual sacred spaces, or offend any of their gods (for often times, both groups worshiped the same dieties.) Thus, they were not left with a lot of options when it came to things to destroy, other than houses and the olive orchards.

But what really ties it all together with the symbolic representation of peace, is that after it is planted, an olive tree actually takes up to 20 years until it begins to produce a full harvest of olives. Thus, when you came across a grove of olive trees that yielded significant amounts of olives, it was a sign that the area where they were located had been at peace for a long period of time. Thus, it became associated with peace and prosperity. You might not care, but I thought that was pretty interesting. I always wondered why an olive branch was so important, and how it came to be associated with that kind of symbolic meaning.

But anyway, even today, the olive tree is pervasive across the entire country. You see them absolutely everywhere! And it is not hard to understand why.

PINE FOREST

So after we all made it down the rocky hill and through the grove successfully, we moved on. And before I knew it, we had entered a pine forest.

While it was definitely semi-treacherous, (due to the slippery forest floor, which was sloped and lined with tons of pine needles), it was really neat to walk on—the ground was very soft, and rather spongy, due to the bed of needles that coated the ground. And it not only felt nice to walk on, but gave my mind a little rest from the thought of death (as pine needles are much softer than limestone… so I would have a softer fall if I slipped this time!)

MORE ROCKS

Next, we came to a large gorge-type area, with huge boulders, and a tiny little trail etched in between the rocky cliffs.


And for the second time, I found myself wishing I were a mountain goat.

The terrain was a lot like the first rocky decent we had already conquered—but this time, there was no relief. We spend about an hour and a half trying to get out of this area. And again, it wouldn’t have been as bad if it weren’t so slippery. I know I myself slipped about 7 times total. But between all the jumping and sliding, the only real wounds I ended up with were two scuffed up palms, and a very muddy backside. Pretty good, I’d say.

What was even more interesting about the gorge, however, is that we could finally see our destination: we had a view of the cape. And it looked sooo far away.

As we were walking through the gorge, I began to hear a sound that I hadn't ever really experienced before. It was like a chorus of wind chimes in the distance. And as we got closer and closer to the sound, we began to hear the occasional... "mehhh!" And before I knew it, we were surrounded by a herd of goats, hanging out high on the side of the rocky, cliff-like walls of the gorge! It was really a cool sight to see, and hearing the sound they all made (from the bell-like things hanging from their necks) was really an experience. I made a video of it, so if I can ever figure out how to post it, I will! It was pretty amazing!


After that, the rest of the hike went pretty smoothly. But most of the terrain I cross in Greece anywhere I go is very similar: it is always rocky. Whether they are huge boulder-type rocks, pebbled, or just a flat rocky surface—rocks are usually present in some form. (Which makes it a pretty dangerous place to walk—it is really easy to twist an ankle!)

THE RUINS

As we emerged out of the forest, we could immediately see a massive structure sticking into the skyline. It turns out it was the ruins of an old fortress called “Aigosthena". We walked up the side of the hill, approaching the ruins from the back, and when we passed through the little archway to enter the fortress, I was awestruck. It was so cool!







There were walls, towers, and buildings still intact. And right in the middle of the entire complex was a little church. And not only were the ruins themselves pretty cool, but the view was amazing! You could see everything from the fortress, including a lovely view of the sea.

HIKING BY THE BEACH

But before I even got to sit down and rest, the guide was explaining that we were now going to split up. He told us that we could either A) Stay behind and explore/have dinner at a taverna in the little village, B) Keep hiking up to the top of the other side of the mountain (which was for experts only, as it was going to get very tough very fast), or C) Hike with the group until it got too challenging (and then, according to him, we could follow an old dirt road all the way back down to the village if we got too tired.)

I decided to participate in option C, because I was WAY too tired to go all the way, but thought it would be nice to get in a little more hiking, since we had about 4 hours until the bus was going to pick us up in the village.

But while I was busy taking pictures and checking out the ruins, the group left without me! I could see them in the distance, and decided to try and catch up. And luckily for me, as I was rushing to catch them, I ran into another man who was also running behind.

After hiking across the beach, we headed up into the rocky area right above the beach, and soon realized that we had lost the trail completely. And since we couldn’t see anyone, he called out. A man answered (and I couldn’t understand them), so we decided to follow the sound of his voice.


After about a half hour of walking as fast as we could (all up hill, of course), though the rough terrain, we found the dirt road that was supposed to be the way back down the mountain, and passed a little farm—complete with goats, a donkey, and sheep dogs (who were very protective of the area, and barked at us until we were finally out of sight.)



And by some miracle, we accidentally ran into the group! They were coming right towards us! Turns out that in trying to find the way to the trail, we had taken a short cut!

But soon after meeting up with the group, I couldn’t go on anymore (it was a solid uphill hike from the beach, and they were practically jogging!) So I decided to turn around and head back to the village by myself.

The dirt road I followed along the cost!

But after following the dirt road I thought was supposed to lead me to the village for about a half hour, I realized that it was NOT leading me to the village at all. But I decided to just keep on trekking, heading towards the sea. (I knew if I found the sea, I would be able to find my way along the coastline to the village.)

And it turns out, that was my absolute favorite part of the hike! I took the dirt road down as far as I could, until it ended in a dead end: at the sea. So I climbed over the rocky ledge that lined the coast, and eventually ran into another dirt road (the one I was supposed to be on the whole time, I assume.) And walking along this road was pretty magnificent! It led me right along the coast, and I passed several beaches as I made my way towards the village. But it was amazing, because it was just so beautiful, and other than a few locals who were fishing and walking by the beach, I was completely alone. And it is rare I get to experience that kind of awe.



It was just overwhelmingly beautiful. The water was a bright turquoise, and the mountains sprawling in the background combined with a clear blue sky with white puffy clouds made a post-card perfect image. And all this combined with the smell of the salty sea air & the wind hitting my face and blowing through my hair made for a really incredible, and even surreal, experience. I even got to put my feet in the Mediterranean!

BACK TO THE RUINS

So after I found my way back to the port and rested a little bit by the beach, I realized I still had 2 or so hours left. So I decided to hike back up to the ruins, and check them out a little more thoroughly.

It was a good decision.

I didn’t really know exactly how to get up to them, so I just started walking up the side of the hill, going towards the big tower. And eventually, I found a path marked by stones, and followed it up.

The path, & the view from the top of the fortress.

First of all, I was the ONLY person there. Which was pretty amazing in itself. In the summer, this place would be crawling with tourists. Which is another thing I wanted to mention in my blog: the season. I am so glad I am able to be exploring Greece in the winter/spring season. Come summer, it will be really hot, and really crowded. So I feel really fortunate to be able to be in Greece at a time when it is least attractive to the typical tourist, because and the weather is incredible, (a little wet maybe, but I’d prefer that to heat-stroke), and I have been able to have some really great moments seeing the sites that are typically ruined by the hords of people crowding around.

So I explored the ruins a little more thoroughly. I climbed up onto the wall and explored the tower, checked out each of the little rooms, and wandered around all the terraces. I made a video of all of this, where I give a pretty comprehensive commentary as well as the video images, so hopefully I will be able to share those videos with all of you sometime soon!






But it was really nice to be the only one there! I got to climb on everything, get into everything, and make a video (and talk out loud to the video camera, offering my own observations and insights about what I thought was going on at the site at the time it was created… which would have been a little embarrassing had other people been there!)








And as the sun was setting, I decided to take a little rest in the church courtyard, which had a great bench that sat facing the sea.

PEACEFUL ENDINGS

By the time I was finished exploring the site as fully as possible, the sun was beginning to set, so I decided to find my way back to the village to meet the bus.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and I am so incredibly grateful to have been able to experience it all!

I ended the day sitting on a little bench, right on the beach. It was a very peaceful end to a rather rigorous day. (Though totally worth it!)

That's it for now! Thanks for reading guys!

-Summer Rose

p.s. Keep a look out for my next post! I went to Sounio, (to the Temple of Poseidon), and it was pretty amazing! I can't wait to get the pictures posted!