Well due to the ever changing situation of this year my recent trip in Greece ended up being cut short. Having arrived to the northern city of Thessaloniki I moved on quickly before a local lockdown came into place.
I got the bus across mainland Greece to Kalimbaka. The village is overlooked by the impressive rock formations and cliffs that are home to the Meteora monasteries. Monks started dwelling in caves here as early as the 11th Century. Over the years 24 monasteries were built upon the rocks. Early on the only access was up cliffs by precarious rope ladders. Nowadays thankfully there is road access that winds up to the monasteries aroud the rocks.
It is also possible to follow numerous trails through the woods to further up the hillsides. As I walked around I was able to visit inside a couple of the monasteries. Please note however they all have different closed days, so check which ones are open before setting off. The view shown below is looking north west, from nearby the Holy Monastery of Roussanou.
The access road winds around the cliffs and leads upto the Megalo Meteoro Monastery. Below the view is south back to Kalimbaka. If you keep to walking back on the road you come to the smaller village of Kastraki. Here there is a small selection of good greek restaurants that have pleasant views out across the scenery.
As the situation was changing quickly I was left with a couple of days to see Athens. Whilst travel has still been possible recently it pays to be able to react quickly to the news and changing restrictions when abroad. As was rumoured Greece was likely to enter a lockdown, I had a couple of options for quick flights out.
On the final day before it closed I got to tour the Acropolis and see the Parthenon. The Odeon of Herdes Atticus (or amphi-theatre) still looking incredible here.
I would really recommend visiting the Ancient Agora of Athens area. As here you are rewarded with not just an abundance of history, but also the view looking up to the Acropolis area.
Well until next year, with travel options becoming fewer by the day currently. Im positive some countries or regions will try to remain open. As tourism often really supports local economies and jobs. Perhaps Mexico will remain open as it has for sometime this year.