9. Greece: Ioannina to Koukouli

We leave Ioannina along the water edge. Jon likes the bus station we cycle past. It was a crazyplace. We escape the hail under a green grocer’s awning and then it’s into flattish land and onto byways between fields until crunch decision time in Karies. Do we go for the sights of Gjirokaster in Albania or into the wilds of the Pindos mountains? The latter hadn’t seemed that easy with snow lying quite low but after another epic picnic sitting on the curb next to some rubbish bins and barking dogs the wilds win over.

Off we head up an endless but steady and gentle climb. Amazing views of snow-covered mountains all around and what seems like an eternal “that must be the last bend”. It reminds Jon of sea kayaking past endless headlands. By this stage he is carrying so much more weight than me that we are actually quite matched in terms of pace. We finally do reach a bend that takes us back vaguely downhill (Col of the Women of Zagori statue 960m) into the Pindos Mountains National Park.

Which is stunning stunning stunning. They have bears wolves lynx wild boar wild cats. Seemingly endless old stone bridges. Utterly amazing geology. Scrubby gnarled oak. It feels wild and remote quite quickly and there are very few cars. At one of these bridges 4 glowering blackclad youths slightly wreck their badboy image by having softpop blaring from a rucksack rather than death metal.

Our intention had been to camp but it’s cold, Jon has a thinnish sleeping bag and I’m scared of bears so we end up last minute in a very very very nice place in Koukouli. Maria (black clad ancient lady) appears several times with fresh spanakopita, Elisabeta and her sister appear with great cheer and fresh eggs.

The village is pretty much deserted. Only ten people live there full time. It is a mixture of recently renovated substantial stone houses with stone flagged rooves and totally derelict ancient buildings.

We cycle to Kapesovo and walk the Vraditsa steps to the lookout at Beloi over the Vikos gorge and have picnic a SAFE distance from the vertiginous edge and coffee on our way down chatting to an Austrian couple and their dog.

Back to where we are staying and the ubiquitous cats try to steal our tea on the terrace. Lovely spot. Maria hard at work planting the garden up. Hydrangeas’ and peonies’ leaves just coming out.

A sense of a complicated back history to each and every one of these villages at crossroads of nationalities ethnicities religions. Some very bloody history in many places, Kapesovo’s cemetery tells a tale in what is absent there.