Day 5 - Meteora Exploration

This morning, after breakfast we set out for our little trip to Meteora. As we left the Hotel we saw from the bus the lovely little town of Kalambaka which we were staying in.

Meteora has 24 perpendicular rocks. The Byzantine monks chose these rocks to build their monasteries on about 600 years ago.

First of all we visited the Monastery of St Nicholas. Here, all of the women had to put skirts on. These were just wrap-arounds. I am sure that if a man did think of looking at a woman with some hint of desire, they would certainly look the other way once they saw the skirt!

The artwork in the Church was beautiful. It was very ornate and there was just so much to look at. At times, I got caught up in the incredible detail of the icons but I think I was most taken by the incredibly detailed mosaics. They were just beautiful!

Inside the Church it was fairly dark. The carving in the furniture and the embroidery of gold an silver thread was also very detailed. I don't know how the monks are able to concentrate on their prayer, I would be forever looking around me to find things I hadn't seen before!

After we had a really thorough explanation of the St Nicholas Monastery, we got back on the bus. As we were making our way to the next place to visit we said Lauds on the bus.

We then arrived at the Nunnery of St Stephen. While we don't really use the term 'nunnery' in Australia, it is commonly used here in Greece. This convent was very serene and had a strong sense of warmth and welcome.

As we were entering the Chapel there was a little old nun who had the eyes of an angel. There was something very special about this nun. She said nothing but only smiled. It was like seeing God in the face of this woman. I don't think I will ever forget this!

After visiting the Nunnery when then went back to Kalambaka. Here, we had lunch in a restaurant that had typical Greek food eaten by the locals. The first thing we had to do was to go into the kitchen. We were a bit hesitant to go in but there was an old lady that said 'Come to Mama'. So we did. She told us what was in the massive pots and then she dished up what we wanted. I had lamb with eggplant and it was delicious!

We walked around the shops a bit and then went back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. Later I went back down to the foyer and played cards with some of the others, had Mass and dinner and then went to bed.