I was able to take a few shots in Meteora before my camera totally died…

From an original 20, there are now only 6 monasteries open to the public. It surely must have been a herculean, near impossible effort to haul building materials to the tops of these cliffs 700 years ago.

As for us mere mortals, it was an ambitious day. We didn’t spend that much time in Delphi and Thermopylae as previously expected so it gave us the chance to drive the 3.5 hours to Meteora and see 2 monasteries before they closed for the day. Got to see the Great Meteoron and the St Barbara. What an absolute workout – must have climbed the equivalent of a small mountain in total for the entire day. Soon after it was time to check out our lodgings and check-in at the Iridanos Guesthouse in Kalambaka. Turns out the hotel is run by a Dutch woman married to a Greek. The Dutch I notice seem to be like Filipinos — they’re everywhere.

Next, more magical monasteries……