We drove up and up to a church that stands just underneath an old and derelict Venetian castle in the coach. We all trooped out and took a few photos in our new surroundings.
We then mounted the summit of this particular mountain and looked down upon the Mediterranean Sea in all directions. I had a touch of vertigo as Jonathan stepped back to take a group photo but that passed quickly.
We all set off down hill with varied degrees of steepness. The journey downwards passed through two villages. We stopped at both. In the first village I had a coke from the honesty cafe. The cafe provided various cold soft drinks at very modest prices. I really only had the coke to promote the idea.
The next village provided more substantial fare. A little old lady made 8 iced lattes for us. The village had several shops, one located in a van where we bought a bag of oregano.
Just outside the village stood some large granite boulders which remain a mystery of their origins when most of the landscape around is limestone.
On and on downwards chatting as we walked. Then we hit a steep uphill climb that generated a lot of heat and sweat. A 39 minute climb in a gully, which would probably be a torrent after rain. This brought us out at the village of Skalados, a fairly unremarkable mountain village.
We met up with Myriam who had booked our restaurant based on the recommendation of the brothers who run our hotel. We enjoyed the best meal of the trip. We started with two very interesting salads. The all vegetarian meal then featured stuffed mushrooms and aubergine with cheese. I really enjoyed these intros however the finale of veggie moussaka was great and topped the preceding delicious offerings. Best meal by far.
Maggi, Jenny and I accepted Miriam’s offer of a lift back so we didn’t need to get another sweat on. Had a lazy afternoon until all the team arrived at our room for a final night drink.
Our final meal of the trip as an ensemble took place along the coast. We had two nice salads to start. Our table was then short changed on the squid front and then came the one groupe for 14 which meant a tiny mouthful each.
We walked home a little disappointed that the last night together had been a let down.