Introducing a new HC Amherst Study Abroad blogger, Caroline Kinsley ’17/ Her first blog takes us on an adventure to Meteora. Join her with breathtaking pictures and commentary for every step of the way.
Meteora, which means, “suspended in the heavens” in Ancient Greek, certainly earns its name. The area is made up of naturally occurring sandstone pillars that soar above the plains of Thessaly in Northern Greece. During the 14th century, 20 monasteries were built on top of these pillars, taking advantage of the isolation and beauty of the landscape. Today only six remain, and while they still have nuns and monks living in them, certain parts are open to the public. In the good old days, the only way you could get to the monasteries was a system of rickety ladders and pulleys, but now there are paths and even a road that visitors can take. Since my friends and I were feeling adventurous (and since we didn’t have a car) we decided to hike up these paths one weekend to visit the monasteries. The forecast called for rain, but that didn’t deter us. We grabbed our rain gear and headed out bright and early Saturday morning.
To give you idea of what we were facing, here is a picture at the start of the foot-path.
Pretty daunting, am I right? I thought about turning back, but I didn’t know how to get back to the hotel. Also I really wanted to say I made it to the top. I mean, imagine the bragging rights from up there! Plus, I’d be able to get one of those cheesy, “arms raised victoriously with an epic mountain background” pictures. I’d always wanted one of those! Besides, how hard could it be?
Turns out really hard! Here is an approximation of how the hike went for me:
Friends: “It’s it amazing that we are here? Look how high that is!”
Me: *Oh my goodness, why did I agree to this?*
Friends: “Wow, this path is awesome!”
Me: *I’m dying*
Friends: ”What pretty flowers!”
Me: *Please put them on my grave*
Friends: “Oh my goodness! Look at the view!”
Me: *I can’t. I’m dyin… oh wait, that’s actually gorgeous.*
After an hour and a half of this, we reached the base of the first monastery. Even though the hike was completely exhausting, every second of it was beautiful. My heart broke a little at the top, partially because the view was so perfect, and partially because I saw the 200 stairs we had to climb to get up to the monastery itself. After a quick break to change into our monastery-wear (long skirts and shawls), we started the climb. The stairs wound around the sandstone pillar on which the monastery was built, taking us higher and higher until it finally deposited us at the top. The view from up there was breathtaking, and not just because I almost passed out on the stairs.
We spent a good amount of time at the first monastery, which was by far my favorite. Since it is so difficult to reach, the only other people there were the monks and a kind Dutch couple who took some pictures for us. For the most part, the monastery was simple and bare, but the inside of the church was an explosion of color. Every surface was covered in exquisite paintings embellished with gold, incense filled the air, and we even heard a monk quietly chanting. For the sake of preservation and respect, there are no photos allowed in the church, but I don’t think any pictures could do it justice anyway. I felt like I could spend forever here, simply sitting and studying and soaking in the beauty. But we had a lot more to see that day, so after petting the monastery cat (monastic cat? monasticat?), we were off!
(Monastery wear at its finest. Notice the long skirt not quite hiding the hiking shoes. Monasticat also featured.)
(First monastery from a distance.)
We spent the rest of the day hiking from monastery to monastery, each one more beautiful than the last. It eventually started to rain, but we didn’t let it stop us. About halfway through the day, we stopped to eat lunch at a tiny monastery that is now cared for by nuns. We had a picnic outside in the rain, tossing food to the monasticats and making endless “Get thee to a nunnery!” jokes before we headed to the next monastery.
(There’s the second monastery in the distance.)
The last monastery we visited was so high up that it was shrouded in mist. It appeared slowly as we dragged ourselves up that final round of stairs. We spent a long time simply sitting in this monastery, catching our breath, admiring the paintings, and trying to process everything we had seen that day.
(Last monastery epically emerging from the mist.)
I can’t adequately explain what this experience was like, to remove myself from everyday life and enter into such a sacred space, to immerse myself so completely in beauty. We hiked seven miles that day, climbed over 1000 ft, and saw four monasteries. It was one of the most exhausting and fulfilling days that I have ever had. By the end, we were tired, completely soaked from all the rain, and absolutely in awe of this beautiful place. But mostly, we were happy to learn that we could catch a bus back down the mountain. We were so exhausted, I’m pretty sure we considered becoming nuns just so we didn’t have to climb back down.
(“If someone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”)
Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did get my “arms raised in victory” photo. It’s now my profile pic. Don’t even care how cheesy it is.