Florina and Prespa Lakes

 

We climb up through the hills and then across the flat river plain to Florina.

 

 

From here we start to climb again and across to the Prespa Lakes National Park which crosses the borders of Albania and The Republic of Macedonia.  The park is one of the last breeding grounds for the Dalmation Pelican and they seem to be doing very well here.  There are two lakes, the large one, Megali Prespa, is surrounded on one side by the snow capped Albanian mountains, and the small one Mikri Prespa is separated from the large one by a narrow strip of land and water meadow.

 

 

The pretty fishing village of Psarades lies on the edge of Megali Prespa.

 

 

We found a spot near the waters edge for the night and were woken in the early morning by the booming of the bittern.  The lakes are full of Pelicans and Pygmy Cormorants as well as many other species.  The small island of Agios Achilios lies in the middle of Mikri Prespa and we took an early morning stroll over the floating pontoon, past the snakes sunning themselves and onto the small island with its ruined church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Limni Vegoritis and Edessa

 

There are not many campsites in the north of Greece inland but we are here to see the Dalmatian Pelicans and there is a very conveniently sited camperstop right on the shores of Limni Vegoritis and the Pelicans were at home!

 

 

 

Whilst we were in the area we took the opportunity to go and see the waterfalls at Edessa.  The waterfalls are right at the edge of town and quite a tourist attraction.  We were lucky to find a spot to park the van and were surprised at the number of tourists.  It took a few moments to realise why.... 1st May, national holiday.  The waterfalls were in full flow, obviously controlled but an impressive sight.

 

 

 



Zargorian Villages and the Vikos Gorge

 

Zagoria region lies north of Ioannina, it is an area of outstanding beauty, with wonderful villages, deep gorges and high hills and mountains.  The area is popular with tourists but there are still plenty of places where you can get away from it all.  The Epirot villages all have large stone mansions from the 18-19th C when it was a wealthy district.  The owners of these properties commissioned a series of packhorse bridges to link villages and trade routes.  Many of these bridges are still standing but to visit them we decided to park up the van at a free camp just outside Kipoi and investigate the area by scooter.

 

 

On the way back to Kipoi we pass two bridges firstly Persioni and then Milos with its mill.

 

 

We park up at Kipoi and walk up through the village to the church at the top.

 

 

We then visit some more bridges, Lazaridi, (most of the bridges are named after the person who commissioned them.)

 

 

 

Plakida, with its three arches,

 

 

and then we followed the river down to Kokons bridge set against an imposing rock formation.

 

 

We are definitely "bridged out", so we head higher into the mountains for a scenic tour to the mountain village of Tseppelovo.

 

 

Our final destination for the day is a walk to the Mpeloi viewpoint which overlooks the incredible Vikos Gorge.  On the way to the village of Vradeto we could see a 15thC packhorse track which scaled the rocky gorge sides.

 

 

 

The Vikos Gorge is stunning, you need a good head for heights at this view point.  There is a trail which takes you along the bottom of the gorge a 14km rough walk which we would love to do but the forecast of thunderstorms for the next week means we have a good excuse to come back to this delightful area next year.

 

 

Straight down!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Ioannina and Perama Cave

 

After a few days back in the UK we return to our van at Igoumenitsa and take a very scenic drive through the mountains in the direction of Ioannina.  By the time we reach Keramitsa the roads become smaller with hardly any traffic.

 

 

Ioannina is a busy place and we just skirt the northern edge of the town on our way to the Perama Cave.  Perama Caves are the largest cave network in Greece.  We joined a party of schoolchildren on our tour around the caves.  Sorry no photographs allowed on the tour but here is the view from the exit, one looking back at Ioannina on the lake and one of the mountain behind.