Safe Return Doubtful

I was blown off my perch this morning. Overnight the wind had got up, as of course, the van was facing the wrong way, the side door into the teeth of the gale. A quick swivel through ninety degrees, and the morning routine could take place. The pass has a reputation for strong winds, which I did not heed.

By chance then, and after only descending ten kilometres or so, I came across a magnificent little village, Distrato, situated as it’s siblings, nestled into a groove in the mountain amidst forests not yet autumnal, and the bald conical summits, at just over 1000 metres. Here there was more life, mostly centred around a cafe, Vista e Mundi, the ‘escape bar’.

It was one of those few places impossible not to stop at, and t(e coffee was superb. A quick look at the map and I found we were right on The Píndos Way, the E6 path that, along with the Peloponnese Way,, runs the length of Greece.

Stimulated by the caffeine, I led Roja, for a change, onwards and upwards, steeply to about 1200 metres, where we gained excellent views of the periphery.

It was another cracking day, cloudless, and now lower, relatively windless. Pleasantly cool also, at about 18C. I ran over in my mind, the feasibility of trekking the route. A Cicerone guidebook, which I have, is dedicated to it.

It’s another for that burgeoning list that can begin in a couple of years. I won’t get round to most of it. It will need some careful pruning. But for sure, at this time of year, or a bit earlier, it would be a fantastic expedition.

A lot of it can be done by gravel or mountain bike. There’s a route here, called The Bike Odyssey.. https://bikepacking.com/routes/bike-odyssey-bikepacking-route-greece/

In the afternoon we drove on, still on incredible roads. Roads that would be a real test on a road bike, as was evident when my friends Hugh and Pauline were here earlier this year. For many sections, riding off-road, on tracks like the E6, less height is gained and lost.

We passed through Pades and Paleoselli, the latter at which we nearly stopped, but seeking a view of the jagged peaks of the ridge of the Tymfi massif, in the north of the Pindos mountains, we went on a few kilometres to Elefthero. There is a restaurant here, but at this time of the year it only opens at weekends. We found an ideal spot to pull over a kilometre or so out of the village.

Just before dark, and some rain that is forecast, we walked back into the village. Little was going on, but a guy painting his house confirmed with me that the restaurant was closed. And Roja met a friend, a young Greek Sheepdog. At first they were anything but friends, but that soon changed, and the young dog, about a year old I’d say, ended up staying for dinner and spending most of the evening with us.