Out on Mount Hymettus (Athens)

[cbr6fs]

Took the camera out with me the other day for a change, as i really enjoy seeing other peoples out and about pics i thought i'd give it a go.
Could do with some advice on the pics though i think as they just seem to lack something compared to many others pics.

Rucksack is a Osprey Manta 25L, all packed up, felt a bit heavy so i thought i'd see

Bit much for a day hike, but i was expecting a pretty warm day so had near on 6 litres of fluids on board for both me and the dog.

The route was a 15km hike on Mount Hymettus which is just on the outskirts of Athens.
http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=370930

Route starts off at the Monistary car park and winds up through some nice woods

Then breaks out onto a rough road the fire trucks use in the summer months.
Through the summer there is usually a few fire crews (volunteers) stationed on the mountain and they drive certain routes throughout the day to keep an eye on things.

As you can see through the pics this mountain has been hit hard by fires over the years, hence it looking a bit bleak in places.

We get a lot of tortoises on the mountain, which for a British bloke still seems odd after all these years.

The fire road ended and it was off up a narrow path up the mountain.

Somehow managed to get Bella to stay still long enough to snap a pic.

Yet another tortoise, we saw 4 in total these 2 were literally on the path, the other 2 were off the path and i couldn't get a clear pic.
It's pretty amazing to see how agile these things can be, they get down sloops i'd not try without a rope.

Then it was back on fire roads again

We stopped for dinner just behind that tree

Sausage and beans

Don't really see much point lugging a heavy fixed blade on a hike so i take with me my Doug Ritter RSK folder (Benchmade Griptilian with different blade).

Bit of a disaster really as cooking beans melted the heat exchanger under the mug Grrrrrrrr
All packed up ( i didn't leave the waling stick )

Timed it pretty well as the sun was setting just as we reached the car

Cheers
Mark

 

[sandbender]

Thanks for these.

When I was a lad I walked around the Peloponnese and circumnavigated some of the larger Cyclades, Greece is possibly my second favorite walking country in Europe, great people, a very rough land though, most of the plant life wants to rip you and your gear apart and of course the lack of water and the heat provide a challenge.

I miss Greece.

Thanks again.

 

[cbr6fs]

Thanks for these.

When I was a lad I walked around the Peloponnese and circumnavigated some of the larger Cyclades, Greece is possibly my second favorite walking country in Europe, great people, a very rough land though, most of the plant life wants to rip you and your gear apart and of course the lack of water and the heat provide a challenge.

I miss Greece.

Thanks again.

Hi,

Yes it is rough, even the paths have a tendency to rip your boots and legs to pieces, everything from the rocks to the plants are sharp.
It's also a bit hit and miss with paths and maps, you can be half way down a path and suddenly it just disappears, the maps aren't really much use either as the path seems to change slightly every year in some areas.

It really does feel bad moaning though because on all the footpaths folks from the hiking club have been out and painted either very discrete marks or stacked rocks to mark the route, so without these guys it would be a nightmare finding any path smaller than a fire road.


It's difficult to describe but as a Brit it does feel really refreshing to have this slightly chaotic methods as it really leaves the route up to your common sense and knowledge, so you really have to work for your walk in some places.
Call me crazy but i kinda like that.

Sounds like you had some fantastic adventures over here, the Peloponnese often gets overlooked by holiday makers which is a shame because as you know it's an absolutely stunning area.
Great hiking, woods, mountains, beaches, sea pretty much anything you can want and although it can be difficult to find English speakers in some villages people will give you the shirt off their backs they're that friendly.

Do you have any pics from your adventures over here, i'd love to see them if so?

 

[sandbender]

"...everything from the rocks to the plants are sharp..."

Sharp doesn't adequately describe it, a sewing kit is a must.

"...you can be half way down a path and suddenly it just disappears..."

Ah yes, and often that happens when you are in sight of the road that will take you down to the village or town and always when your water supply ran out the previous evening, getting to that road then requires you to bounce over thorn trees and down scree slopes.

"...It's difficult to describe but as a Brit it does feel really refreshing to have this slightly chaotic methods as it really leaves the route up to your common sense and knowledge, so you really have to work for your walk in some places. Call me crazy but i kinda like that..."

OS Maps! Most of us do not realise how lucky we are and yes I enjoyed the chaos too.

Do you have any pics from your adventures over here, i'd love to see them if so?

These are from the days before digital photography.

A typical path...

A small Byzantine church perched on a cliff top.

The landscape can be cultivated, irrigated and lush, I could smell the oranges in the groves from way up on the mountain ridge...

It can also be wild, harsh and dry...

The coastline and hills are dotted with small churches...

Sleeping on the beach is cheap but the mornings can be chilly...

Good memories.

 

[cbr6fs]

Fantastic pics, thanks for sharing.

Must have felt like heaven having a dip in the sea after the hike.

Absolutely love the pic of the church on the side of the hill as well, amazing to think most of the older ones where built by hand and most of the building materials all carried up by foot or donkey.

You also find these little Shrines in the most unusual places, i snapped this one on Hymettus but at the top of a pretty precarious climb with no roads or footpaths around it.
Someone had carried it up there, made a sound footing, planted it, and then walks up there most days to light a candle inside it.

 

[hog]

Looks great but man thats some congestion in the city.

 

[lannyman8]

awesome, bummer jet boils cost so much and cant cook beans though....

 

[sandbender]

Looks great but man thats some congestion in the city.

I think most of Greece lives in Athens, certainly most of young Greece.

"...Absolutely love the pic of the church on the side of the hill..."

Thanks, it was taken at Monemvasia. Here is the view from the other side.

Someone had carried it up there, made a sound footing, planted it, and then walks up there most days to light a candle inside it.

They are quite serious about their faith, that and their love of country.

 

[JAG009]

Looks like a nice walk ,and your pics are good you can see where you have been walking and what you saw, to me thats job done
Thanks for sharing you journey


Jason

 

[Nightfly]

Thanks for posting the pictures and your commentary, wish there were more posts like this.

 

[R3XXY]

Good post, nice to see some different scenery than usual.

R3XXY

 

[cbr6fs]

Looks great but man thats some congestion in the city.

Aye 7 million people live in that sprawling mess, me included.

It's nice that there are these little oasis's of peace and quiet really really close though.

 

[cbr6fs]

awesome, bummer jet boils cost so much and cant cook beans though....

Aye, even worse customer service.

You live and learn though.

I think most of Greece lives in Athens, certainly most of young Greece.



Thanks, it was taken at Monemvasia. Here is the view from the other side.

They are quite serious about their faith, that and their love of country.

Not really much of a religion person, but they don't half make some nice churches in some nice places here.

Looks like a nice walk ,and your pics are good you can see where you have been walking and what you saw, to me thats job done
Thanks for sharing you journey


Jason

Thanks for posting the pictures and your commentary, wish there were more posts like this.

Good post, nice to see some different scenery than usual.

R3XXY

Thanks guys.

To be honest i never really think about taking my camera and pics most the time, it's only from reading so many great trip reports on here i thought i'd have a go.

For me i love reading up and looking at different trips out.

 

[sandbender]

Not really much of a religion person, but they don't half make some nice churches in some nice places here.

Nor I, but I was impressed by how seriously they took it, even the young folks.

For me i love reading up and looking at different trips out.

Me too, lets see more reports from Greece.

 

[cbr6fs]

Nor I, but I was impressed by how seriously they took it, even the young folks.

It depends really, day to day i only know of a couple of people my sort of age (40's) that are deeply religious.
Even of those there are none i know that visit the church on a regular basis.

But if something goes wrong then a lot of folks here take solace in their God.
Some of those churches, shrines etc are built by people that have sought out religious help via prayers and have agreed some sort of deal like building a church, shrine or doing a pilgrimage sometimes in their knees (often seen around Tinos on the day of the virgin Mary)

As i say not my bag, but to be fair it's very very rare anything is rammed down your throat (religious wise) mostly folks are interested in my beliefs and why rather than trying to "convert" me.

Funny thing is priests aside it's very rare for me to come across a younger Greek that has actually read the bible from start to finish, and few know how it was put together etc.

Me too, lets see more reports from Greece.

I'll see what i can do

 

[RonW]

Nice!!
That looks like some rugged and hot terrain!

 

[cbr6fs]

Nice!!
That looks like some rugged and hot terrain!

Thanks Ron,

It was certainly rugged but not to hot that day.

I was pretty lucky actually as before i left home i decided to put on a long sleeved baselayer under my tee-shirt purely to stop sun burn on my arms.
Turns out i needed to to keep my arms warm rather than protection from the sun

It does get hot in the summer months though, I've seen mid 40c's here twice in peak summer, with low 40c's pretty much every summer, so it's a struggle to leave the house (and the aircon) in those temperatures, to be honest i usually walk the dog at night in summer, still mega hot but at least your avoiding the relentless sun.

 

[LoveBeavers]

This is fantastic. I can almost see my house in some of the pics, because I live in Kareas. cbr6fs I hope I see you in the mountain some day. I trie to hike in Hymettus with my dog every second day or so.
I m really happy that some of you guys have enjoyed the outdoor Greece.
If any of you ever visits Greece again, I would suggest you avoid the tourist destinations, and for a change visit mountainous inland Greece. Don't spend all your vacation there if you don't want to miss the sun and beach, but please take my advice and get off the tourist trail for a few days.
You will find a plethora of alpine trails, subalpine conifer forests, or amazing deciduous forests in lower atlitudes (no paper birch though). Greece is a very mountainous country, with each mountain having its own-microclimate and unique eco-system. Many places are a balance of northern european nature with southern european or even african elements.
The good thing about having the 60% of Greeks living in Athens is that you can find unspoiled paradises all over the country.
I pledge before you that if I ever meet someone in a Greek mountain that KNOWS who Mors Kochanski is I will give him/her my custom made super-steel knife as a gift.

 

[stovie]

Cheers
Mark

SNAP!.....apart from the fact mine was taken an hour ago in my garden in Sussex...

 

[cbr6fs]

For reason i missed your posts and have only just seen them, sorry for the late reply folks.

This is fantastic. I can almost see my house in some of the pics, because I live in Kareas. cbr6fs I hope I see you in the mountain some day. I trie to hike in Hymettus with my dog every second day or so.
I m really happy that some of you guys have enjoyed the outdoor Greece.
If any of you ever visits Greece again, I would suggest you avoid the tourist destinations, and for a change visit mountainous inland Greece. Don't spend all your vacation there if you don't want to miss the sun and beach, but please take my advice and get off the tourist trail for a few days.
You will find a plethora of alpine trails, subalpine conifer forests, or amazing deciduous forests in lower atlitudes (no paper birch though). Greece is a very mountainous country, with each mountain having its own-microclimate and unique eco-system. Many places are a balance of northern european nature with southern european or even african elements.
The good thing about having the 60% of Greeks living in Athens is that you can find unspoiled paradises all over the country.
I pledge before you that if I ever meet someone in a Greek mountain that KNOWS who Mors Kochanski is I will give him/her my custom made super-steel knife as a gift.

Hi,

If your on the South side then i'm 100% sure we've crossed paths before, as i'm up there pretty much every day.
What dog do you have?

SNAP!.....apart from the fact mine was taken an hour ago in my garden in Sussex...

Inquisitive Jack Russell's huh

She/he looks gorgeous though