Greece Days 3-4: In Which There are Mushrooms and Goats, and David the Statue Keeps Showing Up.

As you may have gathered from the pictures, this area is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. Mt Tymphe literally towers over the region and our hotel- it's absolutely stunning. It's also the backside of the Vikos Gorge, a 32km gorge that stretches along part of the Pindus Range. The village of Vikos is a 10-minute drive from our Village and from there, it is possible to view the Gorge and walk down to the Voidomatis River at the bottom for a swim, which is exactly what we did. It is like some kind of Enchanted fairyland down there with crystal blue pools under the spreading plane trees.

After practically skipping down the steep switchback trail (40 mins), enjoying a refreshing plunge and exploring an old abandoned monastery, we started back up the trail. I like to think that it's because I've had this horrible cold that I was so slow, but then I remembered that Kent has had cancer and he was just fine- striding ahead of me and kindly waiting for me to catch up, and then striding off again as soon as I made it to his spot on the trail. Note to Fast Hikers: it's nice of you to wait but when we finally reach you, please wait a little longer so we can catch our breath before you sprint off again. Slow Pokes: can I get an Amen.

Going down was easy...

Anyway, not to belabour a point but it was quite a trek back up. Fortunately, there was a very nice little ice cream and coffee shop at the top and I enjoyed my Cookies and Cream Greek ice cream very much.

Me halfway up the trail... 

               

We are basically good for one activity a day and so that was it for Friday. Saturday we had to get up and get our shit together as I had signed us up for a Guided Mushroom Foraging day trip to the Zagori National Park which was about an hour's drive from the lodge. On the way, our van came around bend number 62 (of 4267) to an abrupt halt as there was a flock (?? Is that the collective noun for goats??) of goats on the road, complete with a goat-herd. 

It was quite lovely although I did wonder if there was a guy just up the road waiting for our driver to call him. He was, suspiciously, on the phone just before it happened:

Driver: "10-4 Big Daddy this Easy Rider. I have van of tourists. We are on the approach. Copy"

Goat Herd: "10-4  Easy Rider. Goats are restless, I repeat, Goats are restless. On your Mark"

Driver: "Ok Easy Rider in 3-2-1. Send goats."

Goat Herd: "Goats are walking. Should I walk also with them with look scruffy and carry big stick? Copy?"

Driver: "Yes. Good idea. Over".

Goat Herd: "Big Daddy. What about Bouzouki. Should I play the Bouzouki, too? I know great tune..."

Driver: "Easy Rider, no Bouzouki today. Wrong crowd. Have you got big fake beard to wear?" 

Goat Herd: "Copy yes. Beard is go." 

Driver: "We are 30 seconds away. Over"

Goat Herd: "What about my mother. I have my mother too. Send her also?"

Driver: "Um..no, Easy Rider, we don't need your mother. Just you and goats. Over."

Goat Herd: "Ok fine."

Driver: "We are close. Are goats on road?"

Goar Herd: "Yes. What about clowns. I have clowns. Send them also?"

Driver: "What? No, Easy Rider, no clowns. I repeat no clowns."  *shakes head*

Goat Herd: "ok ok. no clowns. Maybe next time?"

Driver: "No, never any clowns. Ok I see you. Look rustic."

Goat Herd: 

Driver:

The Tourists: "OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE GOATS!" 

 

It's the simple things in life, right? Like a flock of goats on a road, in Greece, on the way to forage for mushrooms.

It's also wild boar season here and the roadside was busy with older men in blaze orange jackets, hunting rifles casually slung over their shoulders, dogs at their side.  We were told before we left on the foraging trip to be aware of the possibility of seeing bears up here in the forest. There is a moderate-sized population of European brown bears here and we were advised, if we see one, to stay silent. Bear attacks are rare here so maybe they are on to something, but I will still consider screaming if I see one. According to several sources, it's the wild boars we need to be wary of - they are considered much more dangerous. And I thought I might see, oh, I don't know, a hedgehog while I was here...

Anyway, after a long and winding road, we finally emerged into a beautiful forest high up in the National Park. Our guide, Illia, and his wife Kristina were expert mycologists from the University of Athens. I defy anyone to ask Illia anything about mushrooms. Anything, He will know it. What followed was an amazing couple of hours in this incredible forest. Over 1500 species of mushroom have been identified here, and that's just the ones they know about. It is estimated that over 70% of Europe's mushroom species grow in this one forest - I could barely move without stepping on one mushroom or another.

Do NOT eat this mushroom. You will die.

Our guide Illia showing us another mushroom. This one is...red.

I wish this was my basket of mushrooms but it belonged to an influencer-type who was on our trip. Even her outfit matched the colours of the mushrooms and I kept seeing her in the forest artfully arranging this basket in a ray of sunshine with a fern or something draped over it, and herself arranged beside the basket, asking her husband, for the 893rd time, to take another picture of her. I am sure to have totally annoyed her when I just leaned over and took a pic of her basket. 

Apparently, this was the find of the day. Don't ask me to remember what it was called, but it is rare, and smells of bacon. Also very tasty of bacon too, as I found out later. Illia was beside himself over this one. There was another one a few feet away even bigger than this one.

I find mushroom picking terrifying - it seems like such a hit-and-miss activity that, if you miss, you're either going to be wretched for the next however long, or, at worst, you'll be dead! Illia was very specific and exacting in his method, however, and knows everything there is to possibly know about mushrooms, and then a lot more that it was impossible to know unless you're Illia, so that was reassuring. It's just disconcerting when a tiny cute little mushroom (like the one he is holding on the chunch of wood) is so deadly it will kill you in short order all by itself.

Me trying to remember one thing from the mushroom walk, just one.

Anyway, it was a beautiful informative walk through a magical fairy-tale forest and we loved it.
After the walk, we drove back to the lodge and Illia and Kristina gave us a video presentation on more mushrooms, while in the kitchen, the hotel chefs prepared the day's haul into an incredible early dinner.

The chef was very excited that he had been gifted three black truffles. He made a potato veloute and grated the truffles onto it. It was unbelievably good.

.

There was also a mushroom risotto and a pork dish with, that's right,  you guessed it, mushrooms.

It's possible that one of the mushrooms induces sleep as both Kent and I could barely stand up after dinner and went to bed "just for a little while" and next thing I knew it was 9:30pm at which point I said fuck it and went to bed until 5:30am, nearly 12 hours sleep, and then stayed up for an hour before sleeping for another 2 hours. So Jet Lag can go pound sand now.

If you've been wondering "when is Jane going to see an old monastery and drone on about it?" well you are in luck as that is tomorrow's activity.

Stay well, everyone and I'm sorry again about making everyone everywhere sick. 
And a big thank-you to Greece for being absolutely amazing, and making it look easy. I guess they did invent "civilization" here so I'll credit them that.