European Stop Number Three: Tzoumerka, Greece

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When deciding my next Greek destination after my island adventures on Tinos, my heart was drawn to the beautiful mountains of the north. So, I started to do some research, looking for the best places to go and different accommodations. This search led me to the small village of Prosilio (translated “towards the sun”), situated on the mountainside of the beautiful Athamanki mountain range, in the region of Tzoumerka. I found this beautiful place by none other than WorkAway. I’m telling yall, this is the BEST way to travel (with second best being CouchSurfing!). Jannos (my host from WorkAway) picked me up from the small city of Ioannina from where we drove about an hour, through windiest roads I’ve ever been on that led us deep into the heart of the Athamanki mountains. I wish I could have enjoyed the views a bit more, but unfortunately, every moving vehicle takes a toll on me, so I used all of my energy and attention to hold down my lunch! When I finally gained my strength back, I was able to enjoy the incredible view from his house, which provides a panoramic view of the mountains and the Kalarritikos river rushing below.

The village of Prosilio contains a total of 22 residents, so me being there already boosted the population by almost 5%! Jannos lives in his grandfather’s old stone house that he was working on restoring. My job during my stay was to help him with the restoration project, doing various tasks including helping with construction, gardening, and general house restoration and maintenance. However, I think Jannos was in vacation mode during the time of my stay because we only really worked two days of the two weeks I was there!

The days we did do work were pretty fun, though. He had recently replaced the windows, so they had to be sealed with draft tape and stained, which was my job for the first day. The next day, we cleaned and organized one of the spare rooms in the house and trimmed the two of the trees in the patio area. And with that, I was able to earn two weeks of free stay and free food! Man, this is the life! I did other small things too during my time there, like helping cook, doing the dishes, and just tidying up around the house. But all in all, it was a pretty easy way to get a free place to stay!

The days when we weren’t working, Jannos and I kind of just hung out. We both really enjoy hiking, so a few of the days, we drove to different villages to explore some of the trails. One day, we planned to explore the villages of Sirako and Kalarites. Jannos said there was an easy hike to get between the two villages, so we could walk around one, then walk to the other to explore some more and grab food at a café. I don’t know what the word easy means to him, but it definitely doesn’t mean the same thing to me. The hike went straight down the mountainside, down to the river, where you then had to hike straight back up. It was anything but easy and my legs were literally throbbing by the time we finally made it to Kalaraties.

As soon as I collapsed in a chair in the comfort of the café, it occurred to me that we were going to have to do that same hike on the way back… I was not stoked about it. However, the sun was setting just as we finished and it was a beautiful site with purple and pink tinted clouds sprinkling the sky just over the beautiful, picturesque village of Sirako, which helped me to forget about my throbbing legs. At least for a few minutes. Despite the difficulty of the hike, it really was a beautiful walk. The path was sprinkled with small waterfalls, so much greenery, and interesting spots in the rock that were fun to explore!

Another day, Jannos’s friend who works as a raft guide at the Kalarritikos river was going to take us kayaking, which I was super excited about. The morning we were going, Jannos had to work in Pramanta, so he brought me with him and dropped me off at one of the café’s in the city square where I hung out and graciously welcomed some wifi. Since we were supposed to go straight to the river after that, all I brought with me was the clothes I was wearing, which was jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket, and my swimsuit and Chacos. Unfortunately, his friend had to cancel at the last minute, so we weren’t able to go kayaking. Since it was a beautiful day and we were already in Pramanta, which has some incredible trails, we decided to go hiking instead. Hiking was not the plan for the day and I did not bring the proper attire, so I got on the trail literally wearing jeans and Chacos. The hike ended up being about four and a half miles, gaining about 1,200ft in elevation and lead us to a partially frozen waterfall. During our hike, we got rained on and snowed on. I literally wanted to cry, I was so cold. However, when we finally made it to the waterfall, it was completely worth it. It was absolutely beautiful, with the most incredible view of the rest of the mountain range! Jannos and I admired the beauty then took advantage of the frozen H₂O and had a snowball fight! After freezing our booties off for a bit, we started the hike back, but stopped about halfway at a refuge house owned by some of Jannos’s friends and warmed up with some delicious and much needed zesti sokolata (hot chocolate)! It was quite the day and my toes only got a little frostbitten!

A few days later, we woke up to snow at the house! I literally jumped out of bed, threw on my coat and ran outside. It had snowed about 3 inches and it was absolutely beautiful! I honestly have a very strong dislike for the cold, but since I’ve lived in Louisiana, Florida, and California my whole life, I don’t really get to experience snow very often. So, anytime I do get to experience it, I really like to take advantage of the opportunity. My first order of business was to build a snowman. The snow was so fresh and so light, snowman building proved to be a much more daunting task than anticipated. Because of this, my snowman ended up standing only about eight inches tall.

But I still loved him and we had a great time together and I named him Papoutsi, which is my favorite Greek word, meaning “shoe”! Unfortunately, the temperature raised to about 55^o in the afternoon, so Papoutsi’s life was very short lived. However, I wasn’t complaining because I was able to break out my hammock and soak in the beautiful sunshine of the afternoon.

Jannos is originally from Patra, which is about four hours south of Prosilio. The plan for the first weekend I was there was to drive down to Patra to visit some of his friends and family. We stayed at his sister, Alexandra’s apartment right in the heart of the city. On Saturday, Jannos and two of his friends, Kostas and Yanni had plans to go mountaineering to try out their new hiking boots and crampons, so I hung out with Alexandra. I think I caught a string of good luck because some of her friends texted her that morning to see if we wanted to go climbing! Uhm, is that even a question?! Of course I’m gonna say yes to climbing. I was pumped! We drove about an hour southwest to the coast to a small town called Kalogria and hopped on the crag. The rock was incredible and the top of each climb provided you with an incredible waterfront view of both the sea and the coastal wetlands. There were about 12 of us that went and we had six ropes set up, so we were able to get so many routes in!

That night, Alexandra and I and a few of her friends had a night out on the town. We started off at a bar in downtown that was having a live music show with four different bands playing a mix of reggae, jazz, blues, and pop. The bands were great and we danced the night away! After the concert, we headed to another bar for a more chill atmosphere. We all grabbed a beer and just sat around, chit chatting, hoping to play some pool, but unfortunately it was a pretty poppin’ night, so the tables never opened up. After a long day of climbing and dancing we called it a night around 1, which is apparently an “early night” for Greeks! Man, I gotta get used to this nightlife here.

The next day, everyone wanted to go climb again, which again, I was stoked about! We headed to the same climbing site and set up a few harder ropes. We climbed until we lost most of the skin on our fingers and our muscles were aching. That is what a climbing day should be like! That night, I wanted to  immerse myself in the authentic Greek culture and go traditional Greek dancing in town, but the bar was having an event, so no dancing for me (this literally happens to me in every city! Why, universe, why?!).

However, everyone knew how disappointed I was, so the guys grabbed the speaker from the car, turned on some traditional Greek music and we danced our hearts out in the middle of the street, periodically yelling “Opa!”. Yall, my soul was soaring, this made me so happy! After getting honked at by a few passing cars, we all headed back to Alexandra’s apartment. There, we ordered some pizza, cracked open a few beers and broke out the board games. Yall, Catan is a confusing enough game to learn how to play. Alright, now try learning how to play it in Greek. Sometimes mixed with a bit of English. But also never understanding if anyone is saying “wood” or “wool”! Let me tell ya, it was quite an interesting experience. I barely understood a second of what was happening, so I mostly just observed and my team ending up winning, so I guess I did something right, right?? After that, we ended the night just sharing stories, laughing, and looking out at the soft glow of the city. This was probably my favorite day of all my time in Greece. Friendship, climbing, dancing, pizza, board games, music, laughter… What else does one need in life?

The next weekend, Kostas and Yanni, came to hang out in Prosilio for a few days. The guys mostly did more mountaineering, which I would have loved to join them on, but I didn’t have any of the right gear (my Chacos definitely weren’t gonna cut it!). So, the first day they went, I explored around Pramanta, a cute little village with breathtaking views. I explored the city center, a few cafés and went on a beautiful hike through the mountains. Jannos is a physical therapist and masseuse and he works at the spa in Pramanta, so that afternoon, he was able to get us into for free so, Kostas, Yanni, and I spent the afternoon relaxing, swimming, and melting all our worries away in the sauna! That was my first time ever going to the spa, and wow it was so relaxing.

My time in Prosilio was so wonderful. It was so quiet and peaceful, just living the simple life in the mountains. Many nights, Jannos and I just sat by the fire, looking out at the mountains, playing board games and sharing stories. We would also go out to the hotel just near his house where we would hang out with the owners and some of the other village dwellers. On days where Jannos went to work, I enjoyed the peace and silence of nature in the comfort of my hammock and hanging out with his sweet doggo Ira.

In the two weeks I spent there, I made friends, learned some Greek, danced in the middle of a street, learned about Greek history, explored some beautiful parts of the country, and got to experience authentic Greek culture. I loved that I was able to step of the beaten path a bit and experience so many hidden gems and undiscovered placed of this amazing place.

This was stop number three on my European adventure, and I cannot wait to see what else this trip will offer. If it stays this good, this will be the best 9 (ish) months of my life! Yassas! (goodbye in Greek!)

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Check out this video to watch my amazing experiences in Tzoumerka!