This is my personal blog about a variety of topics but mostly concerned about photography, traveling, mountaineering and my band's news.

Check my photos browsed by location (Under beta -- yes still)

Meteora - Μετέωρα

May 21, 2007 at 4.34 pm · Filed under Travels

Or how I went to Meteora twice in 30 days

Meteora or “suspended rocks” is a complex of monasteries in Greece built on spectacular natural sandstone rock pillars.

Ascetic places built around 11th century

Most of the people know Meteora because of the pillars, but the vegetation there is so vast that reminds of a tropical forest. The paths there are almost covered with the plants and it is not easy to trek

And a panoramic photo

On top of the Guardian of Holy Spirit

and at the bottom after I had climbed it

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Galaxeidi (Γαλαξείδι) 2007 - Flour Fight - Part 1

February 19, 2007 at 1.08 pm · Filed under Travels

Just returned from Galaxeidi after the Flour Fights that happen every year on the first Monday before the lent starts. This year was on the 19/2. As I wasn’t planning to go there this year I went quite in a rush and didn’t have time to organize it well. And what can you organize when you wake up on Monday at 13:30, because you have slept at 7:00 and the Flour Fights start at 14:30?

Because some people have asked me for details about the fights I decided to make Galaxeidi a bit more famous from my blog by explaining what it is.

Galaxeidi is a harbor town and a municipality located in the southern part of the prefecture of Phokida in Central Greece.

The weapons for the fight are flour and a special tinted colour ingredient mixed together. The fight starts officially at 14:30 when all visitors are asked to move to a special part of the village that is the “peaceful” part if they don’t want to get painted. After it commences, the people participating start coming down the main road of the village

and concludes at the small port of Galaxeidi

Some people decide to stay in the war zone but protected by the tents of the shops that they stay

while other decide to leave early and find out that they have to pass through the war zone because they don’t know the roads there

and others when they find out that it was a bad idea try to convince with many ways the rest not to paint them

And you always end up in black colour and very drunk

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Vardousia - Βαρδούσια

February 8, 2007 at 12.07 pm · Filed under Travels

Βαρδούσια! Από τα ωραιώτερα βουνά της Ελλάδος κατά την γνώμη μου.

Ξεκινάμε με το μάθημα της επιβίωσης σε πούλμαν (sic), καλύτερα να αναφερθεί ως mini-bus, αγκαλιά με πράγματα και συνεπιβάτες. Κρίμα που δεν υπάρχει φώτο να αποθανατίσει εκείνη την στιγμή. Τυχεροί και όσοι μπόρεσαν να κοιμηθούν μέσα!

Και συνεχίζουμε με την νυχτερινή ανάβαση στο καταφύγιο, η οποία επειδή δεν είχε και πολύ χιόνι έγινε σε χρόνο ρεκόρ!
Αυτό ήταν το μαγικό θέαμα που αντικρίσαμε από το καταφύγιο όταν φτάσαμε γύρω στις 7 το πρωί

Μετά από 2 ολόκληρες ώρες ύπνου, σηκωθήκαμε για τα μαθήματα

Λόγω καλοκαιρίας και τι δεν κάναμε!

Και μάθημα κραμπονάζ, και μάθημα παγοαναρρίχησης

και μάθημα dry tooling

και μετά από όλα αυτά τι καλύτερο από ένα πιάτο μακαρονάδας φτιαγμένο από τις super μαγειρισσές μας!

(σημ: μερικοί φάγαν και 2 … και 3 … και 4 μακαρονάδες)

Την επόμενη μέρα και ενώ χιόνιζε από αργά το βράδυ και το τοπίο από έτσι

έγινε έτσι

κάναμε ασκήσεις κάτω από άσχημες καιρικές συνθήκες και αναγκαστήκαμε και να γυρίσουμε πίσω από την ανάβαση σε μια κορυφή

Κλείνοντας θα παραθέσω 3 πανοραμικές φωτογραφίες από τα μαγευτικά Βαρδούσια που ασκούν μια παράξενη έλξη στους ορειβάτες και επισκέπτες.

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Velouchi Summit

January 8, 2007 at 1.11 pm · Filed under Travels

Velouchi Summit

Small video from the summit of Velouchi in central Greece

Perfect weather conditions while climbing up

Resting 100m before the summit in order to wear crampons

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Mt Olympos Summit

October 12, 2006 at 2.25 pm · Filed under Travels

Our bid to summit mt. Olympos on Sunday 8th February was cancelled due to bad weather.

We started our accent on Saturday from Prionia in 1100m and reached refuge A at 2100m after 2:30 hours. The hike is about 6km and is well maintained.

The weather was rainy and foggy which made the accent from refuge A difficult and dangerous.
This is the summit (Mitikas) in one of the few moments that wasn’t hidden from fog.

This is a panoramic view from refuge A.
and this one from a lower elevation

On our way back to Athens something happened that reminded me of my dreams when I was young. Near Litochoro, we picked up a hitch hiker couple from Austria that have travelled through Balkans. When asked what they are doing they replied that they are studying through travelling! To conclude, we might try again this weekend if the weather is better

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