Day 5 - On the pilgrims route

We were rather reluctant to leave Arnea. It seems that plenty of European money has been spent restoring the distinctive galleried buildings, and we were certainly grateful for the warmth of the fire in the lobby of the guesthouse opposite the church - it is getting colder each day we are here, and as soon as you stop walking the cold and the damp seep into your bones.

It is difficult to be certain from which direction you arrived in Arnea, but the village must have looked very similar 68 years ago. The buildings have projecting upper floors supported by elaborate timber brackets - most unlike any other villages we have seen on our journey so far.
After a good night's sleep, we strapped on our rucksacks and headed down the hill towards the next village - Paleochora. We were anxious to get out of the village before the start of the procession. It was Oxi day in Greece - a bit like Christmas and Rememberance Sunday all rolled into one, when they celebrate hammering the Italians and saying a firm "No" to facism. All around excited children were racing to the church - a mix of boys and girls forming up in national dress. As we continued down the hill, we were rather entertained by a large group of schoolchildren practicing their marching - the girls looked jolly smart, but the chaps were a scrappy lot, and almost wholly incapable of marching in time.

We are continuously asked whether we are Germans. We're not sure why - perhaps they baulk at the thought of a large group of Germans tramping through their celebrations. Anyhow, we now make the point of saying we are English whenever we meet anyone on the road. Tyson is being a great sport about this and plays along as an honoury Englishman. It all gets rather complicated otherwise.

The route down the hill cannot have changed significantly - we passed the school on our left, a large classical building set well back from the road. We had seen old pictures of the town in the 1930's, and this building has not changed at all.

We were soon out of the town of Arnea and making good time on the open road. The road twists through mature forests of plane and oak, all ablaze with incredible autumnal colours of orange and red. It wasn't much fun on the road, but we were satisfied we were on Sandy's path.

We arrived in Paleochora just as the band struck up a jaunty ditty. The entire village was lining the main street, their heads turned to look at the children who were marking time further up the road. We got a few quizzical looks as we walked past, so we decided to wait while the celebrations started. The children marched past in their school years, starting with 2-3 year olds and working upwards.

As this was where Sandy had lost your watch, we kept a good eye out for tall old men wearing smart watches, but there were few likely candidates. We decided to press on towards the next village - Paleochora wasn't unfriendly, it is just that they were pre-occupied with their celebrations. We rather fancied some lunch, but each place was jammed with locals so we continued on our route.

There was some dilemma - the route from Paleochori wasn't clear. We either continued to follow the main road towards Stratoni (the northern fishing village) or branched off via the village of Megali Panagia. The latter is the more direct route to Ierissos, and follows the path of the old pilgrims route. We decided to follow this route. The longer route would have been another 38km along the modern road, and we didn't fancy it. Not only was walking on the road hard going, but we felt that the old pilgrims route was more likely.

It was a long slow climb out of Paleochori, past ploughed fields and isolated stone barns. The road takes a fairly straight south-east route, following the pilgrims route through the tangled forests of ilex. In a few hours we arrived at the village of Megali Panagia, cresting the brow of a hill and seeing the entire village spread below us.

Priorities were food and shelter, and we managed both quite easily. Tomorrow we push on the Ierissos and the sea!