From Xania to Kissos walk

One Monday in July a small brave group, Jeroen from Amsterdam, Ray from London and me from Inverness Scotland head out into the unknown. We get a lift from our sister centre Anilio who are going shopping to Volos. They drop us off in Xania, the highest point in Pelion mountains, where there is a ski resort in the winter. Hard to imagine in this heat!

We hope to find our way back to Kissos through the forests. Wouldn't we be alright with Jeroen's mobile with satellite mapping programme? First we have some coffee and biscuits in the village in the otherwise empty coffee shop. Ray runs around making enquiries about possible paths to Kissos. We are directed to the nearest lay by where we take a descending path down the mountain. We soon realise that this is a false start down the wrong side of the peninsula. Back on the tarmac road, we acknowledge that we have thrown away an hour but are now equipped with walking sticks cut off the fallen branches.

Ray, Jeroen and Bernice, not me!

Our walk back to Kissos seems to be just a dream. After considering different ways of returning to our centre (bus, hitch hiking, walking along the hot tarmac road), we decide to walk up to the ski centre and back which is only maybe a 15 min walk up. The magnificant restaurant where we are the only customers has stunning views  from the balcony. So we have another coffee and cake which the only waitress must have baked the day before.

To our enquiries about a path to Kissos, the waitress keeps repeating yes, but 'diskolo' meaning difficult. She points us towards one of the buildings up the slope and the path veering to the left. Off we go! Soon we notice a little sign saying 'Kissos' and Jeroen stops here and there to check the satellite maps. The mountain air so high up is wonderfully hot and cool at the same time. The sun is bright, the trees give us some shade, and we have an incredibly blue sky above us. It's magic.

Next we come out to the tarmac road, but on the opposite side a sign for 'Kissos' is beckoning us on. This time it's a rough, overgrown donkey path scattered with fallen trees and branches. The forest is also much darker, with no sun. Suddenly we come upon a picnic hut in the middle of nowhere and decide to have a picnic, which for us means water, nuts, and biscuits. We didn't prepare for a long walk...

The rest of the walk is on dirt roads, paths overgrown with plants up to the waist, paths diverting to all directions. Once we come across a woodcutter who points us towards Kissos, but otherwise it is just the three of us, lush vegetation, irrigation water running down the narrow concrete channels and trees. Towards the end there is a short walk along the tarmac road after which we find the upper road of Kissos village, and arrive safe and sound at Kalikalos after having been on the journey for about 7 hours.

Intuition, luck, and Jeroen's mobile guided us through the mysteries of Pelion forests! The adventure was wonderfully exhilarating, beautiful, fun, one of the highlights of my 5 week stay at Kalikalos.
Johanna