We move further south, hoping to get away from the bad weather. Before arriving at Meteora we decide to go and visit some stone bridges that seem to be not to be missed. The whole central Greece is littered with bridges built in stone and usually in very suggestive positions, that of Portitsa, a few meters from the mouth of a gorge, is considered one of the most beautiful in the country.
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Under a cloudy sky, with a ray of sunshine that managed to appear every now and then, we arrive to the bridge Ziaka [40.03858,21.28976] which is also the easiest to get to, as it is located in a dozen meters from the main road. The location is nice, but the whole scenery is not anything fancy. Short stop, we look for the WC indicated by a small sign, but do not find it. Too bad it would be handy to drain.
We continue in the direction Trikomo to locate the famous bridge of Aziz Aga [39.99696,21.28478]. In fact it is impressive with its 15 meters high and 30 opening of its central arch is the largest in Greece, and when the wind blows crossing it is not recommended for those suffering from vertigo! From the main road after three miles of road in good condition you get exactly under the bridge.
From here we move on to our last stop for the day, the village Spileo, built on the crest of a mountain, just getting there is an experience. Shortly before the stretch of road carved into the rock starts, there is a sign to another important bridge, Katsoianni, but the road seemed in very bad condition and I did not trust to go down. Instead I arrived in the village and after taking precise directions on how to get to the famous bridge Portitsa, since it was getting late, I decided to stop for the night [40.00600,21.28657] and reach it in the morning. In the meantime I took a walk in the village visiting the beautiful ancient church of the Virgin Mary (Panagia) and the Mitropoli.
Above the Mitropoli and the Epitaph prepared for the celebration of Easter.
To the left of the building of the old school, now under renovation.
Below the beginning of the trail, starting at the back of the school, that leads to the bridge in about 20 minutes. Coming back, if you are is somewhat out of training will take more or less twice as that! 😉
The view along the trail is amazing, keep in mind that to see the bridge lit by the sun you will have to get there in the afternoon. We descended the first time in the morning with the motorhome from the dirt road that starts shortly after the village… I would not recommend it without a 4×4, I still wonder how did we managed to get back… not to mention that it took us almost half an hour anyway!
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