We delve into the hidden treasures of Northern Greece, exploring the breathtaking regions of Epirus and Meteora. With Sofia Mastoridis from Natura Greca as our guide, we uncover the lush landscapes and rich cultural experiences that often go unnoticed by tourists who flock to the islands.

From the stunning Vicos Gorge, home to an incredible array of flora and fauna, to the unique stone villages of Zagori, we discover a side of Greece that’s as vibrant as it is tranquil. We’ll also marvel at the ancient monasteries perched on towering rock formations in Meteora, where history and spirituality blend seamlessly. If you’re looking for an authentic Greek adventure away from the crowds, this episode is your ultimate travel guide!

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Exploring the hidden gems of Greece, Daniel Edward and Sofia Mastoridis take us on a captivating journey through the less-traveled regions of Epirus and Meteora. These areas, often overshadowed by the classic imagery of Athens and the islands, offer a unique glimpse into the wild, green heart of Greece.

Sofia passionately describes Epirus as the ‘greenest region’ of the country, rich in biodiversity and stunning landscapes. The Vicos Gorge, one of the deepest gorges in the world, is highlighted as a must-visit, boasting over 1700 species of plants and breathtaking views.

We also delve into the enchanting stone villages of Zagori, where life moves at a slower pace, allowing visitors to truly absorb the local culture, traditions, and warm hospitality of the mountain people. Meteora, with its iconic monasteries perched atop towering rock formations, captivates our imagination as Sofia shares the history and spiritual significance of these ancient sites.

Dating back to the 11th century, these monasteries not only serve as a testament to human determination but also provide a serene environment for contemplation and spiritual reflection.

The unique experience of hiking between the monasteries is recommended, with Sofia suggesting to avoid the tourist buses and instead take a more personal approach by visiting just a few of them, ideally at sunrise or sunset for a truly magical experience.

Along the way, we also learn about the local customs and etiquette to observe when visiting these sacred places, ensuring a respectful and enriching visit.

The conversation flows effortlessly from the natural wonders to the culinary delights of the region, with Sofia sharing her favorite local dishes, including the beloved pies of Epirus.

We explore the significance of slow food in Greek culture, emphasizing the importance of savoring meals and engaging with locals.

The episode wraps up with practical travel tips, including the best times to visit, how to navigate the regions, and the cultural nuances that enhance the travel experience.

Takeaways:

• Meteora and the Epirus region offer stunning natural landscapes that are often overlooked by tourists, making them perfect for authentic adventures.
• The Vicos Gorge is the deepest gorge in the world relative to its length, featuring an incredible array of flora and fauna, making it a must-visit for nature enthusiasts.
• Exploring the stone villages of Zagori provides a unique glimpse into traditional Greek life, with a pace and culture that feels distinctly different from the islands.
• The ancient monasteries of Meteora are not only a UNESCO World Heritage site, but they also offer breathtaking views and a spiritual experience like no other.
• Traveling in the Epirus region allows visitors to engage in outdoor activities such as hiking, rafting, and rock climbing, all while experiencing local culture and cuisine.
• Natura Greca focuses on sustainable travel, providing small group tours that emphasize slow travel, local interactions, and the hidden gems of Greece that many tourists miss.

This is Destination Unlocked with me.

Daniel Edward, just now ready to depart.

Please make sure your seat belt is my fast and do make yourself comfortable.

Hello.

Welcome back to Destination Unlocked.

Where today we're going to Greece, but probably not a part of Greece that you would initially think of.

If you think of Greece as Athens and then the islands, well, there's more to the country than that and today we're going to unpack it.

We're going northern Greece today to a couple of regions they're sort of neighbors, Epirus and Meteora.

And we're going in the company of Sophia Masteridis, whose company, Natura Greca, runs tours to this part of the country that many tourists just don't know is there.

Enjoy.

So, Sophia, where are you unlocking for us today?

Hi, Daniel.

Today I'm unlocking Epirus region and Meteora in Greece.

I'm very excited about this because whilst I've spent a fair amount of time in the islands of Greece, I've not spent time in the mainland.

And so these two areas, which are often combined for people exploring, exploring and people will put the two together for a trip, are some great looking, outdoorsy, adventurey sort of places.

What would you say is the highlight?

How would you introduce this region to people?

Yes, as you said, it's a really different region from the south and it's a very wild and green region.

It's the greenest in Greece and you have a lot of flora and fauna.

And I would say people would go there to visit things that they wouldn't see in any other place of Greece.

For example, you have the Vicos Gorge, which is one of the deepest in the world, actually the deepest in the world relative to its length.

So it's an amazing gorge to do.

And then you would go around the Zahora Horia, we call it.

So it's stone villages.

There are 46 of them.

And it's really, I would say, a different life.

So the pace is different, the culture is different.

You know, it's mountain people and mountain mentality.

A little bit wilder, but very warm.

And then I would go about to Meteora.

The Meteora region is these ancient monasteries that were built in the 11th century by monks coming from Mount Ay Athos.

And these are amazing.

It's like stone pillars coming from the earth.

So I would recommend these big three things to see when you come.

I'm so intrigued by those monasteries, which look like a southern European version of what you might see in the Himalayas.

People think about the Tibetan monks up in the mountains.

We've got it here in Europe as well, and I never knew it.

Why don't we start there?

There are six active monasteries there.

They're UNESCO listed.

What do you see there?

What do you do?

How do you arrange a trip there?

As you said, six are active.

And so there is once per week, one is closed.

It's a rotation system.

So the monks can be calm a little bit because it is a very touristic area in the summer especially.

So what I would recommend is when you go there, don't go by bus or touristic bus, don't book a tour with the buses to visit all six of them.

I would say pick three.

All of them are fantastic.

And then you can hike between monasteries.

So you are under the monasteries and you go from one another.

And of course there are stairs to go up.

It's like 400 meters to go up.

And before there weren't any stairs.

So the monks were climbing up with, let's say, a box.

And then the monks from up the monastery, they were pulling the strings and.

And the monks were inside.

Oh, my gosh.

So they had a pulley system.

Yes.

And the monk is sitting in the box.

Exactly, exactly.

That's amazing.

And you know, there is this joke that when people ask, when do you change these ropes?

And the monks were saying, when God allows that they break.

Fortunately, now we have stairs, so don't worry about it.

So it's very safe.

So, yes, you can climb up.

And I would visit three of them very early in the morning or at sunset.

It's very nice as well.

It's amazing.

When you arrive in the monastery, there is some etiquette.

Women should wear skirts, long skirts, shoulders should be covered.

A T shirt is okay.

And then for men it has to be long trousers.

But anyway, if you go there, the monks can give you stuff.

If you don't have anything, don't worry.

But yeah, take the time to feel the spirit.

It's a very spiritual place, actually.

And what religion are these monks?

We are Orthodox in Greece.

So they are Orthodox.

The only monks I've come into personal contact with are in the Himalayas.

And they wear orange robes and they all have the same haircut.

Is it the same sort of thing in Greece?

They do have a style.

It's mostly black and very simple.

And that's all they wear so you would recognize them.

And also priests wear black during the day, but in the church they wear other clothes depending on the day.

They can be white if it's something to celebrate or depending on the day.

But monks in the monasteries, they mostly wear black and simple clothes.

And do people of the Orthodox faith do pilgrimages to these monasteries?

Not to the Meteora.

Pilgrims are most in the island.

There is an island that people go on their knees and they go up the church for Mary.

Yeah.

Which island is that?

Tinos island.

That they do this.

Yeah.

It sounds like if you're going to do the hiking between three monasteries, you've got to be relatively fit.

It's accessible to all good hikers.

So the only thing you have to climb is the stairs.

It's really flat in between.

And yes, okay, there are some places that you can go and go up the rocks, but it's not so difficult.

You have to have good shoes, of course, but it's fine.

Anyone can do it.

400 Meters of stairs is quite a lot.

It is a lot.

But then it's good that there.

There is water, you can relax a moment, shade.

And what about food?

If you're going to do this as a day trip, you've got to eat at some point.

Do you have to bring something with you or there is food there?

In the monasteries in the Meteora there is nothing, so you should bring something.

But if you go to the city, the Kastraki village or the Calabaca village near the monasteries, you can have food, but I would recommend taking something, a small sandwich.

There are some tavernas there and there, but I would say it's mostly touristic.

So I would prefer that you wait and go to Castracchi to eat in a local taverna.

So Castracchi is the biggest town of the region.

In Meteora, Calabaca is the biggest, but it's less traditional than Kastraki.

Kastraki is nicer, I would say.

I would recommend mostly to go to Kastraki, other than Calabaca, to stay in the region.

And is there other stuff to do while you're there?

So would you spend sort of two or three days there?

I would stay only one or two days.

If you just want to see the monasteries, then if you rock climb, you can rock climb the Meteora rocks.

But that's it for the region.

So everything else is over on the.

Epirus side there is the playground.

Let's dig into the playground.

Then let's start in the gorge.

Yes, this gorge, actually it's amazing.

It's a relatively easy hike.

You go down from Mono Dendri, the village from one of the 46, Zagoro Horja, and you have to walk.

So I would say you can do one piece and then stop and go up the other village.

You go near the river.

So there is the void o Matis river.

That is one of the cleanest in Europe.

You can go in as well where it's deeper and it's a really nice hike.

Near the river and all around you see all these plants.

And there are also a lot of eagles, chamois.

So it's like a kind of goat.

And not there in the Vicos, but around in the Pindos mountains there are also bears, brown bears.

Ooh.

You want to be a little careful.

Yes.

With the food you have to be a little bit careful.

We once saw a bear from far away.

So all good.

But yeah, there are small families of bears there.

Yeah.

In the Pindus area.

So the Pindus mountain is near all this Epirus region.

And so the Zagori, the villages, the stone villages, 46 of them, they're still living in a very traditional way of life, are they?

Yes, exactly.

So most of them have 100, 200 max inhabitants all year long.

And then in the high season, let's say, people began to come to these places because they're very different.

Like we said in the beginning, they keep this traditional way of life.

It's kind of, I would say it didn't like civilization touched them, but in a very mellow way.

And they kept all the traditions.

Like they have this music there that is very traditional to this place.

It's called Epirotica.

So from Epirus.

Epirotica.

And then they also have the Miroloi.

So it's a very slow, relaxed music typical from this region.

And then when you walk in these villages, you always go to the Platea.

So the Platea is the square, the town square, where you have the big platen tree in every village in Greece in general.

But there specifically you have this platen tree and coffee, coffee shops.

And people just go there to drink their coffee, discuss.

And life is very slow paced, really.

They take the time to enjoy and discuss with villagers or tourists.

You feel different when you go there, I would say.

And to go from one village to another, you can hike, of course.

And there is these amazing stone bridges that were built in the 18th century.

And some of them are just cobbled arches like this.

And that's it, nothing else.

But you can still go up and it's safe.

It's very typical of the region as well, the stone bridges, this idea of.

Traditional villages where people sit out under the trees and discuss the important ideas of the day or just life is for me so Greek.

And it's something I really love about Greek culture.

It's something that if you look back into ancient history, the Greeks gave us as a gift, this idea of discourse, of gathering together and talking about big ideas.

And from the sound of it, it's something that the mainland of Greece has really held onto in these rural areas much more than the islands which have become tourist havens.

If you want to see true Greece, Greece that's held onto its roots a bit more, this is the place to go.

Yes, exactly.

You are exactly right.

In the islands you don't see many Greeks in the end because it has become so touristic and also so expensive, let's say it.

But when you go to these places, you will see the papu with his granddad, Papu that is sitting and drinking his coffee and enjoying life.

And you can sit and speak with them and they will take the time.

In addition to the coffee, what else would people be tucking into in this part of Greece?

In this part of Greece, they have a lot of really nice food.

The typical thing of the region without the coffee, but with Tziporo.

Tzipora is a drink that we drink in Greece.

It's like ouzo, if you know, but better.

And so they have this goat or lump meat that they slow cook in a rastra.

So it's like a small clay pot and you close it and then you cook it for hours.

So this is typical of the region because they have a lot of sheep and lambs and goats in the mountains.

And you can also, of course, have a lot of cheese.

That's very famous area for cheese there.

There is the mezzo vone that is famous from Mezzevo.

And for breakfast you could try burata.

So Burata is from all northern Greece.

Actually.

It's a filopita.

You know the filopita to make baklava, for example, it's very thin.

Then you put custard cream.

This is for breakfast.

It's delicious.

I would recommend if you go there, just burrata coffee and you're ready for the day.

Actually, you're done.

That sounds fantastic.

I love the sweet treats of Greece.

Oh yeah, Baklava as well.

Like I said, it's amazing.

And you have.

I don't know if you tried ever.

This is the spoon sweets.

They typically give it to you in these places.

In Epirus, you take a Greek coffee and they give you a small plate with one spoon of a very, very sweet syrup with fruit for Example, let's say strawberry and then they put the strawberry in the syrup and it makes a very, very sweet thing that you can only eat one.

So it's like a small plate with one spoon and you eat that with the coffee.

It's just so intensely sweet.

Oh, that sounds good.

Very intense.

Yeah, I do have a sweet tooth.

What's your favorite dessert in Greece then?

The most memorable thing that I've had in Greece and I wasn't sure about it until I tried it.

I thought this is a very strange idea.

And it was so delicious that I look for it now and I haven't found outside of Greece olive oil ice cream.

Oh really?

I never tried that.

I saw it.

But really it's delicious.

Ice cream with olive oil on top.

Mixed in it's this sort of sweet and savory because the olive oil does have a sweetness to it.

Oh, it's delicious.

It was absolutely delicious.

I have to try it.

Olive oil, we put it on the salads and stuff.

We don't put it on sweet things normally.

Well, more people should try And I don't know if this is true or not, but I convinced myself that it was healthy.

It is healthy.

Everything with olive oil is healthy.

Like my mother in law says, if you want it to taste good, you have to put a lot of olive oil.

Every time she comes in my house she uses 1 liter of olive oil to cook.

But it is delicious.

So it's healthy, no worries.

And Greek olive oil is very nice.

You can taste the difference if it's a good one.

It becomes kind of expensive to use in the end.

Yeah, every time I go to the shop it's got more expensive than the time before.

It's difficult for the Greeks actually.

Everything has gone up now.

It's not maybe the travel tip that people would want, but I think that they should know that Greece is not very cheap.

It has become a little bit expensive because of many reasons.

And Greeks struggle over the last 10 years.

I feel like Greece has certainly economically or cost wise drifted across to Western Europe prices.

Yeah, you're absolutely right.

Accommodation, food, all of this has gone up.

And one reason is the geopolitical things happening.

But the other is also there are a lot of tourists.

So prices go up in the summer so they can have all year long money to live.

That's why I wanted also to shift people to also go in different periods the prices are lower and also to areas that are not so touristic and so the prices are also lower so you can find much better deals if you go to less touristic places, but amazing as well.

That is really clever and such good insight that there is this sort of dynamic pricing model where the tourists are in town, the prices go up, the tourists leave for the season.

Let's get back to normal.

And this is what I love, what you've done with Natura Greca, which is your company, and you focus in on the real Greece, but it's missed by people.

And yet this is where if you're motivated to travel sustainably, if you're motivated to support the real local economy and also get an authentic experience, this is where you need to be looking.

Exactly.

So that's the idea of Natura Greca and that's why I built it, because I wanted people to see the other side of Greece and also to see, actually to see the authentic part of Greece, which we are missing.

Because yes, when we think of Greece, we see the white houses, we see the sea and food, of course, all this is there as well.

But what we don't think about is so many people.

In the small street of Santorini, for example, there is no space for all of these people.

I wanted to take the time so to slow travel.

And how do you do that?

You go by walking or e bike.

I built it Natura Greca so people can enjoy Greece, Athletic Greece, and meet local people.

Because in the islands I think you meet a lot of people that are very stressed working 16 hours a day, six, seven days a week.

I want to avoid that.

And that's why I propose hiking and e bike trips in small groups in different regions of Greece.

We also do the Cyclade, so Amorgos Naxos, all these.

But we do it in May or April or September, October.

So describe a Natura Greca tour.

What's the experience for somebody who's thinking of going either on a walking or one of the e bike tours?

All right, so let's say you want to go on a hike in Greece and you don't know what to do.

You want to go to Epirus, the region like we talked about, this one, which is a region that's beautiful in.

You can do some hikes alone, but most of them you have to have a guide.

It's better to have a guide so you can see everything.

The groups are from 6 to 15 people max.

And it's average, we have 10 people most of the time.

So it's a really nice small group.

They have the same level.

So for example, for the Epirus hike, I would say it's a level Two on a two to three on a scale to five.

So the hiking scale, it's not a difficult one and we really, I want to focus on that, that it's not a sport thing.

It's really take the time to hike.

We talk, we stop a lot.

The guide gives us stories like for ancient things or for flora and fauna.

So for example, in the Vicus Gorge there were these doctors that were taking all the plants before and they were going around the Balkan region and Greece and they were dressed really in a specific way.

So everyone knew that these were the Vicoja 3.

So the doctors from Vicos and they were curing people with plants.

That's things that you don't learn if you just go by yourself.

I would say I would recommend a small group and then they don't have to do anything.

We are at the airport, we take them there is the transfer that is included, food is included, we know where to go to eat good food.

And then the guide is always with us.

English speaker, French, German, Greek, if someone wants.

We eat breakfast slowly and then nine o' clock we begin.

We hike all day until three to four.

But as I said, since we are doing a lot of breaks, we do like 10-12km per day so it's not very, very much.

And the altitude difference is 4 to 500 depending on the day.

And then we go back to the guest houses that they have there.

It's very, very nice and very welcoming and we relax and then we go all together.

It's a nice way of traveling.

I so who are you likely to meet on these trips?

If you've not done an aturogreca trip before, who are the other travelers likely to be?

It depends on the trip, but they are over 50.

I am trying to make groups with younger people but they really want to go on the adventure alone.

So that's why I introduced also the self guided tour.

So you can just go with your friend or alone and you have the map and the accommodation is booked and some transfer windows booked as well.

And that's it.

People are relaxed because they're here to hike.

I think hikers have another way of seeing things.

They're more flexible, everything is well organized.

But we are still in Greece so you have to build it to have a little bit of flexibility.

I don't know how English people are with the time, but I think they are strict.

Right.

Generally I think we're quite an ordered people in that sense.

But I think that's one of the nicest things with travel as well.

Because I think the reputation of the UK is a little bit uptight sometimes.

But when you leave home and you go somewhere else, it relaxes you.

You become more open minded because you're in a place where you're not so familiar and you're open to experiencing another person's customs.

And then you do adopt little bits of that that speak to you.

That's nice, you should do that.

Because if not, I think you're missing something.

Yes, maybe some people drink their coffee very fast or eat their meal and go.

But for example, in Greece, when you sit down to eat a meal, you can be there three hours because you take your time, you discuss.

And even with the coffee in Greece, where you have the frappe, that takes some more time, you know, you stay two hours and you just talk.

It's a different mentality.

It's good when you go to another country to embrace that and you come out different when you do that.

But for people that are younger and want adventure, this area is very, very nice for this.

We have rafting, rock climbing, rappel, all this.

So it's things that we can also do in the Vojdoma AOS River.

You can do the rafting, you can do bungee jumping, you can do everything.

How can people find out more about Natura Greca if they want to be in touch?

Either go on my website www.naturagreca.ch so ch.

Because it's in Switzerland, but the website is in English and in German as well.

And then they can also find me on Instagram and Facebook and they can call me or send me an email to infoaturagrecach.

And I'm actually the one that will be answering.

It's a small company.

I'm organizing everything from Switzerland and the guides are amazing, certified guides in Greece.

And all the places that we go are Czech and really nice.

We thought about everything.

Speaking of logistics, is it best to fly into Athens, which is obviously the busiest airport and city of Greece, or is it best to fly in further north to then get through to Epirus and Meteura?

I would say depends on if you have the direct flight to Athens is the easiest, maybe for you, but then you will have to drive six hours.

The best way to do it would be to arrive in Corfu airport and then drive.

So you just cross and you do like three hours until Epirus Regent.

Or the other way would be to arrive in Thessaloniki and this is four hours drive to go to Epirus and to go to meteora at 3.

I would not recommend going to Athens, but if you want to see Athens, yes, you could go there and visit Athens.

But if you don't want to see Athens, you just go directly, either Thessaloniki or Corfu.

And there is also in Ioannina, that is the biggest city of Epirus, there is an airport, a small one, but maybe there are chartered flights.

That would be the best because it's in the region.

And if you're exploring the area and you're not on a tour, would you recommend hiring a car?

Yes, definitely.

Because the bus is not a very good system.

The best way would be with the car.

So you are free to go wherever you want.

That's something that's best done before you get there, I'm assuming.

Yes, online, so you can see everything and choose the right option for you.

If you go, for example, in the summer, you might not be able to hire a car because there are not any cars because it's busy, period.

So yes, beforehand, prepare the most you can.

It would be best.

And again, thinking of people going independently, how important is it to be able to speak some Greek?

Most of the Greeks speak English because we learn it in school and in private schools, after school.

But in the Epirus region, like we said, it's a little bit wilder and people are a little bit disconnected from the other part of Greece.

And I would say you can find a way to communicate with people even if you don't speak Greek.

But out of respect, or if you really want just to learn some words, it would be really, really nice because people are so happy when you speak some of their language.

They're happy to offer you things to eat, to drink, because you said the.

That it's a thank you.

So.

So yes, I would recommend to learn some Greek, just a few words, but English is fine to go around.

So what are a couple of useful phrases?

All right.

I would say so efjeristo that thank you and paracallo is welcome.

I would say also calimera.

It's a good day, so good morning.

And then maybe you could ask if you want a coffee.

You could say, Ah, great, you're ready.

Great.

All right.

Yeah.

It is nice to be able to speak a touch of the local language.

It shows respect.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Do people tip in restaurants in Greece?

We do it if we want.

It's not obligatory, but yeah, it's nice to give something.

And also to think that people are really not very well paid.

They're.

So as a waiter, the minimum wage is not very good.

So you're helping out so if you want, you can.

It's not expected.

It's something that would be received gratefully but not expected in the rural areas.

If you're going out to the Zagori villages, do you need cash?

The past years Greece has made a very big difference.

So they all accept cards.

But it's true that if you go to a small supermarket or a small coffee shop, it's really nice to have the cash because it's simpler for everyone.

But they do accept cards but have some cash for.

I would say if it's less than €10, pay with the cash.

If we were to add on from the Epirus and Meteora center of this trip that we're talking about, you're suggesting Corfu is a nice sort of extra couple of days by the sea.

Is there anything else in the region that you think we should add on our list to sort of research?

Yeah, two things.

So going from Ipers to Meteor, you can stop at Metsovo.

Metsovo is very known for their wine, so they have particular wines.

And also because bears go eat in the wine field.

So I would say stop at Metsovo because it's a really nice town with a lot of history.

And another thing you could do in the Epirus region is to go to the Doni oracle site.

We didn't speak about ancient things here.

It's very important.

It's Greece.

So this oracle site is the more ancient in Greece.

And there is also a theater that we have some theater spectacles during the summer.

We still do it.

So I would go to see these two things as well because it adds to the trip.

Like you add some ancient history in this.

Yeah, you can't miss out on the ancient side of Greece.

It sounds silly to say it, but it is legendary.

Yeah, it is legendary.

The wrap up round up quick fire finish is now ready for boarding.

What would you say is the top thing to see or do in the Epirus Meteora region?

I want to say the Vicos Gorge, but I spoke a lot about it because I really like it.

So I would say the Meteora monasteries, for me they're very unique.

And even if you're not a spiritual religious person, you do feel that there is something different there.

And yeah, I would recommend to do that.

But really try to do it.

April, May, September, October, not in the summer.

And early in the morning, just so you can feel the calmness.

What is a tourist trap to avoid?

So it's still in the Matera region.

The tourist trap to avoid is really to go with the Tourist bus to the monastery.

So they take you, they leave you at the top of the monastery.

Sometimes you don't even have to walk the stairs.

They take you back.

They go to other to another one.

And you see the six of them, but it's too fast.

And I would say that would be the tourist trap to avoid in the area.

Because in the Epirus region there are not so many tourists.

I mean, if you walk the path, you're mostly alone.

So every time I went, there was no other group, no other people hiking.

So there are no tourists trapped there to avoid.

I would say don't go there with the idea that you're a tourist.

Go there with the idea that you are part of the local system, ecosystem.

Yeah.

Which is so lovely compared to some of the real tourist traps of southern Greece.

You could forget you were in Greece in some of them because they are so overrun.

And I know that there are some big drives at the moment in some of those islands to sort of push back some of the tourists to reclaim the island as Greece.

Maybe that's a necessary thing to do in the end, to preserve the island and the people and the mentality and everything.

I hope that it can be done.

One way for me is to market the other months of the year.

And then July, August would be maybe less crowded.

And that brings us to the next question.

What is your favorite time of year to visit?

So I'm divided because spring is so beautiful with the flowers and everything.

So May, end of.

So if you go to north in Epirus region, like we said, May is great.

June as well, you have to be careful, it can be cold.

So take a jacket with you and long pants.

But it is like 20, 25, so it's fine.

But in the morning you can be a little bit cold.

But then if you go, for example, to the Cyclades, to the islands, and you want to see the flowers and everything flourish, it would best to go April, because May begins already to be too hot and a little bit dry because, yeah, the Cyclades, you know it, it's dry, it's not very green.

So April would be best.

And then I also really like the autumn.

So end of September, mid September, and then October, because all the leaves in the Epirus region, they turn orange.

And that's a really nice sight to see.

That's lovely.

And you've got to think of the photographs as well, of course.

Do you have any book recommendations for.

The region in Epirus?

There is one book I really like.

It's a little bit not dark, but it's a true story.

So it's called Eleni and it's written by her son, Nicos Cage.

Actually, during the civil war in Greece, she tried to hide her kids because people were taking the kids to go to some places.

And he wrote the story about her mother that saved them.

And it really has the background of Epirus region, but it's a little bit maybe melancholic or sad.

So I would recommend maybe pick up a book to learn some Greek words or about the region, some local things to do or local culture.

We have spoken about Greek food and drink and my gosh, there's a lot to choose from.

So this one's going to be hard.

But what would you say is the top food or drink to try?

We didn't talk about the pies in Epirus.

They're very famous for the pies.

So the idea is that you take this phyllo crust and anything you can find, like herbs or zucchini or pumpkin, anything that nature offers, you put it inside and it becomes a really nice pie.

And they're very famous for this food there.

So a pie with a glass of wine, local wine.

I would recommend that.

Yeah, don't go there without trying the pies.

And what are they called in Greek?

Pitta.

So you have to.

Pita is the last.

So you say.

If it's a spinach, you say spanacopita.

If it's a leek, it's trasopita.

So you put the vegetable and then the pita.

And yeah, you have the word.

So you will see it on the menu.

It's always like that.

Well, you'll see shapes on the menu.

But of course, Greek isn't written in the same letters, so.

Yeah, so we don't know what it.

Looks like anyway, it's true.

But a lot of places have also the menu in English, so we are sensible to that.

Our Alphabet is not the same.

It's not easy to learn.

Final question, if we're heading to this corner of northern Greece, what's an authentic local souvenir we could keep an eye out for to bring home?

I would say you can try local thyme, honey.

We have a lot of that, so it's very typical.

Or we have a lot of wool.

Wool things, because there are a lot of lamps, so they make wool jackets and stuff.

And there's also a big tradition in little wood crafts.

So it's.

It's very famous.

Also the region is very famous for that, from Byzantine times.

And you could buy some wood craft.

Oh, I love wooden stuff.

So I will look that up.

Yes.

Sophia Mastorides from Naturagraca, thank you so much for unlocking Epirus and Meteora in Northern Greece for us.

Thank you very much, Daniel.

Lovely stuff.

Well, thank you once again to Sophia Masterides from Natura Greca.

Very interesting part of the country and a part that I certainly want to spend more time in out in nature, exploring places where other tourists aren't.

What a treat, huh?

Well, if you want to find out more, you can very easily get in touch with Sophia at Natura Greca's website or social media.

Before you head off today, do make sure that you are following the Destination Unlocked podcast wherever you're currently listening, so you can easily find us again the next time you want to discover another part of our fabulous world.

I'll see you then.

Bye Bye.