Revealed: The Secrets That Will Let You Find Some Peace In Greece
De Wikifliping
Athens has campaigned to have the "Elgin Marbles", how to get to Pelion as they are often known - 75 metres of Parthenon frieze, 15 metopes and 17 sculptures - returned from the British Museum since they were removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire then ruling Greece.
The travel company Macs Adventure has arranged our trip (yes, I really did just type ‘adventure holidays' into a search engine), which includes transferring our luggage between hotels and providing us with route notes for each day's walk.
Better still, head over for lunch at one of the tavernas on Paxos's smaller, vine-covered neighbour, Antipaxos. Hire a boat to see the best bits, how to get to Pelion pottering around the coast to stop at Galazio beach, which is accessible only by water, and to marvel at the natural rock arch of Kamara.
"We have seen progress," Mitsotakis said during an event at the London School of Economics, saying that while discussions remained private, the reunification of the sculptures could be a "win-win solution".
I was certain before we set out that a well-worn pair of Converse trainers would suffice as footwear, but am horrified to discover that they offer neither enough grip nor VOLOS ACHILLION TRANSFER support. After only one day of walking, my legs are covered in cuts and grazes.
A week's B&B costs from £1,059pp, with flights and transfers (Sunvil also runs holidays to Ikaria in the Aegean, which is one of the world's Blue Zones - places where people live the longest as a result of their healthy diet and easy-going lifestyle. There are superb sea views, VOLOS LARISA KTEL too, from rooms at Pedi Beach Hotel, which is right on a pebbly beach in the pretty village.
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A villa for two costs from £2,200 a week, or £2,500 for four, with car hire but excluding flights (oneoffplaces.co.uk). Enjoy a massage using herbs grown on the estate, practise yoga in the pavilion, or walk to the nearby beach. On a hillside with sea views, the villas are set within their own gardens and things to do in Pelion share a pool, open-air cinema and a large library.
A week's B&B costs from £647pp, excluding flights (cittadeinicliani.com). Swim in rocky coves a short drive away, and visit the Diros Caves - one is more than a mile long that can be explored during a 40-minute boat trip.
This early 19th-century building is full of telescopes, books and prints, while outside you can take tea or drinks in the hotel's own treehouse. In between these two, poor reading of the directions (again) causes us to accidentally climb a hill that must surely be known locally as the Greek Matterhorn. Our night is spent in the wonderfully quirky Lost Unicorn Hotel in Tsagarada.
Tick off Serifos and Sifnos, Naxos and Paros as well as the wild, mountainous island of Kythnos. You can also hire a catamaran complete with skipper and chef to sail round the less-well-known Cyclades.
Despite the latter, a fatal combination of overconfidence (I am seized by the delusion that I am a born explorer) and poor map-reading causes us to set off in the opposite direction to that in which we should be heading.
Blaming my inadequate footwear rather than lack of fitness, I struggle on — and soon the prospect of a lunch of Pelion sausage in peppers and aubergine and a Mythos beer has lubricated my joints. By this stage my blisters are less of a problem than the fact that my knees no longer seem to be functioning.
The beaches of Agios Ioannis are beautifully clear, fronted by a succession of tavernas.
Chris, desperate to check the financial markets (his mobile phone is a constant feature on our walks), is delighted by the hotel wi-fi, while I provide a bit of visual contrast on the beach — a pallid interloper surrounded by bronzed Greeks. But there are compensations later.
Six nights' B&B costs from £1,660pp with flights (Alternatively, VOLOS PATRAS TRANSFER follow the gods, who, according to Greek legend, chose the Pelion peninsula between Athens and SKOPELOS THESSALONIKI TAXI for their revelries, but which is blessedly free from mass tourism. A separate visit explores one of the six remaining monasteries once the day-trippers have left, ALONISSOS ATHENS TAXI ending with a magical view of the sun dipping behind the rocks.
For some dramatic mountain and lake scenery, head to Epirus in northern Greece, where you can stay in a lodge in the heart of the Zagori region, visiting cheese farms and vineyards as well as quaint villages with medieval arched stone bridges spanning babbling rivers.
A week's half-board with flights and car hire costs from £1,451pp ( Mountain biking, wine tasting and fishing can also be arranged. The owner, Markos, takes guests on a number of complimentary activities, including a sunrise walk to Mount Kofinas, a cooking lesson, horse riding and a hike to the Monastery of Koudouma.
