GREECE
Exploring Kozani
his was a travel that happened thanks to a family wedding, otherwise I never would’ve thought to visit this region of Greece. After I dwelled in Velventos for a few days, I can safely say rural Greece is extraordinary.
To get to the spring you need to climb down a narrow staircase and walk a bit more, but it's worth it
Velventos is a village in Kozani regional unit of Greece, with over 3000 people living there (as of 2011). It’s basically in the middle of a forest, at the foot of the Pierian Mountains. We stayed at Agnanti Hotel which is one of the limited options but its also great because it has incredible views. Swimming in the pool while the sun is setting behind the mountains is a precious experience (it got freezing cold very fast).
My only advice, be prepared of thousands of mosquitos. I was not and I very quickly became prey for every single one of them.
The village is full of chapels but is also near the Skepasmeno waterfall. You can either drive as close as you can or walk for about two hours (almost non-stop uphill) like we did. But once you get there, the scenery is magical. To get to the spring (where the waterfall falls) you must climb down a narrow staircase and walk a bit more on a bit steep mountainside, but it’s worth it. There’s a wooden kiosk / observatory right before the staircase so you can both enjoy the view and catch your breath. The spring was believed to be the home and the seat of worship of Orpheus and that the Muses wandered around there after their birth. It also said to be a fountain of knowledge, that inspires whoever drinks from it.
Want to know a behind the scenes fact? On our way back we got lost and ended up in the Servia highway so we had to call a taxi to come and rescue us (after he discovered our location). He took us back to the center of the village for late lunch.
What really caught our attention was the dessert: Kozani’s kourabiedes. Being from Cyprus, our kourabiedes are like a shortbread biscuit with powder sugar on top. The ones from Kozani are dipped in syrup and it was the most delicious thing we’ve tasted in a while.
Neraida
The great Aliakmonas bridge over Lake Polifitos has Velventos on one side and Neraida on the other. Neraida, which means Fairy in English, is a tiny village on a hill. The bridge is one of the longest in Greece and officially opened in 1975.
The village is a great, scenic location with a great café designed to oversee the lake and the bridge (it has multiple cafés by the way). You can follow a nature trail on a round path that takes you by the red fountains and then back to the entrance of the village, with the view of the bridge the whole time. Before the nature trail starts there’s also a small museum with pictures that show the history of the bridge and the village.
These two make for a wonderful getaway from the big cities, if you want to clear your head and enjoy some time away and breathe some fresh air – and it has everything you may ask for; restaurants, cafes, wineries etc so don’t expect to be stranded without facilities or places to go. And if you visit, please stop by Neraida, it’s a short taxi trip from Velventos.