Great company in Trikala & Meteora

I woke up to some fumbling after few hours of sleep. The dude on the top bunk beside me was gone and the dude on the lower bunk across me was up already. He was from Irish and traveling around Eastern Europe for a few weeks. I do believe his name was Mark, but yeah, I feel like it’s been so long ago as I write this entry. He was the first Irish bloke I’ve met on this travel that I found different (in a good way) from the rest of the party ones. He sounded very matured and sensible. He did like the less touristy places and seemed to be enjoying exploring on his own. 

I decided to walk around that morning and look for a place to have a bite. I allowed myself to get lost through the streets of Trikala until I found the only mosque I noticed in town. I was about to start doing my photography when I realized the lid didn’t budge. Pissed off, I walked back to the hostel to figure it out and perhaps find if Dimitris had a tool so I could fix it. 

Mark was still there when I got back. He eventually fixed it which I was really happy about. There were new arrivals when I entered the room. A Kiwi couple by the name of Phoebe and Felix and 2 girls from England by the name of Adele and Hannah. I said hello and quickly head on and explored the old town then the flight of stairs to the tower. Good thing it was for free, so I just walked up and took some overlooking photos of the town. There were mountain ranges that surrounded Trikala. Later on I found out from Dimitris that there were lakes and falls nearby which were good for exploring. 

I stopped at the only café at the carpark of the tower and lingered for a while whilst sipping my coke. I was about to doze off when I saw a group coming up behind Dimitris. It was everyone from the hostel who he’s walked up to the tower. They stopped at the café for food and drinks. Dimitris signaled me to join which I lazily gave in to. That’s when we got to chat and know a little bit about the background of each other. 

One of my good memories of Trikala was the people I met. I found that this group I traveled with had good chemistry. It goes without saying that I also had a great time with Dimitris and his friends. 

Phoebe and Felix were in the Medical field and doing their gap year. After traveling around Europe, they

Photo by Dimitris

were to finish the trip volunteering in India. I found it so amazing and inspiring. It was so easy to talk to them and as always, I’ve never had a hard time mingling with the few Kiwis I’ve met on this trip. There was such a calming feeling when talking to them. Phoebe was very inquisitive and curious about things, and she’d ask some questions here and there. It was good though because that showed she was interested to learn about the people around her. Felix had a comedic side and was chatty too. 

Hannah and Adele were school mates and was their first time to travel together. They’ve been doing some helpex/wwoofing kind of travel, just the same as what I’ve done. They were bound for Italy to work in a hostel for a few weeks. I didn’t have any trouble hanging out with them too. They were very open minded and inquisitive too. Everyone just jived so well and I enjoyed hanging out with them. Adele was interested to visit the Philippines one day. I was keen to give her some tips when the time comes. 

Dimitris on the other hand was on his early 30’s and owned Hostel Meteora. Apparently their family owned another hostel in Thessaloniki. He’s been in motorbikes since his teens. It was really cool when he showed me a few photos of his first few bikes,adventures, races and awards. He was a cool guy with a sense of humour. 

Photo by Dimitris

On one of the nights, I met a few of his friends who he invited for BBQ. It was a fun night for me coz they were trying to teach me some Greek tunes on the guitar. His friends Teo (Thodoris Θοδωρής) and Fedon (Φαίδωνας) also played the guitar. The lounge area downstairs where the bar was had a guitar, small keyboard and the Greek instrument, Greek Baglamas. They also asked me to listen to one of the well- known Greek singers. One of the things I’d always remember was what his friend Teo told me, “Always sing from the heart and believe in yourself. Its only when you believe in yourself that people will believe in you”. I nodded with my head and heart… thankful for the words that I knew I’d take with me once I got to Mallorca, Spain. 

On our last night, Dimitris accompanied us to town to get the cheapest beer we could find and drink at the usual place where locals would hang out. That was a good way of experiencing the local scene without the need of doing any pub crawls. The 3 Aussie girls and dude from the US just arrived that day but they joined us for the nights’ events. A few of his friends joined us on the bridge who I ended up talking about bikes.