On Sunday morning the weather was great. We had our breakfast and decided to repair Giorgos’ Z. bike. Once the repair finished we packed, said goodbye to my family and started our planned trip. That started from my village Varia near Trichonida Lake, which has the largest surface comparing to the rest Greek lakes, as the big Prespa lake which is bigger is in the boarders of three countries.
Our first stop was in Paravola. This village is located between a hill and the base of Panetoliko Mountain. At the top of the hill is the ancient castle Voukatio. This is a walled settlement. Today only the ruins of the acropolis with round towers and part of the wall are apparent. The wall was built in the 4th century BC .The semi-circular and square towers built in the Byzantine period.
After Voukatio we moved towards the lakeside village Kato Myrtia. Myrtia is a village surrounded by orange groves. Passing through the village you approach the thermal baths of Myrtia. The bathroom facilities are obsolete and not in use, but the location right on Trichonida Lake offers great view to visitors. Another attraction in the village is the Myrtia Watermill and the washing place using water under normal pressure. At the same point there are two more disabled watermills. The mills were made in the base of a cliff on top of which is the church of Madonna.
From Myrtia through Varia we moved to the village Neromana. On the route between Varia - Neromana the view of the lake is stunning. Also there is a castle with church like in Voukatio that the locals call "Paliomanastiro." Reaching Neromana visitors can immediately understand why the village has that name. In the center of the village through a rock there is a water spring. The water passes through the village and forms small waterfalls. Above the rock where the water springs, there is a chapel dedicated to Christ.
We left Neromana village and took the road to Kallithea village. That route has an astonishing view to Trichonida Lake. From some points you can also see the lake Lysimachia. Arriving in Kallithea (= "nice view") you can also realize here that the village's name is not accidental. The locals call it “Balcony of Atolia”.
From Kallithea we took the road to Thermo. On the way we passed from the village of Kosmas Aitolos or “Patrokosmas”. Shortly before reaching Thermo we made a stop at the monastery of Patrokosmas and spend some time looking around the Monastery that has no special interest. After a few kilometres we came to Thermo and visited the archaeological site of Ancient Thermo, which was the main point of Atolian Confederacy during ancient times. Unfortunately, the place was closed and we failed to see most of the archaeological sites.
It was noon we were hungry so we stopped at one of the taverns in Thermo where we enjoyed wine and local delicacies. The hour passed quickly by talking and started getting dark.
Coming back to Athens we chose to go to Antirio through Nafpaktos. We took the shortest route via the bridge "Mpania". This part of the route through the mountains and in some places along the river Evinos is amazing. But we could not fully enjoy it, as it started getting dark. With reduced daylight we saw the bridge of Antirio. We said each other goodbye and took the road back.
