??

"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Unnamed Hill, Taygetos Mountains - Greece - December 2016

 

On the way back from Mystras Tarit and Pushkar were keen to stop in the mountains and "get a run in" or maybe a hike depending on the terrain. They threw the map to me in the back seat and I picked a spot by a Taverna near the highest point on the Sparta-Kalamata road where roads ran off in both directions - one leading to an unnamed peak at around 1350 metres. The roads were white, yellow and red on the map with red about like a B road back home and the white ones often no more than a trail so the yellow road around this nameless hill could be anything in between. In the event it turned out to be a gravel jeep track / fire road so perfect for a trail run in the afternoon sun.

Tarit didn't have running shoes, just sport sandals, and Pushkar was in full running kit and great shape, so we decided to all run out and back at our own pace and meet back at the car with enough daylight to drive down to Kalamata before dusk. The top photo os of my at the top of the hill - a kind of "trig point" marking the summit amid a jumble of huge boulders. A great scramble to get on top and grab a selfie while precariously perched on the highest one!

Tarit and I met up on the way back while Pushkar pushed on for a longer run but we were all back at the car on time and ready to get some hot fruit juice (perfect on such a cold day) in the lodge at the top of the pass. We bumped in to our Macedonian friends doing the same thing - small world!

Sacred Steps Home