Metsovo Mountain Village in Ioannina Prefecture Page 2

The old pastoral transhumant culture has severely declined since WWII. Before then, Vlach families made an annual migration up to their summer pastures with thousands of sheep, accompanied by three generations and all that they would need for months up in their camps in the mountain pastures. The English writer Tim Salmon describes these old yearly journeys, which could take up to three weeks, in his book 'The Unwritten Places' (Lykavittos Press). After the war, many families sold most of their animals and moved down to the towns in the plain or elsewhere, or migrated to other countries. Those who still make the annual migration with what animals they have, often do so in trucks, using roads bulldozed up to the high pastures. The old way of life is seen by many of the younger generation as too full of hardship, with too little economic return.

Metsovo, however, has long been a place of settled Vlachs, along with some other nearby villages. The town prospered from trading of sheep products to distant markets, with some merchants setting up business in Venice, Vienna, Constantinople. Vlachs played a major role in the mule-hauling trade and in the hotel business, especially 'caravanserais' where mule conveys stopped on their journeys.

Up until very recently, visitors had to drive over the 1694 meter/5556 foot Katara Pass when approaching Metsovo from central Greece (from Thessaly, to be more precise), via Kalambaka. This pass separates the northern from the southern Pindos mountains. A tunnel system, which is part of the new highway that follows the old Via Egnatia route, has since made this formidable stretch of road optional, though it is a spectacular drive, and the only car road in these mountains kept open in winter (though not in blizzards). Be prepared, if you should brave it for the spectacular scenery, that it is all switchbacks amid huge peaks (that reach 2300meters7544 feet near Metsovo) and that from November to April (sometimes even later) you must cross the snow line. In winter, always check weather and road conditions before setting out on this journey. The drive between Kalambaka and Ioannina should take about half a day, even though only 114km/70miles.

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