Aghios Theodoros Monastery

The walking group enjoyed a bit of a nature-walk this Saturday, 12th March, starting from Mystraki on the hill and walking to Aghios Theodoros Monastery down in the valley. Led by Pat, we wandered first of all through olive groves in search of wild orchids, and crossed several streams, as we gradually descended to the Monastery. We spotted a couple of orchids, although sod’s law was in operation, and there were less orchids than expected for the time of year – possibly due to the cold weather we have been having.

We normally stick to the tracks, so it was refreshing to walk through the fields. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the flowers……..flowers, flowers, everywhere.

Aghios Theodoros is one of my favourite places here – it’s remote and peaceful, beautifully situated and I love the building itself and last drew here earlier in the winter. This time it was warm and sunny and the group stopped here for lunch, so I managed to fit in a quick pen sketch, from a new angle, before we moved on.

After lunch, it was a gradual, uphill climb back to Mystraki. The views and fabulous flowers en route meant I kept stopping every couple of minutes to take photos.

The walk was only 8.62 kilometers, but felt a bit longer, due to the hills! Our walking time was 2 hours 35 minutes, plus stopping time of 1.5 hours.