No Drama Falls

Once, we had the shortest forest walk of all our travels.

It was summer, almost ten years ago. We’d already been roaming Greece for a month and stopped in Litochoro — a charming little town at the foot of legendary Mount Olympus, where every other sign promises an “ascent to the gods.” My wife immediately said she wouldn’t go into the mountains (a reasonable call — those days were far too hot for hiking), so we found online a description of a “charming trail to picturesque waterfalls” in Enipeas Gorge. The photos looked impressive: splashes, cliffs, lush greenery — everything you’d expect.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In my first picture, you can see Mount Olympus itself — that last tall peak on the horizon, watching quietly as mere mortals search for adventure within a hundred meters of their hotel.

We set out early in the morning to avoid the crowds — and, I must admit, we nailed that part of the plan: there wasn’t a soul around.

The gorge turned out to be narrow, cozy, and incredibly green.

The path was wide, sometimes turning into a shaded alley, and even had handrails on the most “dangerous” stretches — apparently so that even the most dreamy-eyed tourist wouldn’t twist their neck while gawking at the sheer cliffs.

Half an hour’s walk, a couple of thousand unhurried steps — and there you are, at the waterfall. “Waterfall” is, of course, a generous term. In reality, it was just a polite little stream trickling down the rocks: no thunder, no drama.

We cast one last glance at the beautiful cliffs around us and headed back. That was our first visit to Olympus National Park — and, at the same time, our shortest.

Thanks for taking this little walk with me!

Litochoro, Greece.
June, 2016.
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