MILIES AND NEOCHORI

We are heading towards Tsagarada this morning, to the northern side of Pelion . The hotel we are staying for 2 nights is at Mouresi which is located 45 km from Volos and about an hour's drive from where we are but we don’t plan to rush at all. We are off not that early I can say, after a rich breakfast.Since we are already at Kala Nera we drive through the village of Milies first and then a nice village in a distance attracts our attention. It is hidden in a vast pine forest and it is the village of NEOCHORI.The church of Agios Dimitrios is just below the square and I climb up the stairs for a better view. I come across some locals there who are sitting at the kafenio of the village enjoying their morning coffee. Like all squares in Pelion, this one is also adorned by very old plane trees and a roofed fountain that dates back to 1807. If you want to start conversation with locals the best thing to do is to greet them. So, I did this and they acknowledged the salute with a smile. The first question was where I come from and if I like their village, as always. Two kids who are playing in the square start following me around . It seems that they want to be in the photos but I know it is not right to take photos of kids without permission so I leave these out except for one. TRAIL:There is a trail from the village of Milies to Neochori for anyone interested by the way! The first half is mostly kalderimi (cobble stone pavement) and the second half earth road with stretches of path.The route passes by the old monasteries of Agios Nikolaos close to Milies and Panagia Tourkogianni near Neochori. The walk goes as far as Panagiotiko dam and its small artificial lake. The starting point is at Milies with the route marked with red signs. The vegetation gets rough near Neochori so it is advisable for those interested to have along a cutting tool and wear of course long pair of trousers or jeans.