The Pelion Peninsula - The Aegean Islands & Mainland - Ionian Island Holidays Ionian & Aegean Island Holidays 2012

PELION PENINSULA THE GREEK GODS KNEW THAT THE PELION WAS SPECIAL. THE HOME AND BIRTHPLACE OF THE HALF MAN HALF HORSE CENTAURS, THOUGH OF A FEARSOME REPUTATION, THEY HAD A DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF PLANTS AND HERBAL HEALING. IT WAS A CENTAUR, CHERION, WHO WAS ENTRUSTED WITH EDUCATING HEROES AND DEMIGODS SUCH AS HERCULES, ACHILLES, JASON AND THESEUS, ALL MIGHTY WARRIORS. Here it is easy to see the connection between myth and historical fact. It only takes five minutes on one of the many ancient paths or `kalderimia', that still link the isolated communities of these majestic mountain forests, to recognise many of the herbs and plants, used medicinally by the ancients, as well as the centaurs, growing in profusion amongst the trees. The Pelion Peninsula is unique, still largely unknown to foreign visitors, but long recognised by the Greeks as a national treasure to be appreciated and preserved. One can recognise the Pelion on the map as the long peninsula with a claw like promontory at its southern end that divides the Aegean Sea from the Pagasitic Gulf. Cut off in the North by the Pelion Massif, the only easy access by land is a narrow corridor from the great plain of Thessaly to the west at the head of the gulf through the city of Volos. The mountains, snow covered in winter (there is even a ski resort on the flanks of Mount Pelion), feed the many rivers and streams. The region is one of the most fertile and verdant in the eastern Mediterranean. The Pelion is famous for its fruit, particularly apples. In the springtime when the blossom appears and the native chestnut, oak and beech trees are bursting into leaf, the colours and textures are simply breathtaking. In the full heat of summer the tree cover means that the temperature is at least five degrees less than out in the open. One of the great pleasures of a holiday here is to be able to enjoy lying in the sun on a beach with the clear Aegean waters lapping at your feet, before moving to relax in the cool shade of an ancient chestnut tree. September is apple picking time, the orchards are laden with fruit of every colour, whilst the cooler nights turn the forests above into a sea of russet and gold. AEGEAN SEA Volos Aghialos Portaria PE LIO N Chania Horefto Ag. Ioannis Vizitsa PAGASITIKOS GULF Kala Nera Damouchari Tsangarada Milies Neochori Argalasti Lafkos Platania Potistika Melani Paltsi Mylopotamos PELION PENINSULA Afissos Lefokastro Kalamos Paou Horto Trikeri Milina Katigiorgis 140 www.ionianislandholidays.com To Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonisso

The Aegean Islands & Mainland contd… The Pelion Peninsula