It's not the first time I have showed you around Sounio National park and its silver mining history (not the only historic thing about it though) but this is the first time walking bit by bit its South West end.
Ready? Let's go!
Religious bits seem to be hunting me lately. As I drive in the forest I see this on my left:
I pull over to take a closer look and I'm instantly impressed by this cartoonish miniature of a church:
It looks freshly painted and resembles churches that are located inside properties. However, there's no property at all here - it's just in the middle of nowhere:
Really weird. I take photos from all possible angles before I move on:
The road is about to end,
Time to leave the car and start walking:
There's obvious bits from the mining activity of the past already:
Better watch your step though cause the ground is far from flat:
Still, that's not the trickiest part of the walk. The real danger is to find yourself at the bottom of one of those mine shafts. Like this one:
People like to trash such places and this is no exception:
Look at that broken "boot" though 🙂:
I'd like to see from what hilarious thing it came from 😂
Piles of stones indicating the intense mining activity that used to take place here:
Last time of silver mining growth was around a 100 years ago but such activity has started here from the prehistoric ages as the first mine of the area dates back to 3000BC. Judging from the looks of the antiquities of the area though, this bit looks like 5th BC or so to me:
I can't complain about the view for sure:
Even if it's not "stone free" 🙂:
Might be kinda harsh walking over these things but nature provides a priceless soft green(ish) carpet from time to time:
By the looks of this wall there's gotta be something interesting there so I get close to see what is what:
Interesting indeed - it's one more mine shaft:
Surrounded by piles of stones this thing is like a funnel waiting to suck you in and trust me don't wanna end up tens of meters underground with no cell coverage several kms away from the nearest populated area.
I walk with caution on top of this mess to enjoy the view:
That gives me the chance to spot this ruin, probably from the 19th century:
Today it's a pine tree house as you can see. I have tons of ruins around me but I think it's a good time to make a break and avoid a marathon post :)
See you on the next part!