The saying goes “It does not matter where you are but with whom you are.” Many people would agree with this phrase and mostly so do I, however sometimes it is indeed important where you are. This was demonstrated after I visited the north-west of Greece, Ipiros.
I visited this region for the first time a year ago. I remember being lazy to pack and to go there last year, but also saying to myself “Stupid girl” after visiting this place since I almost missed its beauty due to my laziness. The impression after my visit was powerful (strong) and I wanted to come back again. Luckily, I did not wait long, that day came exactly one year latter when we arranged to meet with friends from Serbia in the same place as last year, a little village called Raveni. This time I was not lazy to pack and I was sure that our friends would love this place, so I couldn’t wait for them to come. My mood and my health was good and I was ready to have a nice time with my friends in the nature.
Like I mentioned above, last year I came to Raveni for the first time. After the locals heard where I am coming from (Serbia), they said “If you are tall, you are Serb”. It is some old belief repeated from generation to generation. I am 1.78 cm and the saying could be true, but definitely it was funny. I thought about my visitors from Serbia, and if they were tall. Most of them were, so their arrival next day would not disappoint.
From the first day in the village, before starting our morning routine we enjoyed the terrace view of the large green hill. It was a glance that rests, calms, throws into a no-thinking mode and where one can meditate with open eyes. I often wonder: do I like more the mountains or the sea, do I prefer green more than blue? I never could decide, but when I saw this lush green hill I realized how much I missed the mountains since I moved to live in the city on the sea. That’s why this beautiful resting green view was magnificent with birds singing and flying above us. They looked as if they were exited, or they made some mistakes while “performing” and they were “laughing”. I can understand that, an audience can make you nervous. What a view they have from above, I thought, and I was jealous. Being an early bird myself I had a chance to see this performance.
Despite the fact that I do not fully agree that “It is not important where you are, but with whom you are”, I was very happy that on this vacation my friend Neda had joined us. I met her a long time ago in an apartment in Belgrade where we were introduced to each other by a common friend. I liked her immediately but unfortunately we didn’t meet again until six, seven years later for the second time. This time, we exchanged our social media profiles and very soon we organized a trip to visit the former republics of Yugoslavia. Although we traveled a lot together after this first vacation, that one made the biggest impression on both of us, in terms of getting to know each other, also in terms of the beauty of the places we visited. We were very melancholic, nostalgic and happy in the same time. Being in former Yugoslavia brought a lot of memories from our youth and it was a nice way to start to get to know each other. We knew it was a beninging of a beautiful friendship. Very often we had similar thoughts. It happened that one would say something and the other would be excited: “I wanted to say that!”. We quickly organized more trips: to Turkey, then we traveled around Serbia visiting mountains and so on. She became the closest person I know, although we did not know each other for so long. Sometimes we are stuck with a feeling that true friendship must be life long and short one are on the test. There exist different types of friends, a friend for a coffee, a friend for a cinema/theater, a friend for travel, a friend for advises. Neda is for all of that. She is open, social, clever, beautiful, funny, energetic and person who knows how to make an atmosphere wherever she is. She is a good runner too, she managed to catch a plane just 30 min after arriving to the airport in Athens. She is into trying new things, like eating slimy snails for the first time. She is adventurous when she spend her birthday on the highest peak of the mountain in Serbia.We had many funny situation, I can still remember when we were running to our car to save ourselves from the craziest hail and thunderstorm in Tara mountain and how we were laughing in safe, dry car. Here, I surprised myself being a good runner too.
When I decided to move to Athens I knew I will miss her the most, after my family. We used the opportunity to see each other every day before I left, because I did not know how often I will come to Belgrade. I was afraid our friendship will change after I move to another country. There is another saying “Far from the eyes far from the heart” and I know it can be true. I learned by time, that in our case it is not true. If there is a will, everything is possible. We stayed in contact, we always talk over the phone at least for an hour. She came to visit me few times, we went to summer holiday together and now she joined us also in the north Greece.
Coming to the north part of Greece and not visiting Vikos Gorge, the breathtaking view point Beloi, would be a pity for a visitor. Also visiting villages of the region Zagori (Papigo, Mikro Papigo, Monodendri) and places on the sea like Syvota, Parga, Igumenica. Furthermore, one and a half hour with a boat from Igumenica you can be on the Corfu island. Like mentioned twice above “It is not important where you are, but with whom you are” I would say, it is important while visiting all this places, to have one Neda always with you.
With whom you like to travel?
