The Guardian : Greece holidays in the Greek midwinter

We stay in family-run En Chora Vezitsa guesthouse in Vitsa, overlooking the deepest part of gorge, with just a few other weekend guests from Athens at the time of the year. The next morning I am in their henhouse searching for where the chickens hide their eggs. A pretty black hen is laying one right in front of me, o order. I clutch the still warm eggsand hurry back into the cosy kitchenwhere Maria beats them into a cheese pie as we chat

Deep spring lakes shimmer and flow through a smooth-walled gorge, one perfect plunge pool to the next

She is fresh from Athens herself, back to run this place for her parents, and excited about the lifestyle change. No more stifling city life: instead she will be taking people on hikes and foraging offering cookery and yoga classes.

written by Sunan Smillie