Copper Mine Adventure Part 2.

The drive from Episkopeio to Mitsero didn't take longer than 20 minutes, and once we passed the village road signs were directing us to the lake.

I had high expectations about this place, seen so many pictures of ominous red water and deserted mine, so I didn't want to be let down.

The temperature had peaked and Emma wasn't too keen on leaving the car but the promise of collecting some glittery stones she could keep had it's effect on her.

From where we stood we could have been on the Mars too. The copper has coloured everything orange and red, it looked like a rusty amphitheatre where the audience was a bunch of trees.

This mine here was an open pit mine and the ore would be extracted and then sent to an enrichment plant in Mitsero, which was by now abandoned and our last stop.

We figured if we follow a zigzag path we can get down to the water in no time, we just had to memorize the route just like you would try to memorize the turns in a maze, straight, right, right, straight...

Right at the beginning Emma started picking up stones and was amazed by the their colors, red, green, yellow, blue, see through quartz crystals. She was like a little magpie, couldn't resist the shiny rocks. I've tried to summon all my mineralogy knowledge to answer her questions but I must admit I failed my old geography teacher big time.

In few minutes we reached the muddy shore of the lake and we had to warn Emma not to get close to the water as it's still poisonous.

As it was the bottom of the pit it was also a good echo spot giving us couple of minutes playtime before we wandered back up to the top of the quarry.

The last and most adventurous part of our trip was still ahead us. We hopped in the car and headed off. Finding the our destination turned out to be a bit tricky though. The GPS directed us to a completely different location first, then when we made our way back to the main road and stopped by the spot we were supposed to, nothing was in sight anymore. We have probably walked and driven around the place 4-5 times. It was boiling hot, we ran out of water and were just about the give up and leave. I was so disappointed because I really wanted to see the mine and tunnel with my own eyes so we decided to give it a last go. This time we parked our car exactly at the spot the GPS recommended it and even though it seemed unlikely that will find a walking path we pushed ourselves to a final climb.

We were so determined to find it regardless our thirst and tiredness. But we made it! Once we walked through a crop field I could see the tall iron tower and frameworks standing lonely and forgotten.

The old engine house was still standing but the underground area where the ore was extracted from was flooded. From a dark corner a a pigeon flew out with the speed of light and scared us to death but apart from that the building looked safe enough.

The railway line where once the ore-carrying wagons were running was partly visible too and I just could not resist climbing up the tower to see them, constantly fighting my fear of heights. Even though we did not make it to the top for safety reasons the view was really beautiful from there.

The tunnel entrance was near the tower with a tribute stone. Emma was very excited about going inside but soon her enthusiasm was lost as saw bats hanging from the ceiling in the dark, having their daytime nap. It was also pretty dark and muddy in there so decided going further would be risky for clumsy people like us.

We shortly ventured back to our car and started desperately searching for kiosk to buy every bottles of water in the world to quench our thirst.

On the way home we decided to drive through the mountains rather than taking the highway and we ended up on beautifully picturesque roads I've never been before. High above the sea level the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees, pine trees covered the valleys and we could finally breath.

It was a wonderful, adventurous and educational day for all of us, a trip I would highly recommend if you're fond of hidden gems.