I don't know how lucky my ancestors felt for having all this insane amount of silver around this area SE of Athens but I feel more than lucky as an URBEXer to have this treasure at my reach. It's the same resources that made Ancient Athens competent enough to fight the Persians during the antique years and the same that created the economic bloom of Lavrio during the late 19th century.
This time my target is one more mining train bridge. To get there I gladly followed some dirt roads, nothing too hard with the exception of scratching my car on a few narrow passages semi closed by pine trees where I focused on driving instead of picturing so sorry for the missing action. I leave the car and start picturing the spot:
As you can see I have to walk in the woods to approach it as I don't even have a view of it yet. After a short while I do get my first one:
That line of stones you see starting from the right going up in the middle used to be part of the mining train system they had there back in the late 19th century to carry the mineral cargo from the mountains down to the factory in the town of Lavrio. Lavrio back in the day used to host many thousands of workers, a crazy amount back in the day, actually it would be a crazy amount even for today considering its size.
On my attempt to approach it I get more viewing angles of this construction, the natural beauty of the spot and the contrast it makes with those rocks that are white on the upside!
The challenging lighting conditions prevent the pictures from exposing the full beauty of the place but I hope you get the picture (no pun intended:) ).
More steps closer and I find out that except the ruins related to the mineral train there's also the ones from the houses that used to be there, probably to host the workers:
Some are literally a pile of stones today:
Looking at the other side the view is more beautiful and less decadent including the rest of the train trail and this gorgeous valley:
I realise that I have chosen the hard way to get to this bridge but I'm too excited to look all these things from close so I skip looking for an easier alternative. Fortunately I manage to get a close view to those ruins without much drama:
In the cracks of the abandoned stones nature grows to spoil the sadness with some green hope:
I'm getting closer to the bridge of that train and even more excited about the whole thing:
No pain no gain though as access is far from easy.I have just came down this steep pile of loose stones,
and I still have more to go down while thinking if at the end of it I will add more to the 4 stitches I already carry on my underarm after my last operation:
Looking back up makes me glad of what I've managed so far scratch free:
I still have some green beauties to fight with till I gain access but can't complain to this view:
Finally I'm glad I can get (and offer to you) full view of that old stone bridge complimented by the sun on this warmest end of year I ever remember:
Once a stone house offering shelter to the local workers, now a ruin with a pine tree as its main resident:
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Remember that line of stones I talked about at the beginning? Time to walk it all the way up in the absence of train rails unfortunately:
I know some guys who don't complain about the fact that the rails were looted over the years and these are the enduro bikers who left their marks on that thing as you can see.
Time has definitely left its marks on that tree as well:
I am impressed by the local rock as bits of it look almost like pure marble but then I recall that Ancient Hellenes used a lot of marble from that area to build emblematic creations so it's not that much of a surprise:
I am getting closer to the top and the ruins up there add to the motivation:
As soon as I reach the top I go like "can it get any better?". Here's why:
What's not to praise about? The stunning view, the remains of this 100+ years old construction, the vibes of this pine forest, you name it. The only downside to it is that you might be a little exhausted so let's all rest and see you on part 2!