Mushrooms & Culture of Greece

Spring Ephemeral* EDITION

May 21- May 26, 2025

Zagori Region

*Spring ephemeral, refers to plants that emerge quickly in the spring and die back to their underground parts after a short growth and reproduction phase. In our opinion they tend to be quite showy, often fragrant and just real showstoppers of flowers

**This page, info + dates are best viewed on a computer. Sadly, Phone view and display mixes up our itinerary

6 days of fungi, flora + food of the Zagori Bioregion of Greece

Day one:

Ioannina->Truffle hunt, feast -> ascent into Zagori region + the North Pindos mountains

Today we meet up in the morning in the lakeside city of Ioannina. We walk to our favorite markets, cheese shops, and cafes to taste and smell your way through this ancient city + the largest city in Epirus. After our city stroll and immersion we head right into the mountains to meet with our truffle friends and their dogs to forage for Truffles! Its with our guides we spend the afternoon and feast on a multi-course truffle forward meal. Yummy!

Day 4

Aoos basin + fields + forests

Today we restore, retain and process. We slow down to learn more and interact deeper. We use all our SENSES and take a different approach to learning about Fungi. Today is a day we go through and work with our botanical and fungal findings. We make medicine, gather for more discussions, practice cooking Greek food and just catch up from our last few days. We get our hands scented with plant resins as we prepare and begin a hydro-distillation or a making of a hydrosol. Watch the purest parts of the plant get condensed as an aromatic Earth nectar to be used in various ways

THOUGHTS ABOUT BOOKING FLIGHTS:

*We ask that you not fly or bus out of Ioannina the last night(May 26, 2025) til at least after 6pm if you must depart the same night the seminar ends.

We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance and/or refundable tickets

Day Two

Vikos Gorge + Voidomatis River

Together we get to witness the vastness of the Vikos Gorge and the western Zagori stone villages. We make many stops along the way to gather mushrooms and plants. To commemorate our arrival to this special region, we have a welcome dinner at my friend Lena’s guest house, where all the food is homegrown and raised by her and her family. This will be the best meal of our trip. Lena also raises sheep for fiber and is agifted fiber artist + organizer within the local and regional fiber/woolen arts world. You’ll see her looms + natural dyed wool.

Day 5

Lakeside foraging->Outdoor Cooking + Feast

Our last full day together, we visit a different woodland and learn about a different variety of mushrooms we would not see in the ecosystems from the previous days before. Our hike will be guided and then a great feast will follow and be prepared with our findings of the day. We will have several mushroom tastings and flights of local cheeses! Truly a good send off for our last day in the mountains! Our lakeside picnic will be joined by orchis flowers, water birds and dramatic skies.

Be ready to join us DAY ONE in Ioannina by May 21, 2025 by 10am

Exact location is given upon registration.

**days that dinner is not included for A la Carte registrants

Itinerary is tentative and subject to change.

Day 3

Voidomatis ->Aoos River->Valia Calda

More mushroom hunting and immersing in the natural splendor as we travel to a new part of the Zagori region! Today we leave our Vikos Gorge residence and head to and through feral mountains that break tree lines and have such incredible habitats its overwhelming. This area is rich in diversity, wildlife and more! We visit picturesque stone clade villages sitting on mountain cliffsides, still with hints of artistry, traditional life ways and the regions treasured culinary delicacies. Dont worry we wont hesitate to stop along the way and take a jaunt up the road side forests to find ourselves some fungal delights.

Day 6

Grevena

After breakfast, we start returning back towards civilization and into the city of Grevena, coined the City of Mushrooms. Before our city shopping romp begins we make a stop at Fotis’ mushroom factory! Learn how he makes his amazing products.and come see racks upon rack of drying Boletus AKA Porcini! After our tour we visit several myco-themed shops with incredible array of products made with local mushrooms and more. Close by we visit one of my favorite cheese shops and get some samples of their high quality cheese + butters. Our last meal together, is at a world famous mushroom restaurant. After a late lunch we make our way back to Ioannina after our time in Grevena. We land in Ioannina and bring everyone to their respective lodging or the airport. No dinner served.

This is a gentle reminder that Greece this time of year can be hot during the day and cold at night. We spend most days outdoors. We chase the rain and the sun. Sometimes itinerary changes due to weather. On the road, infrastructure like bathrooms, sidewalks, paths and roads are often unpredictable, and can often be not ideal and sometimes these are factors that are out of our control, including, acts of god, natural disasters, illness, acclimate weather, etc. We hope, it is clear that, we are passionate about hosting and organizing in Greece and always make sure everyone is comfy and healthy. Everyone has the ability to take everything at their own pace. We often walk 2-5 miles a day and sometimes more. We ask for you to read everything thoroughly and honor our agreements and terms upon registration to this small, hand crafted assembly of folks on their way to extraordinary places of antiquity and incomparable beauty.

Already planning your own trip to Greece? LETS MEET UP!

If you would like me to meet you and your party there, I am open for private multi-day mushroom + ecologically centered excursions.

email me directly: smugtownmushrooms@gmail.com