Continuation of walk from Touba.

I headed down to the Touba - Profitis Ilias col again, taking another GPS reading there. While by the refuge, I encountered three of our party, who were scaling these two peaks in reverse order to me.

I followed a path which taversed on a gentle gradient up the south and east flanks of Profitis Ilias, then turning west to head more steeply up to the summit. I was soon there, and it was a very different place to the other summits I had visited on this trek. The area was enclosed by a curtain wall, with an underground chapel at its northern end. Bent double to squeeze through the narrow entrance, I entered a Greek Orthodox shrine, complete with icons and other religious objects. The chapel was clearly still in use, as votive candles were inserted in a tray of sand and looked to have recently burned down. Perhaps this shrine was visited by climbers before they began their routes on Stephani? The chapel presented a contrast between Greece's pagan past and more recent Christian times. This shrine must surely be the highest in the country, at over 2800m.

With these reflections, and GPS reading taken, I headed down to Refuge 'C', to join the others for our descent to Refuge 'A'.