Mesochori in Kato Pedina

The Kato Pedina is a village in Central Zagori, built amphitheatrically on the slopes of three hills, with low vegetation, having at its feet a large plateau with 6 stone wells. It is not one of the most famous Zagorochoria, it has only 20 inhabitants in winter and 100 in summer, but recently it has entered the tourist map of the time thanks to the two very lively hostels that were created in the decade of 2010, the Spinning wheel and Infinite Country and cafe Mesochori that most people know as Vangelio cafe.

The village at an altitude of 940 m., between the mountains Mitsikeli and Stouros, on the sunless slope of the first named "Bafarahi" and overlooking the ridge of the second. The old Zagorians called Kato Pedina (or Kato Soudena in Slavic) "Psomochori", since barley, wheat and corn were successfully cultivated for centuries now and were considered the granary of Zagorochoria, while there were 45 threshing floors in the threshing floor. to thresh and loosen the wheat.

The houses of Kato Pedina Built with the characteristic stone, the limestone slate in very light gray, almost white, and the roofs with blackboard, slightly renovated, decently aged and most abandoned, stand proudly and give the feeling of a tidy and charming recreation that surrounds .

So the village in the 2000s, was almost deserted and there were no young people at all. The community café was closed and many houses were collapsing. The first young people who came and revived the village were the Panos Mangos and Vangelio Retali. On their own in 2004 they restored the cafe, built the necessary brewery, a covered terrace with a beautiful view of the mansions of the village and the plain, painted the walls, bought equipment.

The cafe Mesochori today is something between a local traditional cafe and an alternative cafe of Exarcheia, colors, bright, paintings, music from Buena Vista Social Club, casual atmosphere, and their food is careful, and the service "out of heart". With previous service and experience in pizzas - they had a shop in Giannina with pizzas before returning to their village - it is not easy to leave them, after all the local clientele, goes crazy with the pizzas of Panos. Otherwise you will find stews, chicken soup, seasonal Zagorian pies - I missed a wonderful meat pie - various ouzo appetizers, I stood on the pickle fern, in their time the asparagus and mushrooms, but also meat grills.

On the 29th of August Mesochori cafe is organized by festival of Agios Ioannis (lasts 2 days), where traditional dances of Zagori are danced.

Congratulations to Panos and Vangelio, in the Akrites of the Greek land who revived a deserted village. What else to say!