Western Peloponnese and Mani Peninsula

Heading south we turned inland at Pyrgos to visit Olympia the remarkable location for the very first Olympic Games. The large site was looking busy but fortunately most of the visitors were off a large cruise ship, the Viking Star, and were ending their tour and heading for the coaches. Thus we had this remarkable place pretty much to ourselves in warm sunshine with the spring flowers vibrant across the ruins and remains. The various buildings included churches, temples, baths and housing all focused on the numerous Greek gods associated with the place. Zeus was a major figure and his temple stood centrally with some columns in situ but many more lying around since damaging earthquakes over the centuries. The original Olympic stadium was a remarkable site with the grooved marble slabs that gave up to twenty athletes a starting grip still fixed in the ground. As we walked through the former entrance tunnel, now a large arch, we could almost hear the crowd of up to 40,000 roaring as events began.

The Museum displayed many of the statues rescued from the grounds as well as hundreds of artefacts including votive offerings at graves, cooking pots and utensils, tools, jewellery and ornaments. With even this large attraction closing at 15.30 we ran out of time to visit the sports museum but I'm sure we will be back....

Down on the coast we tucked away at a P4N hidden away through olive groves with a couple of French travellers for company and a young German couple with a toddler. It was good to use the common language of English as we had a chat round a fire later in a perfect location.

We moved on through the mountains and some very humble villages to the Ancient City of Messinae. A 7km wall had once encircled the population of 20,000 and we drove through a remarkable gate with a collapsed lintel near a restored section of the wall and Tower 17. As at Olympia the site cascaded down a valley and contained churches, temples, theatres, houses, baths and businesses including a water mill whose stream gushed down through the site to another amphitheatre with a temple at its far end. The downloadable audio guide was as good as ever and we spent several hours covering the site and adjacent small museum. Heading out to the coast we passed a superb monastery and arrived on a park up tucked away on a storm damaged road by a beach with the German couple already set up and another German lass in a large coach built van arriving at dusk and nearly reversing in to the collapsed section.

Nestor's Palace is probably significant to the budding archaeologist but it's low walls and dusty foundations under a large steel roof were not up to our expectations and we soon moved on to Pylos which had a small port, attractive square and high above another extensive fortified city reached by many stairs. In the town I noticed that a small fishing, snorkelling and camping shop also sold CG907s so we quickly exchanged two for a reasonable £15 each before moving on to Methoni. Here we took a rough track to a lofty vantage point, having taken an even rougher track that required a long reverse back between intrusive foliage. The correct location was a real gem with a grand view across to the village and its Bourtzi which was lit up at night as were some of the swanky newly built villas further round the coast. Next morning we dropped in to the pretty village for a look round the huge fortification which occupied the headland and culminated in the Bourtzi, the oldest and original defensive structure originally built on an island but now connected by a bridge which forms part of the harbour wall, reinforced at some point by the inclusion of old cannons. We ate in the square and bought some socks off a woman who was asking at the tables, as ever we feel hugely privileged in our situation.

Down at Finikounda we stopped at a small shop for a few bits and bobs and looked in on the beach where work was underway to repair winter storm damage in time for the forthcoming season. North facing Koroni is more sheltered so most places were open and after walking the path at the base of the cliffs where some of the castle foundations had collapsed requiring rock bolting and spray concrete, we climbed through a maze of narrow streets to the fortified town where a few people still live in traditional houses and a large monastery exists. The panoramic views across to the Mani Peninsula and Taijetos mountains indicated our next destination and we returned to the van for the run round the bay.

At Kalamata we had planned to take the E82 mountain road across to Mystras but it was signed as closed so aware of the 15.30 closing time we decided to take the longer but faster toll road that was deserted. Because of the high top the tolls (as in France) were on the high side but we were soon through Sparti and parking up at the lower section of Mystras, a Byzantine town once housing 20,000 people. The friendly Greek/Canadian ticket lady suggested we do the lower section first and then drive up to the castle approaches for the higher section so we set off in hot sunshine to follow a network of tracks and trails that led up the hillside with a mix of intact and collapsing churches, houses and shops leading to the beautiful convent of Pandanassa where a few nuns still tend the flowers and look after the remarkable church and it's frescoes. At the higher level we walked down to the Palace and other churches before a final steep climb up to the citadel with panoramic views.

We had plenty of daylight left so decided to see if the E82 would get us back to the coast as I had seen a blog post saying there was a diversion suitable for vehicles up to 3.5 tons. Thus we began to climb a steep gorge with almost endless tight hairpins that also passed through rock tunnels and overhangs leaving all signs of civilisation behind as snow covered slopes got ever nearer. We passed a large Austrian coach built van parked up  that must have struggled and a few miles further on at 4,000' pulled in on a large layby with a working water tap and far reaching views. A moody sunset and billowing cloud set the scene for a memorable night with the Eber keeping us warm and cosy before we filled up with water and set off down the mountains where within minutes we came to the diversion. This dropped for miles down to a small chapel where we stopped to listen to hymns and chants from a church far below and yet again I was glad to be in a modest vehicle as the road was something of a challenge.

We stopped at Karavopetra for lunch in a tavern right on the sea and then passed through Areopoli and turned off down a side track towards the coast, carried on along a rougher track and tucked away under a hot sun for an afternoon of reading and research with the solar panel doing its thing. A small chapel on the way out had beautiful frescoes and we started seeing more of the stone tower houses that the Mani is famous for. I had last been in this area on a bicycle but my memories are dim, IIRC as a result of few photos due to a faulty SLR camera, and the fact it was almost 40 years ago.

Many of the buildings have been restored and provide holiday accommodation and we pulled in at Yerolimenas which is coming back to life as a boutique resort. As we enjoyed a drink entertainment was provided by a JCB gouging out an access track through storm piled shingle to enable him to haul out a fully laden boat trailer.

Nearby Vathia was a hillside village of fortified houses, some already restored and others waiting, one building must have been the olive oil press judging by the mill stones lying around on wooden shafts.

Down at wild and rugged Cape Tenaro we parked up just beyond a solitary taverna and began the walk out to the lighthouse. The track passed the ruins of a Roman village still sporting two lovely mosaic floors and headed out along Greece's most southerly mainland point. We met a couple of other walkers but a guy ahead of us with a rucksack had disappeared as we reached the lighthouse itself. In its lee we enjoyed hot sunshine and were somewhat surprised when 3 friendly but boisterous dogs suddenly appeared from around the corner. It turned out that the guy was the lighthouse keeper and he had been out for supplies including kerosene for his heater. The lighthouse was a French design, built in 1888 and now running on solar power with his needs coming from the panels and battery store. He does ten day stints which must be quite a challenge as there was no sign of any communications equipment and certainly no internet signal. Anyway we left him to it, returned to the van and then drove to a lofty perch for the night along a short section of track and just before a row of bee hives. We watched as the lights came on in the villages dotted around the Cape and slept soundly after some IPlayer catch up.

A scenic coastal route took us round the coast on a blustery day to Neapoli where we parked on the shore and had the stormiest night ever in the van with strong winds rocking us about and a Saharan dust rain turning the van a fetching beige. We were as always warm and dry and left the following morning to park at Monemvasia which occupies a strategic headland and was built in the 6th Century by the Byzantines, housing up to 60,000 people and serving as the capital in effect. Again it was occupied by various regimes over the years and once the Corinth canal opened in the 19th century it lost its importance as a port. During WW2 4,000 troops from NZ were rescued in a dramatic evacuation. Nowadays few people live there permanently but it offers accommodation, a few shops and cafes and superb views if you climb to the upper city.

A twisting road through remote mountains brought us out further up the coast near Leonido where Semelis Camping provided an excellent service stop with everything sorted, laundry done and hook up, all for a very reasonable €25. It was a very well kept site with good facilities and hosted a few Germans, Dutch and Austrians over wintering in larger vans. The small village was quiet and we noticed a larger number of vans using the free parking lot but I guess they would be moved on in the main season.

So we are now in the rather enchanting town of Nafplio, parked near the harbour where two superyachts are moored up. Both are from the luxury Lurssen marque, Blue at $600,000,000 dollars is owned by the UAE sheikh who also owns Man City and costs a million dollars a week to run. At night they were both discretely illuminated so perhaps the owners were escaping the turmoil in their part of the world.

We enjoyed exploring the town's pedestrian free streets between the port and the headland but decided against the 999 steps up to the citadel. After an afternoon in the van writing this blog for the second time as it had failed to save it then failed to save again so we went off in to town for a commiseratory meal. We hit lucky on a rainy evening with a cosy and stylish restaurant that served excellent food and had very friendly staff. Most of the other customers were Americans on a ten day Greek tour  which would be a tight schedule compared to the leisurely approach we are able to adopt.

However even that is drawing to a close with Mandy heading home from Athens on Monday and my ferry towards Turkey on Tuesday. Before then we have a couple more sites to visit including Mycenae and Corinth so expect a final Greek blog some time next week. 

Extras, extras.

Cephalonia

 After a useful service stop we crossed over the mountains of Lefkada to the island's eponymous 'capital', parked in a car park that would have challenged a tank and walked through the sunny town streets and eventually out along the causeway to the swing bridge. At this time of year few leisure boats are out and about so the structure looked unlikely to move that day but we did watch as a large machine lifted a skid steer bobcat out of a hole before walking out past some fishing boats to the harbour wall. A Ukrainian guy was washing down his yacht and as previously we considered the mixed emotions he was undoubtedly feeling regarding the conflict back home.

Having returned to the mainland we took the quieter road south and passed several herds of goats before reaching a ruined village whose collapsing houses lined either side of the road for a mile or two. Many villages were abandoned after WW2 as agriculture changed and the younger populace headed to cities both home and abroad for work. We stopped to chat to a French couple and their daughter who were cycle touring : Mum had an electric cargo bike with the tired daughter and her bike strapped on top of the majority of their luggage.

Down at Astakos, reached after a superb section of rugged coastline which we thought surpassed the Amalfi coast, we filled up with fuel and checked it would be OK to park up down by the beach. The view across the bay was superb and after booking a ferry to Cephalonia for the following morning (£90 single) we walked round to the quiet quayside where a few fishing boats were offloading their catch and taking on bagged ice. A couple of luxury yachts were also tied up and after checking out the various tavernas we settled on the Olympic Pegasus and took a table in the covered terrace. We enjoyed an excellent meal with my plate of white bait proving something of a challenge and with few customers the owner had time to chat and was hugely amusing. Walking back we noticed the curious spectacle of a large van loaded with chickens in cages whose owner, an elderly lady, was bedding down in the front section for the night, whether she sold eggs, table birds or both we didn't quite work out

The following morning we sat watching the ferry arrive, drove down to the ramp and were straight on for the two hours and  twenty minutes crossing to Sami. The views were spectacular and included a glimpse of a new commercial container and cargo port along the coast and Lefkada away to the north. Approaching Cephalonia we passed rocky Vathy before pulling in to Sami's small port. We took the road north to charming Fiskado and parked outside the village for the night before walking down to the picture postcard perfect harbour where a smart MV, the Freja was moored. A quick search showed it be owned by a successful Australian couple, registered in the Cook Islands and heading up the Adriatic sea to a boat show. Quite what the local fishermen must think I don't know but they were busy preparing their crafts for the oncoming tourist season as trips out to caves, coves and beaches are popular. We walked out to two old lighthouses and a ruined church before returning for a very quiet night. The following morning a double tanker arrived and filled a huge underground reservoir that must be the village water supply and we walked back in to the village to visit an impressive Roman cemetery and talk to a guy and his father painting a shop ready for their planned boutique. We took another superb coast road around the top of the island and dropped down some sharp hairpins to Assos on its rocky peninsula. As in Fiskado the various taverns, shops and villas were being spruced up and we spotted some enchanting but neglected villas ripe for redevelopment. Back up on the main road it wasn't long before we stopped to look out over impossibly beautiful Myrtos beach, reached again by numerous hairpins and completely deserted. It was a great spot for lunch with dazzling white pebbles, chalk cliffs and a sea that must have been photo shopped. There was some evidence of winter storm damage and we cleared a couple of bags of rubbish before climbing out and heading for our planned park up. 

Myrtos being north facing would have been in shade whereas our lofty perch at Paliki faced west. En route we had looked at another option but the coast road had been washed away, so we had carried on south stopping briefly to fill up with good water from a tank at the top of a hill. The road down to Paliki was again somewhat twisting and ended up in a large parking area with the beach some 400 steps below of which the last 220 have been missing since an earthquake in 2014. Whilst someone had rigged up a handline it all looked rather precarious so we contented ourselves with a stunning view augmented for me by the Marine Tracker app enabling me to identify the passing shipping.

We parked at Gerogompos lighthouse for a walk along the coast before pulling in at a beautiful beach where the calm sea, hot sunshine and clean sand encouraged one of us to take a dip. We passed the water tank again en route to Argostoli and filled up before reaching the island's capital and taking a walk round. The ferry from Lixouri came in and we walked across the beautiful sickle shaped bridge that now prevents boats from entering the further reaches of the lagoon which are a sea turtle sanctuary. 

A few miles beyond the town airport's runway we dropped down the steepest and tightest hairpins yet to reach a tiny cove with parking for a few vehicles right at the water's edge. There were a few benches for the pop up taverna but we had an undisturbed night as everywhere is so quiet at this time of year. As we left a guy arrived to go scuba diving and we wondered if he might be tempted to head out to the small offshore island that remarkably housed a small chapel.

Crossing inland through the mountains we stopped to look round the impressive Venetian Castle at Ayios Georgios with its panoramic views and looked round the grounds of a large nearby monastery before dropping down towards Sami where a cove at Antisami provided a quiet place to rest for the afternoon under a hot sun. We then parked along the seafront within view of the port looking out over the sea to Vathy.

That evening in Sami we ate well at a small restaurant, taking unfinished gyros back for another day and sleeping well on the quiet road. Our ferry wasn't due to leave until 3pm and had been moored up overnight alongside another from the Levante line whose crew had been busy painting the night before. We walked around the bay to Karavomylos where a waterwheel was being driven by the brackish spring emerging from a cave system that had been dye tested to prove its connection under the mountains back to Argostoli. Whilst chatting to a Greek lad back at the van we noticed our ship pulling away but fortunately it was only nipping over to Vathy before returning for the rest of the passengers, vehicles and lorries. It was a speedy if chaotic boarding process, passengers all had to walk on but we were soon underway arriving back in Astakos as the sun set. We parked in the same spot near a Greek guy with a decent boat on a trailer behind his camper and two German vans buddied up further on and walked back to the Olympic Pegasus for another excellent meal after a friendly greeting. 

Today we stopped briefly at the archeological site of Kalydon having found nearby Pleuron closed and walked up to the site of an old city and temple with views across the salt pans and marshes of the Etoliko lagoon before heading south to Patras reached by an expensive toll bridge (€25). Next time we would use the car ferry which still operates and would give good views of this attractive modern structure. A couple of possibilities for Camping Gaz in Patras came to nothing but we enjoyed a friendly interaction with the young parking attendant who let us stop for 5 minutes in exchange for one of the oranges picked up earlier at a roadside store full of home made jams, marmalades, preserves and liqueurs run by a super friendly woman. 

So here we are at one of the few campsites open all year on the Peloponnesus for another service stop. We are parked amongst orange and lemon trees with power and water supplies and just four other vans dotted around. We will cover some of the Peloponnesus over our last fortnight together and keep an eye on the tragic events unfolding not so very far away which may impact on my future plans. 

The van is running well, an erratic issue with the central locking has been resolved by cleaning up the door switches that control the interior light and must also trigger the locks and so far the flashing glow plug has been eliminated.

Piccies

Ionian Islands

Our crossing from Brindisi left an hour behind schedule but was fairly calm and even more so once we reached the shelter provided by Corfu with remarkable views of snow capped Albanian mountains. Corfu town slipped by after dusk and we were soon in Igoumenitsa but having been squeezed in amongst the big boys it was an hour before we disembarked. Fortunately our park up was only five minutes away and we were in bed by  midnight.

The independent VW garage I had used a year ago were open on Saturdays and we called in to see when they could do the required oil and filter change and were delighted that they offered to do it straight away, I had the oil and filter with me and although they tried to suggest using a modern fully synthetic oil I insisted they use the one I had provided as my trusted mechanic back in Sheffield says it is the only one to use. We walked up to a local supermarket to get the guys some cakes and returned just as they were finishing the job. I noted they had done it without a ramp or pit having just jacked up the off side front wheel so I must have a go at that some time. Anyway they also plugged in an OBD2 diagnostic reader and cleared the flashing glow plug light all for €30 so I gave them 40 as they would have made something on the parts and it had freed up a few days getting the job done so promptly.

We drove the 10 miles round to Plataria and parked up on one of the two small aires right by the beach. The friendly George soon had us plugged in and the washing machine running as we enjoyed the warm afternoon sun. After a walk along the beach and back  through the village we went to the adjacent taverna for a decent meal of octopus for me and a huge pork cutlet for Mandy.

We caught the midday ferry back up to Corfu town which was fairly empty and only £70 single and were soon off anticlockwise round the island stopping at the end of a long track beside a beach for the night. Albania's mountains looked amazing as the sun set following a walk round to an old monastery which had some ancient frescoes and a ruined altar. 

The following morning we drove on to a planned stop on a beach at Agios Stefanos but as it was the Greek holiday of Clean Monday prior to Lent it was quite busy with families. We had noticed a group of young men getting dressed up in togas around a float and realised that back at Avliotes there was a carnival going on so headed back that way. After parking on the edge of the village a shuttle bus with a friendly driver took us up to the start of the main street where hundreds of people were gathering. A bar run by a lovely English woman provided cool drinks and a place to sit as the crowds grew and music blared. Eventually a procession of perhaps 20 odd floats and their accompanying performers passed through with music, flashing lights and fake bank notes and paper confetti being thrown in to the crowd. It was hugely enjoyable and as dusk fell we tucked in to pork souvlaki before returning to the van, driving back to Agios and spending the night on the now deserted beach.

Moving on via a superb coast road to Palaiokastritsa we stopped on an impossibly perfect beach for lunch and chatted to a guy from Athens who had studied naval architecture in Glasgow 50 years ago. Most places were closed for business but also in the process of preparing for the season when the place must be overrun.

Moving on south we pulled in at a curious track that ran between the Korission Lagoon and the sea. We sank in to the sand briefly on arrival but were soon free and decided not to head further down so set up shop and walked south along a stunning beach. We went over to talk to a Belgian couple in a Merc based 4x4 Grand Canyon S700 van that had easily got through the sand. They have only had the van a few weeks and for their first trip have ambitions to head to the Stans........

On our return we sat on a small beach as the sun set and had a very peaceful night with the waves breaking gently. P4N took us to another wonderful park up on a dead end track along the beach near Lefkimmi where within the hour Joris and his wife also arrived. I lent them my Stan maps and guidebook and later we had a good chat and exchanged contact details. After another idyllic night we headed up the east coast to Corfu town itself and enjoyed looking round the old fort, dining outside in the old town and then heading back for the five o'clock ferry. Old Corfu town would merit a longer visit but the modern centre seemed to be a parking and shopping nightmare. The sun set as we arrived back at Igoumenitsa before calling at the Lidl for a stock up and returning to Plataria where there was just time to eat next door again having helped George deal with an elderly French camper who spoke only French. The following morning we did some washing before heading south on the coast road with Paxos, where I had cycled and bivvied last year, sitting in a silver sea a few miles offshore. 

At Parga we visited an ancient fortress before heading for the Nekropolis of Acheron which had just closed but as we would be returning that way we carried on to Glyki on the Acheron River where it emerges from a narrow canyon through the Souli mountains. The impossibly blue river is a popular rafting centre in the summer but everywhere was deserted as we pulled in on the bank and walked up passing the eponymous springs. A Dutch van was parked further along but otherwise we had this beautiful place to ourselves and were away early next morning to follow a path for a couple of hours up the east bank of the river to a bridge where flood debris marked what must have been a significant recent torrent. After a chat with the young man delivering bread in the village, who was super friendly and gave me a whole bag of bread and pastries for a couple of Euros, we were back in time to visit the Nekropolis where the guy gave us the seniors discount without, unlike at Corfu fort, then imposing the EU member states only rule. It was a beautiful flower filled site with amazing stone walls built of polygonal blocks, a small church and an impressive fortified homestead. An underground crypt had been associated with the belief that communication beyond the grave was possible and the whole place had a long and venerable history.

Limiona beach was as nice a park up as you could ask for which we shared with a Latvian girl in a Transit who braved the waters to our shame. We walked the beach in each direction and settled down to watch the sun set and some of the planets, visible in a rare alignment, appear. Before leaving I whizzed round with a bag clearing up some plastic waste along the beach, sadly there is a lot of littering in Greece and whilst vanners had some bad publicity a year ago our stays are largely tolerated at this time of year but it doesn't hurt to do a bit of good as well. Sunday the 1st of March was my 66th birthday and I reflected on the many other amazing places I have spent notable milestones such as the Pennant Valley for my 60th, New Zealand at 50, on the farm for the big 40, Bristol at 30 before that and way back when during my nurse training in Hampshire in 1980, quite a journey...

This journey continued with a climb through the mountains to the Monument of Zalongo reached by over 400 steps from a small monastery and commemorating a mass suicide in 1803 of 60 women and children who danced over a cliff to escape the Ottoman Empire's invading forces. It was a stunning spot and offered views over an abandoned Greek settlement we had hoped to visit but which had been closed.

Down at the new marina in Preveza we parked up under a hot sun, walked around admiring the many very impressive yachts from all around the world including the Island of Jura, Douglas and Jersey before stopping for lunch in one of the many tavernas located in the maze of streets in the old town. 

A tunnel under the neck of the Ambracian Gulf (€3) brought us out at Agios and we filled up with water at a small church in a village on the way to the causeway that links the mainland with Lefkada via a swing bridge. On the dramatic west coast below Kalamitsi we dropped down a road that had a few alarming washouts and innumerable tight hairpin bends and eventually petered out as it followed the shore line. We tucked in to a clearing and then walked north and round the headland to another superb beach with a few bars and cafes that would be packed to the rafters in the season. There were 3 other vans parked up but we were happy to return to our solitude and watch the sun set as ferries running from Patras to Brindisi passed on the horizon and we saw four planets emerge after sunset.

Today we headed south to the lighthouse at Cape Lefkatas sitting 75m above the blue seas on craggy white limestone. The views across to Cephalonia, our next destination were stunning whilst below us I reckoned that island's power supply was delivered by an underwater cable as large pylons had crossed Lefkada.

A planned P4N at Vasiliki became a short stop to enjoy the sunny harbour as it was only a small, sleepy village and it was only mid afternoon. We bought some fresh feta cheese from a shop whose owner said he had no idea how good it might be as he can't stand the stuff.....

A dramatic drive round to a beachside campsite at Desimi has provided  a useful service stop as few sites are open at this time of year. Apart from a Bulgarian family we are the only guests and have yet to meet the proprietor. The dad returned from a fishing trip on his electric powered kayak complete with echo sounder and all sorts of gizmos and had caught a large fish that would presumably be the evening meal. We have enjoyed a pasta and sausage dish and will cross back to the mainland tomorrow before heading on to Astakos for the ferry to Cephalonia.

Both Corfu and Lefkada have been unbelievably beautiful and we have been blessed with amazing weather which looks set to continue ....

Enjoy it here