Tuesday 27th May 2008

We decided to catch a bus to the other end of the island and do a short walk. The bus didn't leave until 10:30 so we had a relaxing start, however the walk wasn't exactly relaxing. The bus took us to Paleo Klima past a large area of burnt forest, the result of a farmers fire that got out of control in March. It was sobering to see how much forest burned even in the Spring when the flora was not tinder-dry like it was during the horrendous fires in Greece last Summer. We also passed the village of Elios, destroyed by an earthquake in the 1960's.
There was absolutely no breeze and the air temperature was 25°C when we left and 32°C when we arrived in Glossa. The meant that the walk was very hot but it was most enjoyable. We moved between areas of shade, normally large, gnarled olive trees, walking on a narrow mule track. This was sometimes slightly overgrown, making it somewhat challenging. We passed many old olive groves, including one where we were greeted by a farmer who was clearing the undergrowth and his two mules were grazing in the shade of the trees. We went through semi-derelict hamlets where nearly every ruin had 'For Sale' painted on a surviving wall. There is still plenty of score for second-home buyers! I spotted some dolphins searching for fish in the flat-calm sea below us and all through the walk we followed their progress. We arrived in Glossa somewhat hot and tired, found a bar and ordered a large bottle of water and four glasses. They didn't make much money out of us and we did feel guilty sat in the posh surroundings admiring the sea views, but that was all we wanted at the time. Having recovered, we walked to the other end of the village where there was a restaurant right by the bus stop. We had an excellent, very reasonably priced, light lunch and relaxed until the bus arrived. The views on the bus journey were lovely and we ensured that we sat on the right side of the coach where the views were best.
We arrived back and purchased our ferry tickets for the return journey. We had intended to leave on Friday but found that the only ferry options were 07:15 or 19:50. The latter was too late, getting us into Volos at midnight and the early ferry was much earlier than we would have liked! We decided to stay an extra day and leave on the early Saturday ferry.
Dinner was taken at another excellent taverna – we will be experts on the tavernas of Skopelos Town by the time that we leave!
Photos: The band of intrepid explorers fighting their way through the jungle of the mule track – note the head-down concentration of the leader; Mule grazing in the shade of the olive trees – we followed their example, by resting in the shade, not grazing!

Monday 26th May 2008

Breakfast on the balcony this morning after a quick walk down to local bakery for fresh bread. With tables on either side of the low dividing fence that separates the balconies, we were able to breakfast together without the hassle of moving chairs between the apartments. It really is a lovely place to have breakfast with that view of the sea. It was already warm and when we met Stella, she told us that the temperature was forecast to reach 36°C by Thursday, after which it would start to cool back down again. This really is unseasonally hot for a Greek May, being much more like the temperatures that they would expect in July and August. Still, the apartments have air conditioning, which could prove to be very useful.
We stocked up at a supermarket in the town whilst investigating part of the old town and had lunch in the apartments. In the afternoon we walked to the small Kastro (castle) of which only a small section of wall exists. However, the houses on the top are very pretty and, unsurprisingly, there is a fantastic view over the town and harbour from the Kastro. There are five churches on the walk down to the harbour and we were able to look in one of them that was receiving a lick of paint. The rest of the afternoon was spent discussing our options for our stay and this ran into pre-meal drinks. I am not sure that we actually decided anything but the conversation, ouzo and beer flowed.
Dinner was taken at a different taverna tonight, on the seafront and more traditionally Greek. The taverna is open all year, which is often a good sign as they have to be good and traditional in order to keep their local custom. And good it was, with the best fried courgette that I have ever had, cut extremely thin with a very light batter.
Photos: An artistic house on the Kastro; A view from the Kastro over two of the churches.

Sunday 25th May 2008

After moving Henrietta to a position behind the very smart apartments and plugging in to their power, we set off with our suitcase to the bus stop just a few metres from the campsite entrance. In normal fashion, the bus was nearly a quarter of an hour late – just at the point where we were beginning to wonder whether it was ever going to arrive. We got into Volos at 11:30, two and a half hours before the ferry was due to leave, so we bought our tickets, left the suitcase at the agency and set off to explore Volos. We hoped to find an internet café and eventually found an internet point with lots of computers but no wireless and we couldn't plug in the laptop. Fortunately, they directed us to a 'Flo café' (part of a chain) on the seafront that had free wireless internet. We ordered two very expensive, but very good, coffees and I then spent 10 minutes trying to get onto the internet. Eventually, the third person who came to help me explained that the Internet was too busy with all of the other cafés on the seafront and it wasn't working. I didn't see a single person in any of the cafés with a laptop, so I wasn't convinced.
The ferry journey was very pleasant and we sat in an open area at the back with a roof to keep the sun off. It was very warm and the breeze set up by the movement of the ship was very welcome. However, there was a howling gale at the bow end and this area was quickly evacuated. The journey took four hours and much of this time was spent going down the Pelio peninsular, past islets, before we headed to the island of Skiathos. This is a very pretty island, larger than Skopelos and the most popular destination of the passengers and vehicles. We watched the people and lorries pour off the ferry before we headed towards Skopelos, which was only a short distance away. We passed more islets before we arrived at the tiny port of Loutraki at the northern end of Skiathos. Hardly anything got on or off here and we soon started our trip round the island to Skopelos Town. Jane spotted some dolphins behind the ferry and we spent some time watching them playing in the wake of the ferry. This is great to watch and the Greeks were just as entranced as the foreigners.
Arriving at Skopelos Town Norman and Deborah were on the quayside to meet us and after a happy reunion, we made our way to the apartments. They had plotted a route through the narrow windy streets of the old town that involved the least number of steps and we were soon at Stella's apartments with a wonderful view over the town, castle ruins and the view over the bay and out to Alonissos (the ferry's final destination). Stella had kindly arranged for us to have the apartment next to Norman and Deborah's so that we had adjoining balconies – this would prove to be very useful over the coming days.
Norman and Deborah have been coming to Skopelos for 13 years and know all of the tavernas (and taverna owners) in the town. Deborah had prepared a selection of the best for us to try and we set off for the first of these now, and an excellent meal it was too.
Photos: Greek discussion group on the ferry; View from our apartment in Skopelos Town.

Saturday 24th May 2008

An even rarer Odyssey event, two lazy days in succession! We did do slightly more than yesterday as, before the real heat of the day hit, we walked into the local village. This was very easy, walking along the beach until we came across a minor road that took us all along the seafront. There were plenty of attractive tavernas and bars and, on a fortnight's holiday it would be fun to investigate them all. We then walked slightly inland and found the 'main street', although that only consisted of two shops. Still, the supermarket was well stocked and reasonably priced and I returned later with empty beer bottles and replaced them with full ones. It is good to see that Greece still has deposits on bottles, surely better than glass recycling, which is of dubious merit.
Apart from a spell writing this blog, I spent the rest of the day reading 'Christ Recrucified'. It really is quite gripping and I found it very difficult to put down, so I didn't!
We have a 14:00 ferry to catch from Volos tomorrow, so we checked bus times with the very helpful lady in Reception and established where we needed to put the van whilst we are away.
The meal tonight was the rest of the Pastitsatha but this time with the pasta. As with almost all stews (and curries), it is better on the second day as the flavours have melded even more.
Photos: The pretty village of Kato Gatzea with a typical pier constructed of two tree trunks with planks nailed to them; Fishing for olives?

Friday 23rd May 2008

A rare Odyssey event – we didn't move more than a hundred metres from Henrietta today. The major excursion of the day was to the shower block – very well equipped with large rooms holding a sink with a mirror and a curtained shower with lots of hot water.
The rest of the day was spent in leisure. I finished 'A Parrot in the Pepper Tree', Chris Stewart's sequel to 'Driving Over Lemons', continuing the story of his life in the Alpajuras, south of Granada in Spain. Both books are excellent and I intend to order the third in the series so that I can pick it up during our visit to England in June. I have now started 'Christ Recrucified' by Nikos Kazantakis (of 'Zorba the Greek' fame), a story of life in a Greek village during the Turkish occupation. I thought that it was going to be very heavy but I am finding it to be a very good read.
Cooking was the other occupation – a variation of Pastitsatha (Veal with pasta), given that we had it with potatoes and carrots rather than pasta. It is a delicious stew with beef, many onions, garlic, lots of tomato paste, white wine and a generous measure of olive oil. With long, slow cooking, the veal is very tender and the sauce thickens and has a wonderful flavour.
Photos: Interesting flying beast – as long as it doesn't get too close; Martin with laptop, wine glass, chocolate and the very friendly campsite cat.

Thursday 22nd May 2008

After breakfast, we walked the half mile to Maisie and said goodbye to Terry and Stuart. One of the joys of travelling like this is meeting soulmates such as Terry and Stuart and we will definitely keep in touch.
We drove up to the largest of the monasteries, Megalou Meteorou (Grand Meteora), and found large numbers of coaches, motorhomes and cars. We decided not to visit the monastery itself but it was much clearer today and we admired the views. From here we looked over the village of Kastraki and the rock formations to the mountains in the distance with their sprinkling of snow. In the other direction, we could see three more monasteries, Varlaam just below us, Roussanou in the middle distance and Ayias Triadhos in the far distance. We then drove down, with many stops for photographs on the way, to Ayiou Nikolaou Anapavsas. This is much lower than the others but still involves a long climb up on wooden and stone steps. They have thoughtfully provided a quick, steep option or a longer, more gentle route. Jane had set off but I stayed to take some photographs. There were two climbers climbing a vertical (literally, not an exaggeration) rock face that was hundreds of metres high – not for the faint-hearted, including me! I set off quickly on the steep route and managed to meet up with Jane near the top. I was definitely out of breath and certainly not fit enough for mountaineering!
Anapavsas was a delight, much less visited than some of the others and with at least one very friendly, young resident monk. The tiny chapel's walls were covered in beautiful frescoes and the views were delightful. From the top of the rock we could see the ruins of at least three other monasteries on nearby pinnacles and there was also a good view of Roussanou and just a glimpse of Varlaam in a gap in the cliff face high above us.
We would have loved to walk around the area and Terry and Stuart described a lovely two and a half hour walk that they had taken. Although my leg is now much improved, it would not have been sensible to attempt such a walk this time. Still, that gives us the excuse to visit the area again and to explore the less visited monasteries on foot.
We headed for Volos and, on the way, tried to find a fuel station that supplied Autogas. These are very rare in Greece but I had found an Internet site with (not very detailed) addresses of two fuel station between Larissa and Volos. We didn't find either of those but fortunately came across another one near Volos. We filled up with 10 litres and, with no heating and little hot water use, the full tank should last us 6 to 8 weeks.
We called in at Volos port on the way to establish the times of the ferries to Skopelos and then drove on the 18 km to the Camping Sykia at Kato Gatzea. This is in a lovely position with terraces going down to the sea and we selected a pitch shaded by old olive trees.
Photos: Anapavsas Monastery from a distance; Three monasteries – Varlaam on the right, a glimpse of Megalou Meteorou on its left and Anapavsas on the far left; Roussanou from a distance; Two ruined monasteries seen from Anapavsas with the village of Kastraki on the left.

Wednesday 21st May 2008

We had intended to get up early and visit the monasteries before all of the tour coaches arrived but decided instead to have a relaxing day and do the visits tomorrow when we were moving on to Volos. I went to get bread from one of the village bakeries and on the way I was passed by three tour coaches – this was at 08:30 and the monasteries didn't open until 09:00. Obviously, there was no way to avoid the day trippers!
I spent much of the day catching up with the blog and reading. Jane tried out the swimming pool and was impressed – the water was warm and the backdrop of the 'rocks in the air' was fantastic.
We had arranged to spend the evening with Terry and Stuart. They had found a recommendation in the Rough Guide for a restaurant in the village, so they all collected me from an Internet café on the way and we walked up to the restaurant with the massive rocks brooding in the twilight. We had an excellent meal with excellent company and walked back to Henrietta for coffee and brandies (the excellent Metaxa 3*, of course).
Photos: The village of Kastraki with the rock formations behind. The eagle-eyed amongst you may be able to spot one or two monasteries.

Tuesday 20th May 2008

The route to Meteora is described in our guidebook as one of the prettiest in Greece but it was still hazy today and I have to say that our route last Friday and Saturday and those in the Peloponnese (especially 9th and 10th May) were much nicer. This road was also much busier, we hardly ever met another vehicle on the other routes, but here there were many heavy lorries and quarry trucks servicing the construction sites for the new motorway that is being built through the mountains (quite literally in many cases). There was no way of overtaking the lorries, so we just had to be patient. Fortunately, the bends in the road were not as tight and the hills not as steep as on Saturday, so gear changes and breaking (both still painful) were not as frequent.
We have been to Meteora (meaning 'rocks in the air') before but the first sight still took our breath away. Massive rock formations, their cliffs etched with numerous caves, cover the area and dominate the villages below them. Perched on top of some of the pinnacles of rock, in seemingly totally inaccessible positions, are monasteries. In the 10th century Christian hermits started to use the natural caves but in the 14th century two monks from Mount Athos (a Greek monastic community) visited and decided to to establish a monastery. The idea caught on and at one time 24 of the rock pinnacles had monasteries on them. Many of the rocks as classified as 'advanced routes' by today's rock climbers and it is difficult to understand how they managed to build the monasteries without modern tools. Even in the middle of the 20th century, visitors were still winched up the rocks in baskets but now steps have been carved into the rock, staircases built and bridges constructed to span the gap to adjacent rocks. Hopefully, the photographs that I have included will give some idea of the spectacular scenery but it is very difficult to do it justice.
The journey had not been a long one and we arrived in time to drive around the area. We stopped at Roussanou (Ayias Varvaras) and walked up the steps and over the bridge to the small monastery. The very small chapel had some very good frescoes and we were particularly impressed by the wall full of depictions of martyrdom. There was a wide selection of methods available – fire was very popular (boiling or burning), then there was impaling on a wooden stake, beheading, having all your limbs chopped off, death by a thousand cuts (attached to a wheel and rotated so that your body was cut by knives stuck into the ground below the wheel) – to name but a few! Greek churches often have horrendous depictions of The Last Judgement but this one was particularly gruesome. We drove on to two other monasteries to admire the views but decided not to visit them today.
We drove down to Kastraki, just below the monasteries, where the campsite 'Vrachos' was located. It was a hot day again, so we found a shady pitch near the swimming pool and settled in. I decided to see if Terry and Stuart had arrived and set off following signs towards the 'New Place' i.e. a more recent addition to the campsite. I had only taken a few steps when I met Stuart and established that we must have been within minutes of each other travelling along the Ioannina to Meteora road. Stuart was on a shopping expedition. They had run out of wine when we met them at Ioannina so they drank our wine. They had already told us that they wanted to supply the wine next time that we met and had purchased exactly the same wine in Lidl. At least they thought that they had – it had the same name on the label, it cost the same (€1.99 - £1.60 for 1.5 litres!) and it was red. It was only earlier today that they had bought the medium sweet red wine instead of the dry. They had tried it at lunch time and Stuart described it as 'absolutely terrible' and to make matters even worse, they had bought 2 bottles, 3 litres of it. For a Yorkshireman who has lived for many years in Scotland, the waste of money was a tragedy! This campsite, just like the one in Ioannina, sold wine in their shop but at a ridiculously high price, in this case the cheapest red wine was over €8 (£6.40) a bottle - “'Ow much?”. Stuart had explained to us that if you stay silent for long enough in any shopping street in the world, you will hear “'Ow much?” and you will know that the person is a Yorkshireman! Stuart was determined to find a supermarket in the village that had better value wine.
Stuart directed me to where they had parked and I walked for about half a mile through the rambling campsite until I got to the furthest corner of the site and there I found Terry with Maisie, their campervan. Arriving unnoticed, I said in a loud voice “Excuse me, have you got any red wine to spare?”. Shortly afterwards, Stuart arrived back after a successful expedition and we decided that we should get together for a meal that evening. Maisie has very limited cooking facilities, so I offered the use of our BBQ and oven with Stuart supplying the dry red wine! Another excellent evening was had in such easy-going company and I was able to clock up a first – watching fireflies. Our son Simon had seen fireflies near our Somerset village but I had never been lucky enough to encounter them. We sat outside on a beautifully warm evening and Stuart pointed out that there were fireflies a few metres away. Later some flew over and around us – a fascinating and lovely sight.
Photos: Varlaam Monastery from below; Varlaam from above.

Monday 19th May 2008

The campsite shares its site with the university boat club and this morning many students arrived, carried their boats to the lake and sculled in singles, pairs and fours across the lake. A majestic sight to watch over breakfast.
We said goodbye to Terry and Stuart, only to bump into them again in the centre of Ioannina when we walked, very slowly, in to the town. We investigated the old town, visited the museum in one of the old mosques and then had our first gyro pittas of the Odyssey in a taverna recommended by Stuart. The taverna was on a main street right opposite the entrance to the old town and the somewhat slow service allowed us to participate in one of Jane's favourite hobbies – people watching. Even I was enthralled by this today. We were directly opposite a taxi rank and there was a constant succession of people waiting, taxis arriving and departing fully loaded. As often happens in Greece, the taxi drivers would check to see if any of the people waiting were going in the same direction as their passengers – more profit for the drivers and quicker for those waiting if they can share. Next to the taxi rank was a small shrine with an icon of a saint wearing traditional Greek mountain village dress and pedestrians and car drivers alike would cross themselves as they passed it – difficult if you are using a mobile phone at the same time!
In the afternoon, we took the ferry over to the lake island of Nisi and walked (slightly faster) around the three monasteries. The island was not that interesting but was obviously a popular place to come to eat. The tavernas had glass tanks full of eels and a few carp, all from the lake. It was sad to see the large numbers of eels packed into the tanks with no room to move and the idea of picking an eel to eat really did not appeal. Unfortunately, after the lovely clear views across the lake yesterday, it was very hazy today and it this spoilt the view down to east end of the lake. However, I am not complaining as the on the two other occasions that we have visited Ioannina. It was becoming very hot and humid and we decided to retire to Henrietta. We opened all of the windows, doors and skylights in the van and sat in the shade but the heat was really oppressive. Sure enough we had an extremely brief shower with very large drops of rain and then the thunder and lightning started over the mountains at the other end of the lake. We were hoping for a really good downpour to clear the air but were disappointed and instead had a very restless, hot night's sleep.
Still, my leg had survived the walking of the day, a good sign for the driving that I would have to do tomorrow.
Photos: A rather surreal view of an apparently headless sculler carrying his boat to the lake; Our gyro pitta taverna reflected in the chrome of an immaculate Kawasaki 900 motorbike; A Great Crested Grebe and chick.

Sunday 18th May 2008

We didn't have far to go today, so we had a relaxed start. Jane had correctly guessed that the signs in the car park may have indicated that there was going to be a market. We walked round to it and bought lovely fresh vegetables and, one of my favourite fruits, cherries - €5 (£4) for 2 kg (4.4lbs). Although I was tempted by the deal, it would have taken us too long to eat that many, so we bought 1 kg for €3.
The drive to Ioannina was very easy and very fast compared with the tortuously slow progress that we made on the windy roads yesterday. We made a slight diversion to Dodona on the way, an ancient Greek site with a very large theatre. Dodona is famous for its Oracle, the earliest in Greece. The Oracle answered questions by interpreting the sound of the rustling leaves of a huge oak tree. The site dates back to the 3rd millennium BC and started with the nature goddess Gaia, Mother Earth, who is associated with tree-worship and prophecy. The site was initially very simple – just the oak tree and even in the 8th century BC it only had a small wall around it. However, eventually a large cult site was built together with the third largest theatre on the Greek mainland. It was whilst I was walking around the site that I managed to do something nasty to my right leg. I stepped off a rock slightly awkwardly and felt something go 'twang'. From that point onwards I was limping and in considerable pain. Just after this I was walking along a narrow path between long grass and was just about to put my foot down when a three metre long snake went under my foot. Thankfully, I just managed to avoid standing on it. We got back to Henrietta and had a late lunch whilst I tried to exercise my leg and establish whether I would be able to drive. We were lucky that we only had a few miles to go and although it was very painful, we got there.
We arrived at the campsite in the middle of the afternoon and were very pleasantly surprised by it. It was very warm and we quickly found a shady pitch right on the lakeside, coincidently next to the only other British van on the site. We introduced ourselves to Terry and Stuart and found them to be a very pleasant couple. Chatting to them was very easy and relaxed and the afternoon and then the evening just rushed by. We sat looking at the view of the mountains over the other side of the lake, watched a sea plane (or should it ba a 'lake plane'?) land and take off, and watched the many Great Crested Grebes diving and catching fish. We discovered that we were both going to be in Meteora in a couple of days time and agreed to attempt to meet up there.
Photos: The sacred site at Dodona – the site of the original sacred oak is marked by a large oak (centre of picture) planted in the early 20th century; The theatre.

Saturday 17th May 2008

In the morning we drove the short distance to Proussou Monastery, set in a cliff at the head of a gorge with an almost alpine backdrop. Apart from its beautiful setting, the monastery is visited by Greeks for two reasons – the icon of Panayia Proussiotissa housed in the 9th century church and the connection with revolutionary fighter Yeorgios Karaiskakis. The church is very pretty with smoke-blackened frescoes probably caused by candle smoke and candles also caused a number of fires in the monastery, which means that its buildings are relatively modern. Karaiskakis used the monastery as his stronghold and his two defensive towers, built on rocky outcrops, still flank it.
We then drove down the stunning gorge, at times high above the river and at other times down beside the rushing water. The road builders had carved into the rock leaving a huge overhang and just beyond this we came to an intriguing shrine. The shrine itself was a small building crammed with icons and many burning candles, whilst outside there was a short ladder on the cliff face and many offerings attached to the cliff itself. There were model cars, coins, keys, crosses, worry beads, notes and even a model aeroplane. A car stopped and three young men came over to look at the shrine. They asked me to take their photograph and I asked one of them about the shrine. He explained that the red arrows on the cliff face at the top of the ladder pointed to the 'footsteps of the Virgin Mary'. People climbed the ladder and stared at the footprints and after about half an hour, they could detect the Virgin Mary's presence and were able to ask for a gift from her. This may be money, a car, a job as a pilot etc. and the items attached to the rock would either be part of the request or thanks for a fulfilled request. The man was not making a request this time although he had done so in the past. I didn't have the courage to ask what he had requested and whether it had been successful. I climbed the ladder and followed the arrow. There in the stone was a shape (probably a fossil) that, with a fertile imagination, could be said to resemble a footstep. We had seen a piece of stone in the monastery with a similar fossil that looked much more like a footprint but the attached explanation was all in Greek, so we hadn't understood its significance. I decided not to request anything from the Virgin Mary, I am sure that she has much more important things to sort out.
I really wanted to visit a pretty Greek village with the lovely name of Paleo Mikro Horio (Old Small Village) but we both missed the (probably unsigned) turning. We skirted the large town of Karpenisi and joined a more major road West in the direction of Agrinio. This road is not shown as a green (picturesque) road on our map but I don't know why. It winds its way through dramatic scenery providing excellent arm-strengthening exercise. The last remnants of the Winter snow huddled into the shaded crevices of the highest peaks whilst pine clad, steep-sided mountainsides came down past the road into deep gorges. There was virtually no cultivatable land and subsequently very few hamlets. Just occasionally we spotted a goat shed on the mountainside and it reminded us just how lonely it must be to be shepherd or goatherd.
We had plotted a route across country from this road to a campsite on the coast. However, Jane had casually checked the route on our more modern, but much less detailed, Europe road atlas and discovered that the road that we were going to take now seemed to have been replaced by a reservoir. It did however show a new route further North that was not on our detailed map. We knew that we couldn't afford to take a chance on either of these routes as we could have ended up on dirt tracks or facing the prospect of having to come back to the main road after a very long diversion. We agreed that we would only take the roads if they positively signed towns that showed that there was a route through the mountains. We passed the first turning when the signs only showed towns going North and not the Westerly direction that we required. We came to the second turn and could see the original road literally running straight into the new reservoir. They had obviously diverted the road but the signs only listed villages on the eastern side of the original river. This meant that we had to take a much longer route via Agrinio but at least we knew that we would get there before nightfall!
After a while the land flattened out and, although the road was surprisingly narrow at times, there were many less bends and we were able to drive faster. Having passed Agrinio, we turned North and some time later spotted a sign to the right for Proussou. So there was a road through, but we still don't know what route it takes. We arrived at the area where the campsite was supposed to be only to find that it was closed, so we decided to find a wild camping site further up the coast. We drove into Menidi and found a large deserted car park that seemed to be suitable. However, we spotted some temporary signs that had been put at either end of the car park and, not understanding the Greek, we decided to move to some wasteland by the beach at the end of the town. A French motorhome behind us did exactly the same thing and soon pulled in a little way from us. We looked out on to the Amvrakikos Gulf and the very long and thin sand bars created by the rivers that flow into it.
Photos: The Proussou Monastery; The interior of the monastery church; A view south showing the monastery in the gorge – our wild camping spot was on the hill behind the large tower; The reservoir with our road disappearing into it.

Friday 16th May 2008

We left Akrata Beach after saying goodbye to Manolis and Sandy and Pat who were busy painting the metal bases of the bar tables. Manolis is lucky to have two such willing volunteers and he is very aware of this despite the fact that he complained that I was distracting his staff!
Our journey was going to take us over the bridge that spans the Gulf of Corinth from Rio (on the Peloponese side) to Antirio (on the mainland side). The bridge was a considerable engineering feet and it looks very stylish. Our task was simple – drive along the Old National Road and then over the bridge. However, we had not allowed for the Greek knack of not completing a task properly. We saw the bridge but there were no signs to the bridge or to any destinations on the other side of the Gulf. We followed signs to Rio only to find ourselves under the bridge with no way to get up to it. We decided that we would have to get onto the New National Road to get to the bridge but as we approached that road we only had the option of 'Athens' or 'Patras' neither of which involved the bridge. After a considerable time of driving backwards and forwards and performing a U-turn in front of the toll booths of the New National Road (a manoeuvre that was not allowed but we followed four other Greek vehicles, including two lorries), we finally got to the bridge and very impressive it was too.
We were heading almost due North from Antirio, past Lake Trichonida and the thermal spa resort of Thermo on to a road that was shown as 'green' on our map. The route up to Thermo (a thermal spa resort) was quite attractive but it got even better after that. We were heading for Proussou Monastery and we got to one of those classic Greek signs that showed our destination in two different directions. Jane however could see that the one to the left went on a white road (not asphalted) and the road straight on was shown as asphalted on the map. We were a little concerned that our map showed about 12 km of non-asphalted road further on but the map was from 2000 and many roads have been improved since then. We continued to follow signs for Proussou (most comforting!) through spectacular mountain scenery but we did get to a section that was dirt track. We had agreed that we would turn back if it got too bad but, certainly to start with, it was in good condition. Well, we actually drove for 14 km along this road, though tiny deserted hamlets, past lovely chapels and bemused shepherds who obviously thought that we were mad. Generally the track was good but it often became narrow and sections had cliff on one side and a long drop into the valley below on the other side. Jane coped very well and was perfectly calm – fortunately the big drops were always on my side. We didn't pass another vehicle for the whole 14 km, for which I am very grateful. The thought of backing up on some of the sections really did not appeal! We reached a main road at a T-junction with absolutely no signs for Proussou and the map indicated that we should have been right on the edge of the village. Confusion followed and was only solved when I stopped to ask the way. We were over 10km from Proussou and could not have been on the road that we thought that we were. It was a real experience and wonderful scenery, but I would not recommend it to other motorhomers!
There were no campsites in the area and we knew that we would have to wild camp and we found an excellent position on a side road, close to the Proussou cemetery, above the village and monastery. I investigated a small chapel just below our site that had a lovely view down to the monastery and a wonderful bell tower – the bell was hanging in a tree next to the chapel!
Photos: The bridge from Rio to Antirio across the Gulf of Corinth; On the dirt track through one of the few small hamlets; A view from the dirt track down to the hamlet that we had just driven through; The view of Proussou and its monastery from near out wild camping spot.

Thursday 15th May 2008

We decided that we would wait until we were sure that the strike was definitely over, so we spent another relaxing day on the site. We found out later that the fuel stations had reopened and that diesel was readily available and I paid Manolis to ensure that we didn't weaken and decide to stay yet another day.
We sat, read and after lunch an informal gathering evolved. We were joined by Pat, Sandy, Robert (an American living in Italy and a regular visitor to Camping Akrata Beach) and a German lady who had lived in America for many years and whom we had seen at a number of other sites. The ways of the world were corrected, the strike discussed and there was much watching of the sea – all very stressful!
Photos: The informal gathering.

Wednesday 14th May 2008

The strike is over! This means that we will be able to move on within the next few days but before we go, we want to be sure that we will be able to buy diesel on the way.
It is overcast today, there is not a breath of wind and the Gulf of Corinth is as calm as a millpond. The view over the Gulf was extremely hazy, no chance of spotting Delphi today!
Another lazy day writing the blog and sorting out photographs. Manolis (the site owner) very kindly allowed us to use his Internet connection, so that used up a couple of hours. I decided to clean and check out my bike but found that the chain locks were solid with dust and I couldn't even get the keys in. After much oiling and fiddling with the keys, I released the lock and got the bike off. After giving it a good clean and pumping up the tyres, I took it for a quick ride and, much to my surprise, it was fine and the gears worked well. Not bad considering that it is many weeks since I last used it and the gears were covered in dust.
Sat outside the van, we chatted with Pat and Sandy and then Manolis and his three year old son Yiorgos (George) joined us. Yiorgos was wearing a T-shirt that had “My dad is stronger that your dad” embroidered on the front. When I mentioned this to Manolis, he grinned widely and adopted a strongman pose – a typical Greek man. Yiorgos amused himself throwing pebbles into the sea whilst Manolis and I entered into a light-hearted competition of skimming stones. This is obviously an international sport and, of course, we played it to an international standard. Yiorgos remained totally unimpressed by the sight of the stones bouncing across the sea, then slowing down, until they arced in a multitude of minute skips and disappeared under the water. We had already established that Manolis was stronger than me (from Yiogos's T-shirt), but I told Manolis that he had the brawn, whilst I had the brain. This lead to much banter during the competition. Pat and Sandy judged that honours were even and we retired to some chairs to watch Yiorgos throwing stones – a great way of keeping boys (of all ages) occupied! Manolis wife Tula arrived with their younger daughter Cleo and the conversation continued. We watched three fishermen throwing lines from the beach and dragging lures along the sea floor. Manolis was convinced that they wouldn't catch anything but one caught an octopus, which was obviously what they were fishing for, and proceeded to kill it by throwing it hard onto the beach a number of times.
Tula told us that some of the truck drivers want to continue the strike, so it may not be over after all. Still, if we have to be stuck anywhere, this is a very good place – certainly the friendliest campsite that we have been on and very comfortable with Manolis's new, upgraded facilities.
Photos: Manolis admiring my skimming technique (it is all in the sway of the hips and the flick of the wrist!) whilst Pat judges and Yiorgos plays with pebbles.

Tuesday 13th May 2008

We heard yesterday that there is a major strike in progress in Greece at the moment. It involves truck drivers, including the ones driving fuel tankers and there are fuel shortages over the whole of Greece. We filled up with diesel on Saturday but apparently we were lucky to do so. We decided to check out the situation today whilst stocking up with supplies and visiting a local ancient site. We drove into Paralia Akratas to the supermarket, then through Egira and up the hill to Ancient Egira (or Aigeira) high above the modern town. This was a large site with a Mycenaean-type palace on the acropolis, a theatre just below, an agora further down the hill and the associated Roman port some 3km away. The gates of the theatre area were locked but we could see almost everything from outside. The theatre was impressive, carved into the natural rock but there was very little else to see, except that is for the fantastic views, including the small Akrata peninsular where our campsite is located. The site is almost opposite Delphi on the other side of the Gulf of Corinth and in ancient times, with the polished marble of the buildings shining in the sun, it must have been possible to see it from here.
We returned to the campsite for lunch and noted that all of the fuel stations were closed. Later we learned that there was no diesel available in the area and only one station on the National Road that was selling petrol. We were also told that trucks were protesting by blocking 10km of the National Road near Patras. The strikers are making an announcement this evening and we can only hope that they will call an end to the strike.
Photos: The theatre at Ancient Aigeira; View of the Akrata Peninsular from Ancient Aigeira – the campsite is on the tip of the peninsular.

Monday 12th May 2008

What a lazy day! We fully intended to move on today but decided that we had spare time in our planned itinerary, so we decided to stay another day. We spent the day relaxing, eating, drinking and chatting at length with Pat and Sandy – they are such good company. I had lots of blog entries to write but didn't get very far. The evening meal was spent watching the sea gently caress the shore and listening to one of my favourite folk music CDs – 'Warts an' All'. I can guarantee that, unless your name is Bossingham or Mill, you haven't got a copy of this CD. When we visited our great friends John and Sue Bossingham, John gave us this recording of his fiddle tunes. He was very modest about it but I wish that I could play anything like as well as he does. The music transports me back to their lovely house on the edge of Dartmoor and the fantastic walks that we have done with Sue, John and family on the moor. John regularly runs long distances over Dartmoor even in the snow and freezing temperatures. I hate running but love walking and John has, on many occasions, slowed down sufficiently to guide me on long walks in that beautiful area. There are so many options for walks directly from their house or just a short drive away, it really is paradise. I can honestly say that theirs is the only friend's house that I covet. I could live there quite happily, walking every day.
Photos: Our pitch at Camping Akrata Beach with Pat and Sandy's beautifully painted gates.

Sunday 11th May 2008

Rain woke us in the early morning. We were parked under a large tree and this is bad news when it rains. If there is continuous light rain and the van is in the open, the effect is quite pleasant and it is easy to sleep through it. However under trees, the water collects on the leaves and then comes off in much larger drops, making loud, irregular noises that are much more difficult to sleep through. With large trees the large drops have further to fall and are even louder when they hit Henrietta's roof. The moral of the story is not to park under trees if it is likely to rain. It rained for five or six hours and it was only just before we left, at 10:00 that it stopped.
We had already decided last night that we would visit the Cave Lakes on the way to Kalavrita and, given the weather, it was a good decision. We were very high up in the mountains, the outside temperature was only about 10°C and we saw that the rain that had fallen in Planiterio had fallen as snow only a little higher. We had our own personal tour of the caves as we were the only people there, which was very useful as the guide attempted to explain things in his very limited English. We in turn helped him with a few English words and terms. The cave was quite impressive being 2 km long and on three levels. Only the 500m long second level is open to the public and there are no plans to open the third despite the fact that our old guidebook suggested that they intended to open it in 2000. The guide explained that there is very little airflow in that part of the cave and the the oxygen would not be sufficient for groups to be taken around. The second level has three lakes that are full in January, February and March when Winter rainfall and snow melt find their way into the cave. Small waterfalls join the lakes, running over the formations on the floor of the cave. In the Summer the cave is dry and when we visited, there was still some water in the lakes although they were not full and there were no waterfalls. The two most impressive things were the huge curtain stalactites, some of which had taken one million years to form, and the bats. Over 5,000 bats live in the caves and we were lucky enough to see some of them flying around and also a roost containing a few hundred and making a huge din as we passed directly underneath.
We had intended to stop in Kalavrita but decided against it given the weather, so we carried on beside the railway until we got close to Mega Spileou. Here we stopped for lunch with the monastery high up in the cliff in front of us and fantastic views up and down the gorge.
We then drove on to our campsite, a return visit to Camping Akrata Beach where we had stayed at no charge in mid-April. We were greeted by Manoli again and took up position by the newly-painted gates onto the beach. We met up with Pat and Sandy, the two American ladies and discovered that they had painted the gates – Manoli explained that they really wanted to help him. We then had a long chat with Pat, Sandy and Manoli exchanging news since we last saw them and putting the world to rights. Manoli explained that there is currently a strike of truck drivers, including fuel tanker drivers, protesting about the cost of fuel. This is beginning to lead to a shortage of fuel in some area, especially in Athens where there are long queues at fuel stations. We saw no sign of queues over the last few days and had no problem getting diesel, so we hope that we will be OK out in the countryside!
Photos: The trout ponds in front of 'O Planiterios'; Curtain stalactites at the Cave Lakes; Tiny ponds created by evaporating water on rocks in the Cave Lakes; The site of Mega Spileou as seen from our picnic spot.

Saturday 10th May 2008

Jane was not very impressed when I announced last night that I was going to set the alarm for 06:30 so that I could watch the sun rise over the mountains. However, she was as impressed as I was in the morning. We slept very well and not a single vehicle passed by on the road until well after we woke. There was a glow in the sky and not a breath of wind. We lifted the blind and opened the bedroom window and sat in bed watching the sky turn an orangey red as the sun appeared over the ridge of mountains. Absolutely magical – you would pay a fortune for a hotel room with such a breathtaking view.
When we last visited Vassae, we were able to walk all around the outside of the temple underneath the tent but now, one end of the temple had been closed off although we were able to view the area from the side. This was part of the extensive work that they are doing on the temple, which has an estimated completion date of 2020. Although the temple is beautiful, it is very easy to see the faults – columns lean at incorrect angles, parts of the floor have slumped and there are cracks in the walls of the cella (the inner, holy part of the temple). Thousands of years of weathering, settlement and earthquakes have taken their toll and repairs were desperately needed in order to ensure that the temple will still be there for future generations. They are systematically dismantling the temple, correcting the problems, replacing stone where needed (although always incorporating every available piece of ancient stone that is available), reinforcing the foundations and then reassembling it. This is obviously a very slow process! All of the columns at the northern end of the temple were removed in 2001 and put on a specially constructed base whilst the foundations and flooring were consolidated. These columns have not yet been replaced, although it is clear that much work has been done on them. When this work has been completed and those columns replaced, they have to do the same with all of the remaining columns, repair the floors and the cella, reconstruct the upper structure (currently stacked neatly all over the surrounding area like jigsaw pieces) and perhaps put a roof on – the original one was made of Parian (from the island of Paros) brilliant white marble. Then they plan to remove the tent structure to reveal the temple in all its glory. I suspect that 2020 may be a little optimistic but I really want to see it when it is completed and uncovered. Let's hope that it is in my lifetime!
After a last look at the view from the temple, we set off on what must be one of the most attractive drives in Greece, through the mountains and the traditional villages of Andritsena, Karitena, Stemnitsa, Dimitsana and Vitina. Our first stop was Andritsana where we had stopped at a hotel on our first visit to this area some 15 years ago. Then, all of the traditional shops such as the 'Pantopoleio' (everything shop) were open and their were only three small restaurants. Many houses were empty as the much of the population had moved to the cities for jobs and the remaining houses were attractive but in a rather run-down way. The change was quite dramatic – most of the traditional shops had closed to be replaced by more modern versions and new tourist shops had appeared. There are now many restaurants and cafés, houses have been modernised and disused houses renovated. There was only one medium sized and one small hotel then but now there are at least four and there are many signs for rooms to rent. It was good to see that the village was more affluent although a shame that it had lost some of its charm. However, some of the traditions had survived and I spent some time chatting to a cooper, still making wooden wine casks – they give a much better taste to the wine than plastic he told me. I left with a gift of local wine and I promised to send him a copy of one of the photographs that I had taken.
We also stopped in Stemnitsa and sampled their speciality tiny pastries filled with honey and walnuts and covered in huge amounts of icing sugar. The icing sugar went everywhere including all over my trousers, but the pastries were delicious. We made one more stop on the way which was just outside Dimitsana on the road to Zatouna. Here there is a viewpoint that gives a wonderful view down the Lousios Gorge with two monasteries, one clinging to its side and the other perched on top of its cliffs. I have vowed that next time that we visit, we will drive to the Philosophou Monastery and walk to the Prodromou Monastery.
We carried on north until we joined the road that we had used to travel south nearly three weeks earlier. We enjoyed Planiterio so much then that we decided to return there. Once again, we agreed with the taverna ('O Planiterios') that we could stay overnight if we had a meal there. This time the meal was lacking a little in atmosphere as it was too cold to sit out on the balcony and we were the only customers, but the food was still very good.
Photos: Sunrise at Vassae; The western side of the temple; The northern end with the removed pillars on their temporary bases; The protective tent; Karitena village and castle.

Friday 9th May 2008

We left the immaculate, most un-Greek but very comfortable, campsite and headed for more ruins. Nestor's Palace lies a few miles inland on a hill with commanding views down to Navarino Bay. On the way we passed many signs to Mycenaean tombs including many royal tholos tombs – this was a very rich area ruled by powerful kings. The rule of Nestor is very much tied up in Greek Mythology but he was a real Mycenaean king who ruled the area in the 13th century BC. His palace is the best preserved example of a Mycenaean palace and gives us a fascinating insight into Mycenaean life. It was in this palace that hundreds of clay tablets were found written in the ancient Mycenaean languages known as Linear A and Linear B. For many years after their discovery, these could not be deciphered and it was only in 1952-3 that two Britons, Ventris and Chadwick, established that both scripts were an early form of Greek. The tablets were only used for lists and administration, no Linear A or B novels or poems have been discovered but the contents of the tablets are still intriguing. The two main 'archive' rooms that contained hundreds of tablets seem to be associated with tax collection and administration, recording tax paid, debts due, distribution of goods etc. There are many storerooms in the palace and tablets found on huge olive oil jars described the qualities and flavours of the oil within. We learnt that they called their domestic pets such names as 'Whitefoot', 'Bawler', 'Darkie', 'Winey' and 'Blondie'. The clay tablets were only preserved because they were baked by the fire that destroyed the palace around 1200 BC – every cloud has a silver lining, although the Mycenaean residents may not have seen it that way. The palace had no defensive walls, another sign of the power of the rulers and Nestor had a large navy, second only to Agamemnon. However, leaving nothing to chance, there were guards stationed in the palace, two at the entrance and two by the door into the 'throne room' with its huge central, circular hearth, frescoed walls, tiled floor and royal throne where the king would receive visitors. Although we were very (and unnecessarily?) restricted as to where we walk, especially outside of the main palace building, it was still a magical site and well worth the visit. It was also very good value as we learned that all Greek sites were free for three days starting from today – something to do with Europe. This meant that our visit to the archaeological museum in the local village of Chora was also free and we were able to see many finds from Nestor's Palace. Amongst the highlights were example of the Linear A and B tablets, huge amounts of pottery cups, bowls and plates (they must have had huge banquets), large vessels decorated with octopuses and a Venetian gold coin thought to have been dropped when the Venetians were pinching stone blocks from the palace!
On then to more ruins at Messini, which we hoped to approach using fairly minor roads. However, and we had heard this from someone else who attempted the same journey, we saw no signs that bore any relation to the places on our map. We ended up in modern Messini, confusingly a long way from ancient Messini but finally made it to the site at 14:30. Our guidebooks told us that the site closed at 15:00 but, fortunately, only the museum closed at that time and the site was open until 20:00. This gave us plenty of time to view the extensive site. We met an archaeologist working on inscriptions on a large slab, part of a monument with four such slabs. Her job was to record and then translate the previously untranslated inscription and the result would form the basis of a speech to be given to a conference by her professor. She told us that the slab recorded a treaty between Megalopolis and Messini but we didn't find out whether this was before or after the Messinians poisoned a visiting general from Megalopolis! The walls of the city are also very impressive with large selection extant to a large height. We were particularly impressed by the Arcadian Gate which we drove through on the way to and from Messini (see photograph).
We visited my favourite palace earlier and we now drove on to my favourite temple through the beautiful mountain scenery so typical of the Peloponnese. So many people who come to the Peloponnese stick to the coast except when they have to go in land to the next major tourist site – they make a big mistake! Vassae is the site of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios (Apollo the Helper) built in the 5th century BC by the inhabitants of Figaleia in thanks for being saved from the plague of 429 BC. It is probably the best preserved temple in Greece and certainly occupies the most spectacular position of any site that I have seen. At over 1,030m (3,700 ft) it sits majestically on the edge of a mountain surrounded by many other mountains and ravines (Vassae means ravines) – the views are beautiful. It is 11 km to the nearest village – this is a wild land where the inhabitants had to fight hard to eke out a living from the small areas of fertile land, evidenced by the threshing floors cling to the windy slopes.
We knew that there were no campsites in the area and as we got close to Vassae, we noted potential wild camping spots. There were plenty of them and some were in spectacular positions with lovely views. For the uninitiated, the first sight of Vassae is a disappointment as the temple is covered by a vast white tent. This is designed to protect the temple whilst major repair work is carried out.
We arrived at the site at about 19:30 and decided to take a quick look before it closed. Because of the special Europe celebration, it was free but I bought a guidebook and had a brief pigeon Greek / German / English chat with the guardian who actually lives on site. He had already established that we had a motorhome and indicated that he expected us to stay overnight in the car park, which was somewhat surprising given that this is illegal. I asked when he opened in the morning and he answered “with the sun”! So we decided to take up his offer and stayed in the car park on the side of the road, parking lengthways so that we could sit and watch mountains as the colour faded in the sky and they became black jagged shapes against the deep blue.
Photos: The Throne Room of Nestor's Palace with the huge circular hearth and the place for the throne on the right; The bath at Nestor's Palace where Nestor's daughter Polykastra bathed Telemachus, rubbed him in oils and wrapped him in fine clothes so that “he came godlike from the bathing place”; Henrietta negotiating the Arcadian Gate through walls of Messini – this is the main road to the town of Meligalas; The treasury at Messini which is mentioned in ancient texts. The massive stones used to cover the top are also on display.

Thursday 8th May 2008

We wanted to take the opportunity for a long walk and we decided that the castle guarding the north-west entrance to the bay was in reach. We walked along the beach and, as we approached the castle hill, we came across a the nature reserve based around a large brackish lake on the other side of the beach from the bay. Turtles wander around the paths, terrapins scurry in and out of the freshwater stream and ospreys fish in the lake that is rich in sea life. At least that is what the boards said but we didn't see any of them! Except the fish and it is true to say that we saw hundreds of them - as we walked along the shore the water boiled with shoals of small silver fish breaking the surface.
A sign at the bottom of the castle hill said that the castle was closed for safety reasons but the path was well worn so we decided to go up to see the view even if we couldn't get in. The path took us beside the very narrow channel between the island of Sphakteria and the mainland and around to the open sea. We could only see a small part of the wall from the bay side but as we rounded the seaward side we saw the castle in its full glory, as potential attackers would have seen it. Now known as Paliokastro (old castle), it was built by Nicholas II of St. Omer (Northern France) in 1278 and area was known then as Porte des Joncs (rushes) after the rushes that grew in the marsh below (now the brackish lake). There was however a fortification on the hill in Classical Greek times when it was know as Koryphasia and the area was settled by many different invaders over a period of 2,000 years. We were able to get into the castle and found a route through the stones to the castle keep, with is also thought to have been the ancient acropolis. We were nearly at the highest point but couldn't see the exit at the other side or any obvious route across. Jane stayed in the shade whilst I acted as scout and when I found the exit, I met a young German couple coming up through it. They told me that it was very steep and they had to find handholds in order to climb up. I knew that I would never get Jane to clamber down so I reluctantly went back to Jane and told her that we would have to retrace our steps. However, before we descended, I was able to go to the Eastern side of the keep to see the view down over Navarino Bay, Sphakteria Island, the lake and one of the most beautiful bays in Greece. Voidokilia is a perfect semi-circle of white sand enclosing beautiful blue and turquoise water and it looks as though it has come straight off a holiday poster. This was our next objective but via the longer, if safer, route.
In the meantime I admired the view of Navarino Bay across to the modern town of Pylos overshadowed by another castle, Neocastro (new castle) – they are not very original with their names here! This castle, built originally by the Turks in 1572 and improved by the Venetians in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, guarded the other, wider entrance to Navarino Bay at the southern end of Sphakteria Island. There is jet another fortification on the island itself and this shows just how important this very large natural harbour was over thousands of years. It was here that, in ancient Greek times, the Athenians one a battle over the Spartans and took a number of surrendering Spartans prisoner. This destroyed the reputation of the invincibility of the Spartans who never allowed themselves to be captured.
A more recent and very decisive battle occurred in October 1827 and this was to signal the beginning of the end of the Greek War of Independence. The Greeks had massacred the Turks in Neocastro at the beginning of the war in 1821 but they had returned and were in control of the area. The British admiral Cunningham was sent to the area in command of an allied (British, French and Russian) fleet with orders to guarantee Greek independence without offending the Turks. This seemed to be an impossible task and so it turned out to be. After negotiations with both sides, the Greeks agreed to sign a armistice but the Turks refused. On this pretext, Cunningham gave the order to attack the Turkish fleet. Entering the bay through the southern channel, Cunningham faced the 82 warships and 2,438 guns of the Turkish fleet with the 26 ships and 1,270 guns of his own. By the end of the day the allied fleet had been annihilated with 53 Turkish ships sent to the bottom and 6,000 men dead. Meanwhile, the allied fleet had lost no ships and only 145 men. The British, ever the diplomats, desperate to limit the damage to relations with Turkey, described the victory as an 'untoward event' but the French and Russians did not conceal their delight. The Greeks erected a statue to the three allied admirals in the square in Pylos and every 20th October, ships from the three nations attend a celebration of the victory.
We walked back down and along the strip of land between the castle hill and the lake, arriving at the beautiful Voidokilia bay. I wanted to walk up to the so-called 'Cave of Nestor', occupied since Neolithic times, with a classical Greek remains below it. The cave went deep into the cliff but was largely featureless except for the faint shaft of light coming from a tiny hole in the roof. The cave was directly below the castle exit that I had rejected and on the way I met a Swiss family that had taken that route down. They explained that, although the first 3m were slightly difficult, there was no danger and it was easy after that. I could have come down that way but I still don't think that I would have persuaded Jane. Perhaps we will do it next time that we are in the area, in the reverse direction. There are many Mycenaean tombs in the area and the tholos tomb on the other side of the bay is said to be that of Thrasymedes, one of the sons of Mycenaean King Nestor. It was a long way around the bay in deep sand and we have seen a number of Mycenaean tholos tombs, so we decoded to head back to the campsite.
Photos: A shipwreck (not one of the Turkish fleet!) in Navarino Bay with Sphakteria island on the right and Pylos in the centre distance; Sphakteria Island from the old castle with the sea on the right and Navarino Bay on the left – the northern channel runs between the island and the castle hill; Voidokilia Bay viewed from the castle with the lake to the right.