Yesterday was a bit of a non-event. Somebody I met the other day, Paul, had a problem with his motor home and it had to be towed into New Corinth for repairs. Paul had to accompany the mechanic and I offered to pet-sit his dog, a rather large Bull Mastiff. I think that is what breed it is:
Meet Hercules. An appropriate name given his size and our current location
Hercules is a lovely animal and was no trouble at all but, never again. How do I get myself into these situations?!?
Moved on from Drepano and Vivari although Vivari has joined my shortlist of possible places to buy a property in. Greece is growing on me all the time. The next move was to Ancient Corinth and the Corinth Canal.
Corinth was inhabited in the Neolithic Period (6,500 to 3,250 BC) and grew to be one of the major cities of antiquity with a population of more than 90,000 in 400 BC. Since then the city’s fortunes have fluctuated wildly with the place being almost totally destroyed in 146 BC by the Romans under Lucius Mummus (who also had every male citizen killed and all women and children sold into slavery); then rebuilt by Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar (both of whom had considerable commercial and financial interests in the area) and then destroyed again in 267 AD after an invasion by the Heruli. Thereafter, Corinth was generally on the decline with further invasions by Huns, Normans, Turks, etc but it was serious earthquake damage in 365 AD, 375 AD and 856 AD (when some 45,000 people were killed) that contributed most to the demise of the city and the final straw came with yet another earthquake in 1858 AD that saw Ancient Corinth evacuated and a New Corinth built some 3 kilometres away.
The last couple of days has seen me parked in what remains of Ancient Corinth. For the most part the place is an archaeological site but a small town has sprung up around the ruins to cater for the tourists who want to visit Ancient Corinth and its attendant hillside fortress of Acrocorinth. I’m using the town as a base from which to visit the remaining places that I want to see in the Peloponnese.
The view from where I first sat in the (developing) village of Ancient Corinth, trying the local wine and some Moussaka…
… and the view behind me, with part of the Temple of Apollo visible in the background. The village has quite literally been built around and in Ancient Corinth…
The archaeological site and museum is worth a visit (closed on Mondays but the first Sunday of every month admission is free). It is one of those sites where there is enough still standing that with just a little imagination you can really feel the place.
There follows three views of the Temple of Apollo, built in 550 BC. In the background of the third photo you can see Acrocorinth:
That is Acrocorinth, an abbreviation of Acropolis Corinth, in the background of the last photo. More of that later
Not sure as to what structure the three Corinthian columns in the following photo were part of but they are what remains of a Roman building put up in Augustus’ time…
For me, one of the more interesting buildings on the site is the Lower Peirene Fountain (there is another Higher Peirene Fountain in Acrocorinth):
The Lower Peirene Fountain above is a Roman construction built on an earlier fountain. Legend has it that Peirene was a woman whose son was accidentally killed by Artemis and she cried so much the Gods turned her into a spring such that the precious water would not be wasted. An alternative legend has it that the winged horse, Pegasus, created the spring by smashing the ground open with his hooves and that it subsequently became his favourite drinking spot. I am inclined to credit Peirene with the lower fountain and Pegasus with the higher one. Even today, the lower fountain continues to supply water to the town.
Another of the more interesting structures to be found in Ancient Corinth is the Roman Odeion or Indoor Theatre:
The Odeion. I don’t know why but, it never occurred to me that the Romans might have built indoor theatres; let alone that the Odeon Cinema chain name was derived from the Roman Odeion.
Enough about Ancient Corinth although I took a great many more photos and there was much more to the place than I have touched on in this blog.
The next day was built around a visit to Acrocorinth which is the name of both the fortress and the 575 metre rock it sits on. It is possible to drive from Ancient Corinth up to a small car park near the main entrance but I elected to walk the 5 kilometres or so each way. There’s a small cafe near the entrance but it appeared closed for the winter.
The 5 km walk up to the fortress took a little over three quarters of an hour. There is no admission charge.
The fortress is predominantly of Venetian and Ottoman architecture and is in reasonably good condition around the entrance area but there is also a Frankish keep to the north east that looks particularly well considering its age.
Above – the three fortified gates that form the entrance to the Acrocorinth
Above (a) photo of the Frankish Tower from within the fortress with the smallest of two mosques in the foreground and (b) a view towards New Corinth from the Frankish Tower
Some of the more distant views from the fortress were fantastic notwithstanding that there was a fair amount of low cloud about:
Above is the view from the Venetian Church…
… of a secondary fortress a few kilometres distant
Inside the walls of Acrocorinth (there are more than 2,000 metres of wall) it is possible to view monuments of a sort from each of the main historical periods in the citadel’s history. At the highest point is the sanctuary of Aphrodite with an early Christian basilica on its ruins; below that there is the Ano Peirene Fountain, Byzantine cisterns, the Frankish Tower, a Venetian Church and Turkish mosques, houses & fountains.
The final picture to be included in this blog is of the Frankish Tower from the highest point of the Acropolis:
A Temple to the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, once stood at the highest point of the Acropolis but there is little left of that particular construction (nor indeed of the Byzantine Basilica that was built on top of it). Only other point of note concerning the Temple is that 1,000 prostitutes were said to work in the immediate vicinity. Not sure as to whether or not Aphrodite (or her Roman equivalent, Venus) would appreciate that but it could help explain the significant growth in the city’s population under the Greeks and Romans.
Okay, that’s it. I promise there will be no more castles or fortresses while I am in Greece.
Today was my fourth day in Drepano. I’ll be staying another night but, thereafter, I must move on or, at this rate, I’ll not leave Greece at all.
I mentioned the other day that I couldn’t find my intended campsite when I arrived in Drepano. It’s actually right next door to where I have been staying the last few days (but I didn’t realise that until recently). The site I am parked up on, Camping New Triton, is officially closed for the Winter and not scheduled to open until April but the operators, the family Christopoulos, overlooked this fact after I mistakenly pulled up at their site and hooked up to their electricity supply. If that wasn’t enough Yorgos Christopolous then invited me to sit with his family and partake of the local wine. The generosity of the Greek people surpasses all expectations and this is particularly true of Yorgos and family who have since shared Tsipouro with me (I’m developing a taste for it) and presented me with kilos of oranges, mandarins and tangerines. Thank you, Yorgos, Sofia, Vasiliki and Vagelis. Thank you Camping New Triton.
The Epiphany or Fota, is a particularly important day in the Greek Orthodox Calendar (so much so that it is a public holiday throughout Greece) and, today, it was celebrated on the beach just outside of Camping New Triton in some style.
For those who don’t know, Epiphany is considered the anniversary of when Jesus Christ was baptised and it is celebrated every January 6. January 6 is also a Saint’s Day in Greece (for a certain Agia Theofania whom I know nothing about except that he was a man). As if that is not reason enough to celebrate, January 6 is also the day when the “kalitkatzari” (hobgoblins) that appear over the Christmas period and live in some of the Christmas decorations (particularly the holly and the ivy and other green bits) are sent back from whence they came by the Church. This is so in the UK too and it is why we are supposed to take our (green) Christmas decorations down before the 12th day of Christmas ends (January 5) and Epiphany begins (January 6). Bad luck for the rest of the year if you don’t.
In Greece, during Epiphany, waters are blessed and all evil spirits are banished (the baptism of Jesus helps explain the day’s association with water) and at seaside, lakeside and riverside locations across the country, priests throw a cross into the water and young locals compete to catch it both for the privilege and a blessing. The same happened in Drepano today and a very joyful affair it was too.
A table was set up on the beach for the priest very early in the day…a number of contestants started to assemble, as did the dignitaries and a sizeable crowd of observers
… before I knew it the cross/crucifix was thrown into the water and retrieved by the biggest and strongest swimmer (no surprises there then!), who promptly returned it to the Priest…while the crowd cheered and a passing boat set off flares and sounded it’s klaxon in celebration and … is that Nadia to the left of the second photo?
Blessings followed; first the young man who had retrieved the cross and then any and all of those who joined the celebration and wanted to be blessed...
… and, at the end, there was still time available for the Priest to take “selfies” with his pals…
I almost forgot. I promised to tell you about Vivari and it’s fish restaurants. About half of the restaurants in Vivari are open at this time of the year and the speciality of all, not surprisingly, is fish. I had a fine meal last night; it was so good that I walked back to the village after this morning’s religious celebrations to take my lunch there. The setting and the food was special…
Vivari and it’s Bay…
The local dry white wine and Prawn Saganaki (freshly caught prawns cooked in cheese, onions, tomatoes and chilli)…
I don’t have the words to adequately describe how pleasant it was sitting on the beach in the sunshine, right by the waters edge, eating and drinking such a fine meal. It was followed by a large tsipouro.
I favour the tsipouro without any anise.
It was a few days ago now but late in the afternoon, feeling most impressed by Nafplio, I drove 10 km south with a view to using a Drepano campsite as a base for exploring other parts of the Argolid Peninsula.
I didn’t find the campsite I was looking for (that can happen when you don’t turn the sat-nav on) but fortune favoured me. More about that when I write about Drepano. For now it will suffice to say that I was able to use Drepano as a base and this morning I visited Epidaurus, Ermioni and Vivari.
Epidaurus is only about 30 km from Drepano and I was there by 09.00 to see the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus which is part of the Sanctuary of Asklepios archaeological site. The Theatre, built between 330-20 BC, is still used to host performances on a regular basis. It is supposedly the “finest and best preserved example of classical Greek theatre in the World” and, yes, it looks the part. More than that, it is said that “the sound of a match struck is perfectly audible to all spectators, even in the topmost row of seats… nearly 60 metres away”. I don’t know about that but, certainly the acoustics are excellent…
The Theatre of Epidaurus. That’s a US tourist down the bottom and he was talking to his partner, sitting in the front row, and I could hear them perfectly. I could almost tell you what accent he had. The acoustics are impressive
After checking out the Theatre, I spent another hour or so looking at the rest of the Sanctuary of Asklepios (including the small museum) but, for me, this site is really all about the Amphitheatre.
Other aspects of the Sanctuary of Asklepios do not compare with the smaller sanctuary the Greeks built at Butrint (see Ksamil, Albania blog), especially in terms of atmosphere, but the setting is especially beautiful on a sunny day
From Epidaurus, it was a 50 km drive to Ermioni which is a gem of a small fishing town on the southern tip of the Argolid Peninsula. Ermioni has been described as sleepy and remote because there are just two narrow twisting roads over the surrounding hills that lead in and out of the town (and there is no bus service) but, that will be the same for many coastal towns on the Peloponnese and in any event, Ermioni is served by a ferry service connecting it to Piraeus and three of the Saronic Islands (Poros, Hydra and Spetses). It wasn’t at all sleepy today.
Ermioni appeared authentically Greek (not that I am an expert) in that there was none of the usual “tourist tack” about the place and whilst I was there it seemed the whole population was out and about either working (fishing boats going in and out and the majority of restaurants and tavernas open) or; as was the case with a large number of young men on the waterfront, singing and chanting for hours whilst they meticulously covered a fishing boat in palm fronds and plants and the like in preparation for tomorrow’s Epiphany. More about that tomorrow.
… singing and chanting for hours…
My last trip of the day was the 60 km trip up to the seaside village of Vivari which sits alongside Drepano and only 3 km from my temporary base. It was recommended to me as the best place to get fresh fish. I’ll let you know about that in due course.
Meanwhile, some of the views on the journey…
Epidaurus to Ermioni
Ermioni to Vivari
Entering Vivari
After leaving Stoupa I undertook a short drive across the Mani Peninsula and parked on a beach near Gythia simply to enjoy the sunshine and plan my next move. The place I stopped wasn’t one of the most spectacular beaches I have discovered in Greece but it was clean and quiet and I had it to myself. I stayed day and night (catching up on some much needed rest) and decided Monemvassia and then Nafplio would be my next destinations.
It was an early start the next morning and I saved on washing up by pausing in Gytheio to take breakfast – proper coffee with freshly baked croissants and pastries, especially baklava (very sticky layers of filo pastry stuffed with chopped nuts and honey). There’s not much to Gytheio but I like the place and I particularly like their baklava.
Gytheio by the harbour. There are worse places to take breakfast but…
… keep the sun to your back – Very bright early morning sun and I had left my sunglasses in the Van
I arrived at Monemvassia late morning and found the perfect parking spot on the southern quay right by the causeway across to Monemvassia Island.
Not a bad parking spot – uninterrupted views across to Momenvassia.
Monemvassia was founded in the 6th century as part of the Byzantine Empire. It derives it’s name from “moni emvasi” meaning “single entrance” which relates to the narrow strip of land or causeway (previously a bridge) which connects the island fortress town to the mainland. It comprises an Upper and Lower Town linked by a fortified winding path. The Upper Town is built on a sloping plateau at the top of the rock and covers about 30 acres. Originally, the Upper Town was the island’s administrative and military centre but when the Turks took over it was reserved for the ruling classes.
After crossing the causeway, I tried scrambling up the nearside of the rock to the summit. Although there was some exposure, to start with it wasn’t too difficult. The island is predominantly lava rock which provides great grip but, it was impossible to see it from below, old castle walls stretch almost the entire south side of the rock and for me they were impassable. It was time to go back and try a more conventional route. No matter, I had some fun and took some good video of the climb which I will try and post once I get to grips with the video widget (and cover some of the expletives I may have used).
I retraced my steps, contoured eastwards around the hill and stumbled across the Eastern Gate above the lower town. From there it was a simple walk to the upper town.
Contouring around the hill I stumbled upon the Lower Town, just below me. Thereafter, it was an easy walk to the Upper Town
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Most of the Upper Town has long been destroyed. The exception is the Church of the Hagia Sophia (built in the 12th century, converted during Turkish rule into a mosque but returned to the Christian faith in 1821) which was restored inside and out in 1958
The view of the new town of Monemvassia from the Citadel summit
In Winter at least it is an easy and quick walk down the narrow winding lanes from the Upper Town to the restaurants, taverns and souvenir shops that fill the Lower Town. It was warm and sunny and after a quick tour of the Lower Town I resolved to pause and enjoy a meal before returning to the Van and my prime spot on the quay.
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A local Rose Wine and Dolmades. Wine was fine. Nothing wrong with Dolmades either, except the vine leaves tasted like soggy cabbage. Ugh!! I loathe brassicas.
Nice warm evening. This area is nowhere near as cold and wet as the West. I bought some tonic waters earlier today. Where’s the Gin?
Nafplio tomorrow.
The last few days of 2017 were about exploring and experiencing the Messenia and Mani Peninsulas.
The road from Methoni took me over and through some beautiful mountain passes with quaint mountain villages and stunning views of the snow covered Taygetos Mountain Range and then down and around delightful coastal routes with their equally picturesque fishing villages. Kardamili, Stoupa and Gytheio on the coast stood out with Stoupa making such an impression I decided to spend New Year’s Eve there.
Mountain passes, villages & churches. The latter photo is of the Church of the Metamorphosis (strange name – transformation I can relate with – metamorphosis I’m not so sure about)
The view from where the Van was parked in Stoupa – two quite different but equally enchanting mornings
I parked up on the quayside at Stoupa intending to stay the one night but had such a great time in one of the local tavernas that I decided to stay on for their New Year celebrations. Okay, the truth is that I drank so much on 30 December that I don’t think I was sufficiently sober to drive on the 31st. That’s really how I came to stay in Stoupa (but it was a great place to stop -very welcoming).
As I parked up on the quay outside this taverna, a band was setting up their equipment. They had a great repertoire (Cure, Queen, Bowie, Roxy Music, Snow Patrol, Lou Reid, OMD, Mamas & Papas and the Stones) and seemed to play well (getting better as the afternoon progressed and I imbibed more)
I started on beer and then the local red wine(s) but best of all was the Hot Tsipouro (being a mix of Tsipouro, honey, cloves and cinnamon brought to the boil and then left to simmer for at least 5 minutes, stirring frequently). Tasted not unlike a very alcoholic saki. I don’t remember leaving the bar but I did wake up in the Van.
The next day was about shaking the alcohol off before the New Year celebrations began. I walked to the next village along the coast, Trachila – a 15 km round trip. It was a very quiet coast road I walked along (only 2 cars passed me during the whole walk) with some fine views along the coast.
En route to Trachila – looking back towards Stoupa
I passed a great many caves cut into the cliffs on the way to Trachila. I assume they were old hermit caves
Trachila – a sleepy little village
Don’t remember too much about New Year – It was not my best but I drank and drank, watched the firework display (which saw a bloody big rocket hit the Van), crawled back to the Van and passed out.
Next day was about a hair of the dog (not many in there) and goodbye Stoupa. The last photo is of Stoupa from the road south
The weather forecast for the Messenia Peninsula over the next few days is not good – lots of rain is on its way. Because of this, I determined early this morning to head east towards the Mani Peninsula but, with the poorer weather not likely to hit Messenia until the afternoon, I decided first to visit Methoni Castle which is just a few kilometres to the south of Pylos. Really glad I did.
Clearly, there is a storm coming up from the south. That much was obvious this morning from the rough seas that almost surround Methoni Castle but the deteriorating weather made for a much more atmospheric visit and it seemed to keep everyone away today except me.
Originally a medieval fortress, Methoni Castle was developed in turn by the Venetians, Turks and French to become a castle town complex spread over almost 10 acres of the southernmost part of Messenia; with an additional octagonal tower (the Bourtzi) built in 1500 by the Venetians on an islet to the south to help with the defences. Two more recent additions include the Church of Santa Sotira and a narrow causeway from the castle to the Bourtzi (both built by the French in the early 19th century).
With the sea on three sides and a deep moat separating it from the mainland, the castle town could only be accessed from the north by a narrow wooden bridge (subsequently replaced by the Venetians with an impressive stone bridge) or from the south by a sea gate protected by the Bourtzi.
The castle town is for the most part in very poor repair; the exceptions being the impressive North Gate, the Stone Bridge, the Southern Sea Gate, the Bourzi and some of the Outer Walls. Some restoration work has begun (particularly on the south east Coastal Tower) but the full potential of this complex as a tourist resort and as a national treasure is not being realised and this is sad because the place is truly captivating.
First photo is of Methoni Castle from the beach. Second photo is of some of the inner defences while the third is from the castle ramparts towards the stone bridge at the north gate. Not great photos but they help illustrate how large the complex is.
First photo is of the Bourtzi from the castle ramparts to the left of the Sea Gate (I shouldn’t have been on that wall but since I was the only one around I was able to clamber all over the place). The second photo shows the French built causeway with a fairly rough sea crashing through the arches
The Sea Gate from Bourzi. The Turks used the Bourtzi as both a prison and an execution centre. Most of the garrison were executed in the Bourzi when the Turks first took Methoni Castle
The last comment with regards to Bourzi is not a very nice note to end this blog on so I will change all that by remarking on how very clean and tidy the village of Methoni was today. Not a blue plastic bag or empty plastic water bottle in sight. Well done Methoni.
Back on the road (27 December 2017) and headed south.
First stop was Archea Olympia, about 65 km south east of Glyfa, to view the site of the original Olympic Games.
It is believed the first Games were held in Olympia in 776 BC (and they continued until 393 AD when a Christian Emperor Theodosius I banned them because he considered them a pagan festival) but most of the archaeological finds that can be seen now at Olympia were constructed during the “Classical” period between the 5th and 4th centuries BC (e.g. the Hippodrome for chariot racing, the Greek Baths for the athletes and, most important, the Temple of Zeus) although the site was further developed during both the Hellenistic period (e.g. the Palaestra for wrestling and the Gymnasium for general training) and the Roman period (when almost everything was Romanised).
There’s not much left of the original buildings now (in 426 AD another Theodosius instructed that as part of a further clampdown on pagan festivals the Temple of Zeus should be totally destroyed – earthquakes and flooding put paid to the rest) but there is an aura here and; the location, the sheer scale of the development and the size of the Temple of Zeus lends the site a certain majesty that, with just a little imagination, it is possible to conjure up a vision of the Archea Olympia at the pinnacle of it’s popularity.
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The Temple of Hera (at the altar of which the Olympic Torch is lit for each of today’s Modern Olympic Games) and, in the second and third photographs, the Temple of Zeus. This latter temple once housed a 12 metre gold and ivory statue of Zeus that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
You wouldn’t know it to look at them but the empty plinths leading towards the archway into the Games Arena in the above photo once identified the names and offences and home cities of athletes caught cheating in the Games. The plinths were located at the entrance to the Games Arena to dissuade other athletes from cheating – that is one idea that could be resurrected in the Modern Olympics
I wanted to stay and run (well, jog) a circuit of the Games Arena but a cruise ship had docked at Patras and suddenly the site was being overrun by 30+ coachloads of tourists. It was time to move on.
Somewhere between Skillounta and Kyparissia on the road south to Pylos (my next planned stop) I paused to climb a hill. While driving I had seen what I thought was a “kalderimi” (i.e. a stone mule path that connects many of the mountain villages in these parts) and, having also read that there is an ancient acropolis in the area, I surmised that the kalderimi could lead me to the acropolis. In any event I needed a quiet hike if only to rid myself of the memory of all those cruise ship tourists. Unlike the time at Sivota, I was on the right hill and I found what I was looking for but (a) the kalderimi was nothing more than a seam of lava rock (that cut my trainers to ribbons during the ascent) and (b) the acropolis was surely someone’s idea of a joke (take a look at the photo) and (c) I got drenched when it rained cats and dogs. I really must stop making spontaneous decisions.
That could easily be a kalderimi snaking it’s way up the hill, don’t you think?
… but if that’s an acropolis, I reckon Theodosius I, II, III, IV and V and all their progeny have been at it
Final stop for the day was Pylos (previously known by it’s Italian name of Navarino), the principal harbour on the Bay of Navarino and about 100 km south of Olympia.
One of the earliest mentions of Pylos is in Homer’s Iliad. He identifies Nestor, who fought for the Greeks against the Trojans, as King of Pylos and the ruins of Nestor’s Palace are but a short distance from Pylos. However, the area is arguably more famous for being the site of two significant naval battles -the first in 425 BC when an Athenian fleet trapped and destroyed a Spartan fleet in the Bay (part of the Peloponnesian War) and the second in 1827 when a combined British, French and Russian fleet entered the Bay and annihilated an Ottoman armada (supposedly to save the fledgling Greek Republic).
I parked up overnight on the harbour with excellent views to the left and right and enjoyed a very quiet and comfortable evening with absolutely nothing occurring in the Bay of Navarino.
The view to the right of the Van
The view to the left of the Van
Pylos Harbour during an evening stroll
Christmas Eve – Absolutely no chance of a White Christmas here this year. I’m not complaining
Christmas was very much about the people I met while staying at Ionian Beach and who went out of their way to show me some considerable consideration over the festive period- Katharine & James and Julia & Simon. Thanks very much. Merry Christmas, everyone!
