Hot springs, Royal tombs and our last week in Greece

Always on the look out for something interesting to do or see, our next stop was the natural hot springs of Thermopylae, bathing in the water of a natural spa is not something we have ever done, the sulphurous water, rich in minerals are reputed to be very therapeutic. The Ancient Greek Hercules used bathing in the hot springs to regain his strength after his legendary labours and Hippocrates lauded them to be beneficial so if it's good enough for them it has to be good enough for us! The water temperature is a steady 40° - just like a hot bath but not quite so fragrant, the sulphur smells like bad eggs so you have to put up with that. We lowered ourselves gently into the water, adjusting to the heat gradually, but once you were in it was bliss (although a bit stony under your bum - it's a natural formation in the rocks) It was a unique sensation with the warm water flowing around you and the green algae appearing in clumps from time to time, but despite everything it was extremely relaxing. I'd like one at the bottom of my garden at home please!

From here we headed to a village called Vergina to visit the Royal tombs of Philip II the father of Alexander the Great and were we in for a treat! The Royal tombs were discovered in 1976 and had not been plundered- the funeral was a lavish ceremony with many artefacts put in the burial chamber for his afterlife. The funeral took place in 336 BC. The massive doors to the tomb and chambers had been restored in situ in the underground vault and the magnificent artefacts are displayed in many glass cabinets in the dimly lit museum. The golden oak wreath in this photo was placed on the body on the funeral pyre, it survived not only the fire but over two thousand years in the tomb. The beautiful gold and the detailed work of the wreath was just stunning as was the Kings' suit of armour and the bronze banquet sets. It certainly was well worth the visit.

The next day we headed out for our last cycle ride of our stay in Greece, cycling up into the hills and a remote monastery, a place of peace and tranquility, an escape from the hustle bustle of modern life. This photo was taken just by the monastery- what a fabulous view!
For our last night in Greece before heading into Bulgaria we found a place to park in a National park, right on the edge of Lake Kerkinis. There was an incredible diversity of bird life- pelicans, cormorants and flamingos, as well as roaming horses, herds of cows and unfortunately rather too many mosquitoes, but that's the price you pay to park next to a beautiful lake.

Roaming cattle at Lake Kerkinis

Leaving the Peloponnese and heading north

The bay at Gerolimenas 

Greece has a lot more in store for us! After a wonderful stay at the tiny bay of Gerolimenas and some brilliant cycling we headed towards the busier area of Kalamata overnighting on a beach by a busy road which we didn't enjoy - much too noisy for us! From there we headed to the archeological site of Messene, the ruins of a city built in the 4th century BC through some very narrow and winding roads. This vast ancient city stands on a hillside with panoramic views across to the sea and has an amphitheatre, agora (market), a temple and most spectacular of all is the enormous stadium and gymnasium. We were taken aback as we came down the hill to suddenly see this massive complex devoted to sport (and later used by the Romans for gladiator sports including the use of animals)

Just half of the Messene stadium with an old relic in the foreground 

As with all of these ancient sites you need to sit quietly and imagine the lives of the people who lived, worked, played and maybe fought for their lives in this place. The magnificence of the structures just brings home how sophisticated their culture was over 2000 years ago and for the wealthy what sumptuous lives they led.
And talking about sumptuous- our next stop was at the port of Napflion where we arrived at the start of a four day Yachting show, the Marina was filled with over a hundred yachts all showing off their finest assets and plying their potential customers with expensive champagne.

It was interesting to see how the other half lives, but it was a noisy place to stay so the next day we headed a few miles along the coast to a quiet bay where we were joined by Linda & Andy again. We stayed for a couple of nights, enjoying a bit of company and a cycle ride together before we headed further north to Acrocorinth where we parked high up on the hillside with Linda & Andy, the massive fortress towering above us. We had a wonderful peaceful night, the views were stunning as were the wild flowers. The flowers of the yellow broom giving off a heady fragrance.

If you look carefully you can just see 2 vans middle right

The next day we said goodbye to Linda and Andy and headed towards Athens, crossing the Corinth canal, an incredible feat of engineering,  it cuts through the narrow isthmus between the Peloponnese and mainland Greece. We decided not to visit Athens, we just couldn't face the hustle bustle of such a big city but continue travelling north, on our way discovering an overnight stop on a hillside in the middle of nowhere - the silence was deafening!
We just love the freedom of travelling to new places and finding somewhere to park up in the depths of the countryside. It's not to everyone's taste to be out there completely alone and isolated, but we feel much safer there than on a busy harbourside, it's all part of the joy of motorhoming.

 In the middle of nowhere, hardly a car passed us by

Always expect the unexpected 😯

Our journey around Greece has certainly thrown us a few surprises from shipwrecks to ancient sunken cities. Having left Vigklafia and said farewell to Andy & Linda we arrived at a rather unassuming harbour town of Plytra, the weather was grey and cloudy but good enough for a stroll along the seafront. We spied a sign for Ancient Asopos, not knowing anything about it I quickly googled it only to discover it was the remains of a city destroyed by earthquake in 325 B.C and now partly submerged.
As we looked at all the shapes on the seashore, you could image a thriving port from over 2000 years ago, many of the structures were still visible and the area is popular with divers who can see more of the submerged city. I would have loved to go snorkelling, but the sea was too cold and uninviting for me that day!

Some of the partially submerged ruins of the ancient city of Asopos

The next day we headed further round the coast and parked up by a beach with a massive shipwreck, a rusting hulk of a cargo ship abandoned by its owners over 30 years ago. It came to a natural rest on the beach having broken free from its moorings in a storm. It was reputed to have been used to smuggle cigarettes and when she was seized by port authorities, the smugglers set fire to the ship to destroy the evidence. Of course, there are also rumours that the enormous hulk is haunted but maybe that's just to increase its attraction to tourists!

Shipwreck Dimitrios and a very ancient wall in the foreground 

From here we travelled a few miles up the road to the town of Gythio where we stayed on a campsite for a few days to catch up on the laundry (Greece surprisingly is not very well blessed with launderettes so it was our only choice) We were able to get out on our bikes exploring,

 cycling to an ancient town snuggled into the hillside which was full of Greek people out enjoying the Easter holiday. On our way back we stopped at our new favourite thing - a Greek Bakery where we had a coffee and one of their delicious sticky pastries Baklava, an indulgent desert made with filo pastry, syrup, spices and nuts.

A very old house in Arepoli

We also discovered that Gythio has a small Roman amphitheatre tucked away in the backstreets - a surprise around every corner!
Our trip to Greece has revealed many unexpected wonders and I wish I could show you more of the hundreds of photos we have taken in our time here. At this time of year there is an abundance of wild flowers, in some places even the most experienced gardener couldn't improve on natures display in the fields and roadside verges. The poppies here have a deeply rich hue of silky red and the yellow broom gives off a beautiful scent and wherever we go I see another variety of flower I've never seen before, the variety is incredible.
We also saw a tortoise crossing the road on a mountain road and I later found that the tortoise is native to Greece and can be found in the wild as well as some very bright green lizards I have spied on our travels.
It all adds up to the unique experience that is Greece! 🇬🇷

The view from Acrocorinth, wild flowers in foreground 

Highlights of our Greek trip so far 🚐🇬🇷

Everywhere you travel on the Peloponnese there is an interesting town or archeological site, it's difficult to know quite which direction to take! We decided to go in a clockwise direction, partly to meet up with Paul & Jan but also in the hope of better weather. After a lovely catch-up, we left Paul, he headed north, we headed south and the weather began to improve at last we were able to start exploring more and get out on our bikes.
We visited Monemvasia where we parked on the harbour (with free electric hook-up no less!).

The Byzantine fortress village of Monemvasia is built on an island that looks like Gibraltar with a causeway for access, in previous years the causeway had a drawbridge to keep out invaders. It was founded over 1500 years ago as a refuge against invasion from the Ottomans and later the Normans, in its time it was an important trade and maritime centre. The old town built high on the hillside is now just ruins with a restored church being the only building still standing, but the buildings lower down are still inhabited, although no motor vehicles can enter. When we visited there were builders working on a house and they used ponies to carry the bags of cement through the narrow streets to the site. All the restaurants and shops are also supplied by ponies.
The views from the old town across the bay with the shimmering turquoise sea made climbing the steep cobbled paths to the top worth the effort.

We went out exploring the area on our bikes and discovered our next place to park, where we were all on our own for a couple of nights, on a spit of land with a tiny chapel and cemetery on its end, we even had use of a water tap so I was able to catch up on washing a few smalls!
It was a perfect place for quiet relaxation with only the sound of the sea for company.

We then headed further south to meet up for a couple of nights with motorhome friends we met in Spain last year, Andy & Linda. We stayed on a quiet piece of land next to a Taverna that was yet to open for the season. We had a great meal in the one and only taverna open in the tiny village, we struggled a bit with ordering the food but ended up with a bit of a Greek feast with a special desert of what looked and tasted like a spoonful of orange marmalade and a shot of Raki (Ummm - different..)
The next day we took the ferry across to Elafonisos island as foot passengers, such a gorgeous little island!