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!
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