Wandering through the Peloponese

Gythio (the old Port of Sparta), Greece
Nov. 9, 2008
I am cross-legged on my bed as I write this, looking out across our 18 inch balcony to the sea. It's lovely... I could sit out in the sun but it's too bright to see the screen! Rain drove us south from Olympia -- they were desperate for it, and we knew if we stayed long enough it would be sure to follow!! Guess we'll need to do the same now here; they haven't had any rainfall to speak of since April, so the olives and apples are really suffering.


I am looking across the little harbor at the tiny island of Marathonisi. (It's actually connected to the mainland by a short bridge now, so it's not really an island.) Local folklore says that this was the spot where Paris and Helen of Troy consummated their love affair, and so began the Trojan War. It's amazing to be living, however briefly, in a land where legend & history walk the streets alongside us.


We're staying in "rooms" run by a lovely older Greek lady, who is enchanted by the kids and keeps popping up to the nearby bakery to buy them treats. (They want to stay here forever!!) It's a nice, homey feeling place... and while there is not much to see in terms of actual sites, the sea beckons, and it is warm enough to at least paddle!




Grease
Tolo Beach, Greece
Nov. 11, 2008

I love our kids -- they're such good sports. We're here in a real pit of a 'bungalow' in Tolo, Greece. We ended up here in the dark... it was cold and we were tired and this seemed our best option but its pretty gross. Think mint green walls but worse than that, a thin layer of greasy grime that holds the dirt and is hard to shake coating everything. But the kids are just quite happy wherever we end up; once we spread out our cheerful blue and purple sleeping bags and have the smell of a home-cooked meal wafting through the air, they are 100% happy. They're sitting on the beds right now composing stories set in ancient Greece...

And I am happy now. We've cleaned the bathrooms with 'Meister Propre' ('Mr. Clean' bought in Germany) and paper towels, gone over the floors, and scrubbed out the sink and small counter space -- I debated washing up their dishes, but there is no running hot water, and they needed some serious work. Never mind -- we have our own, anyhow. The beds are clean (although I'm using our sleeping bags on top of their sheets), and that's all that really matters. And we have plug-ins, hot water in the shower, and little perks that always bring a smile to my face in this kind of place; here it is a draining rack for the dishes (sanitized by me and M. Propre)! -- I haven't seen a draining rack for months!

It's been an adventurous day... we left Gythio and headed north to Sparta itself. Not much left to see therenow thanks to war, earthquakes and fires... but we stopped to get Caelan's sandal fixed (he's been wearing mine for a week and looked like Mickey Mouse!). As we wandered the shops waiting for the repair we discovered that the Greeks have more children's shops per capita than I have ever seen -- and boys suits are commonplace! (I think they get dragged to church and expected to dress up for weddings routinely!) So Calean has been kitted out in Sparta with full battle regalia -- for the dining room on the cruise! We now have frocks from France for Cachell and myself, shirts and ties from Spain for the boys and a Greek suit for one (couldn't find anything today that didn't billow on Lochlan, but we'll keep looking!). And of course Mitch has the full Italian look: suit, shoes, shirt and tie!


Then we headed slightly west of town to Mystras, an incredible Byzantine palace and fortifications structure built high (HIGH!) up on a hill overlooking the valley around Sparta. The site didn't offer much in the way of information, but we hiked in a vertical fashion for several hours, and the views were spectacular!! The kids -- despite an occasional groan -- are still happy to leap and feint through castle ruins, wherever we come across them!!


We had planned to spend the night there, but the area didn't really have anything open for accomodation, and it did not beckon us to stay. We continued up through the ever=changing hills and vegetation to Nafplio, reputedly one of Greece's most beautiful cities. It has another set of castles strung up along the top of the hill looking down over the town... it was actually founded by the Venetians, so it has a much different feel than the other Greek towns we have been to. It was also impossible to find a place to stay in town (everything is either very high end or closed!), so we groped our way through the dark out towards the beach until we found this campground... too dark to pitch a tent, but we'll need to look for somewhere better in the morning light!