Two Sore Backs

It is hard to believe we have spent a month driving around Greece, barely leaving the Peloponnese. Now we are back in Porto Heli with Denis and Paras. We are so fortunate to spend our last few days in Greece relaxing at their home. Life is wonderfully simple. We eat out. Tonight we are at…

The thought of visiting Nemea took hold in Pylos, after eating at Koukos Wine Restaurant. We had given the manager/sommelier, who we had met earlier when he was unloading a truckfull of olive wood at the restaurant’s back door, a modest budget and he brought us a bottle from the Papaioannou Winery in Nemea. We…

The Cephalonia ferry terminal with boats to Ithaca and Patras is on the east side of Sami. Turns out there are actually two terminals, one for each of the major carriers. Blue ticket? Ionian, “over there”. Yellow ticket? Levante, “over there”. Our ticket was blue. These pilots are very good. Below is the Ionian ship,…

We leave the Peloponnese at the port of Kyllini. We arrive at Poros a few hours later. We add a passenger: Kath is hitchhiking to Sami-just up the road. We meet on the ferry, breaking the ice by talking about our common footwear. Kath also sports Bedrock Sandals. These sandals are popular in N America…

This summer Paris hosts the Olympics and ParaOlympic Games. Today’s excursion is to join the many tourists who visit Olympia, Greece – the original site of the Olympic Games – this event that inspired the modern games. While this site is historically significant, it is left to the imagination to recreate the infrastructure and events…

Our awesome travel advisor Aggelos and several others who had been there agreed we should visit Neda Waterfalls.  They are a side trip on the way from Pilos to Olympia. First stop on the way north was lunch in Kyparissia, at a restaurant called Karnagio which is noted for fresh fish. Lunch was great, but…

We are on the western finger, Messinia. If you travel due west by boat, you would find yourself on the shores of Sicily, Italy. Pilos, situated on the coast of the Ionian Sea, is a beautiful port town. The longer we stay the more we fall in love with this place. (In the end we…

Diros Caves to Kalamata We say goodbye to Dimitris and Katafigi Hotel. This is our final day on Mani Peninsula. We have another full itinerary with 6 stops; arriving in Kalamata by evening. Diros Caves The caves are a 10 minute drive away. On the walk to the cave entrance we pass this statue commemorating…

Mani western side of the Bay of Laconia Where is Mani? A short geography lesson is helpful (for the geography buffs). We are travelling around the southern part of The Pelopponese. Looking at the map of The Peloponnese, there are three fingers (peninsulas) that are separated by two bodies of water. West to East We…

Our first impression of Mani bodes well for the next few days of exploration. Our Porto Heli friends talk of Mani as a very special place. Yup! Mani is as promised. Instead of one long blog post, I’ll break it down day by day. Otherwise I think my brain is going to explode. The photos…