Pottering Around The Peloponnese, Greece
Easter 1999
The Peloponnese peninsula in Greece is hard to beat if you are interested in history. It contains many splendid and diverse sites that can be toured comfortably by car in a week. As an Easter break it is perfect, offering rural scenery on a carpet of spring flowers, against a backdrop of mountains and coastlines sparkling in the sun.
To avoid the chaotic Athens traffic we caught the express bus to Patra, 90 minutes south-west from the capital, and rented a car. Patra is the Peloponnese town with a one-way system to challenge any driver, but once you find the main road the driving is an uncrowded and unhurried pleasure for the rest of the holiday.
Olympia, host to the ancient Olympic Games, lies an hour south of Patra. The great temples and athletic stadium are now just confusing ruins, but they lie half-buried in a beautiful valley, amid wild olive and plane trees. Covered in blue bugloss, yellow and white daisies, and scarlet poppies the site is a perfect picnic spot to try some of the creamy Greek yoghurt and honey.
The roads around the Peloponnese are narrow and twisting but well-surfaced. If, however, you want some off road adventure, head for the Temple of Apollo at Bassae ten miles into the mountains from Andhritsena, near Olympia. On a remote barren hilltop you find a gigantic marquee covering the well preserved temple which is currently being restored. It looks like a dusty brown miniature of the Parthenon in Athens. Road signs in the mountains are few and far between and there are no garages so fill up before you go and take a map with you.
In the south-western district of Messinia, Nestor's Palace (from Homer's Odyssey) and the town of Pylos look out at the stunning turquoise waters of Navarino Bay. Local tavernas by the side of this fine natural harbour provide excellent cheap meals. One of the real pleasures of the Peloponnese is the wonderful food such as Greek salads with feta cheese and olives, kebabs, moussaka and freshly caught fish and squid.
Heading east, on the way to the Mani district, you can visit the ruins of ancient Messene, but there is little left of the fortified capital except giant walls and towers of huge grey boulders. Driving here is often slow due to shepherds herding their shaggy goats, sheep and donkeys along the roads. In the spring, only the bleating of kids breaks the silence of the hills.
The Mani region has a wild arid landscape similar to Cornwall. Villages with tower houses and churches punctuate the jagged coastline and Areopoli, the small medieval regional centre, has been beautifully restored. A few miles south, the Pyrgos Dhyrou caves lie beside the sea. You can take a punt around the silent underground waterways which are well lit and crammed with stalactites.
Yithio's graceful nineteenth century waterside of striking white houses makes it a very attractive seaside town. Yachts are moored alongside the seafood tavernas where squid hang out to dry under colourful canopies. Here you can take in the peaceful relaxing ambience with a brisk sea breeze to temper the radiant sunshine.
The towering sea-bleached stone ruins of Monemvassia in the south-east of the peninsula are located on an island linked to the mainland by a causeway. Within the imposing defensive walls of this former medieval seaport of 60,000 people, you can explore the narrow cobbled alleyways and find beautiful houses, gardens and Byzantine churches. For a view of the red-tiled panorama below you can ascend a dozen stairwells to the upper town which is now deserted and covered in wild vegetation and flowers
Mystra, just outside Sparti, is another inspiring example of a former, almost complete Byzantine city. This site also hugs a steep mountainside and provides a dramatic location to wander around medieval palaces, churches, and a castle, all surrounded by a colourful array of flowers in spring or summer. Inside, there is still a small convent of nuns who look after the Cathedral. Get there early to ensure you can enjoy it in silence.
The north-east region of Argolidha is the nearest part of the Peloponnese to Athens and, consequently, the better known sites may be overwhelmed by the day-tripping tour groups. We based ourselves at Nafplio, the original capital of modern Greece, to explore the whole area. Situated by the coast, it is a lively, pleasant town of fading elegance with an excellent choice of accommodation and restaurants. There is also a challenging 900-step climb up to the Palamidhi Fort to exercise the legs whilst taking in the coastal vista.
Epidauras is only 30 minutes east where you can visit the beautiful ancient Greek theatre which was built into the hillside and buried for centuries. It has been completely restored with seating for 14,000 people and near-perfect natural acoustics; from the top, we could hear a guide drop a coin, strike a match and rip a piece of paper.
At Mycenae, the legendary ancient capital, you enter the compact craggy citadel ruins through the imposing Lion Gate. More intriguing is the former royal burial vault just down the road. The Treasury of Atreus was built into a cavernous beehive shape within a hill. Inside, the scale of it makes you feel tiny and the sound of bees is deafening.
You get a different sense of scale when you visit the great engineering achievement of the Corinth Canal. It was built in the 1890s to cut across a six-kilometre isthmus between the Aegean and Ionian seas. As you peer over a bridge which crosses it, the canal appears a tiny strip of deep blue water. Only when a huge freighter passes through hundreds of feet below, looking toy-like in scale, do you appreciate the magnitude of the construction.
Ancient Corinth, famous for St Paul's stay and a book in the Bible, was a wealthy strategic trading centre, but the ruins are rather lacklustre. The majestic pillars of the Temple of Apollo are the only real indication of its former glory. High above at 570m, the ruins of the medieval city occupy the grassy acropolis site of Acrocorinth surrounded by two kilometres of wall. It is an imposing fortress, which was built by successive invaders and the view is spectacular.
Returning to Patra, there is one more treat in store; the rack-and-pinion railway from Dhiakofto to Kalavryta is unmissable. Cutting through the Vouraikos Gorge, this engineering feat takes an hour to climb gradients up to one-in-seven passing over bridges, through tunnels and around precipitous overhangs. At the top you can walk for 45 minutes to the Monastery of Mega Spilio from where you get a splendid view over the gorge.
The Peloponnese peninsula offers the English tourist the best of Greek attractions. It is an unspoilt land of ancient wonders, beautiful coastlines and scenic countryside, enhanced by the friendly reception of the locals who will make you feel very welcome with the wonderful food and cheap clean accommodation. To cover the whole peninsula will take about 1000 miles of driving - but it is so enjoyable and relaxing, you don't even notice the miles clicking by. The problem is always dragging yourself away from the latest discovery.
