Into the Peloponnese

 Today we woke up late, finally, finally, catching up on sleep. We puttered around packing and enjoying a little more time with Marilena. She drove us to the nearest train station and we went to the airport to pick up our car. No problems, smooth process, and we are on our way with our little Citroen. We took the main road, the Ethniki Odos, to Corinth, and then got off of it to a smaller, very familiar road to cross the Isthmus and the canal. From there, we decided to take the much slower coastal route to Monemvasia, our first stop.

Monemvasia is the "Gibraltar of the East", a giant rock outcrop that rises out of nowhere just off the Peloponnesian coast. It was connected by a sandy stretch of land, and now a bridge. It was an incredible defensive asset, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited fortified towns in Europe. It went back and forth between Spartans, Cretans, Maniots, Venetians, Turks, and even Catalans throughout its history. We heard about it when we were visiting over and over in the 1990s, but it is hard to get to, so we didn't make it down here. We tried to go on one of our trips with students, but the upper town was closed that summer, so we are now sitting on our balcony enjoying some ouzo and olives provided by our host from their olive groves, literally in sight of a 30 year old dream.

We are on the third floor, and waves are crashing below. This is our view!!

The drive was pretty amazing. We spent a lot of time right against the sea and then crossed two different mountains. It was winding and twisty, with a lot of "Amalfi Drive Syndrome" (David Romano's word for car-sickness). I was prepared with ginger, and it helps if I drive the twistiest bits. 

We stopped to admire the view a couple of times, once for geocaching at a little church in a mostly-abandoned settlement high up in the mountains.

a wild thistle...we thought it might be an artichoke

The geocaching church

Water is so important...the church had a little water source open to the public.

We arrived at about 7pm, still bright and sunny. Phil did an amazing job with this Airbnb. It is the third floor of a house, right on the water (the waves are quite loud), and with a cosy attic feeling.

The hosts offered their own olives and olive oil as gifts!