Week 4 - The Mani - Part II

The first three weeks had just flown by and the fourth week started by a very short journey from Ag Nik to Stoupa (about a 10 minute drive). We checked into the Stoupa Bay Apartments, on the top floor, which was very well furnished and had lovely views of Stoupa and Messinia from the veranda.
That very afternoon we descended into Stoupa to take a good look around. We had not really ventured into Stoupa much during the third week, even though we were close, as we did not want to spoil the final week. One of the wonderful things about this part of Greece is the spring water on tap, located at many places in the villages where you can fill up empty vessels to your hearts content and saves on buying bottled water. However, these springs which start in the mountains and end up in the sea around this coast make for a very chilly cold current as you enter the sea which certainly takes your breath away! and once you get past the springs the sea seems warmer (or maybe your body temperature has plummeted so much you don't feel it so badly!)

We had a lovely meal at Panorama Taverna, where the views, from the terrace, of Kalogria beach and the surrounding area are wonderful. Stoupa and Kalogria are very busy during July and August, especially at the weekend when Greeks descend from Kalamata and Athens to enjoy the seaside, the beaches are particularly busy and just navigating your way through Stoupa's narrow one way roads is a slow and, at times, frustrating process especially if you are in a car.

Personally I found Stoupa to be rather too busy, too touristy and quite expensive. There are however, excellent supermarkets, a wide variety of tavernas, lovely bakeries, a marvellous ice-cream parlour, several internet cafe's, a chemist, and for those requiring their fix of proper beer Patriko bar stocks a variety of home brewed ales including Newcastle Brown and Guinness but expect to pay a premium for these imported beers. As this resort was uncomfortably, and overwhelmingly busy, we inevitably ended up back in Ag Nik most days where it was less frenetic.

One day we set out exploring again, heading south down into the lower Mani. During our stay I had read extensively about the Maniot blood feuds having picked up the book 'My Travels In The Southern Peloponnese' by Patrick Leigh-Fermor during the first week, and although I did not finish the book during this week I was fortunate enough to be lent another copy so that I could finish quenching my thirst for knowledge about this place, it's culture and history, during the final week. (Thanks to John @ Stoupa Bay Apartments for the book lend). I had seen postcards of Vathia on the stalls outside supermarkets and had purchased a sepier print card, which looked almost like a tolkien fantasy and I was using this as a bookmark.

We headed towards Aeropoli, venturing deeper into the Mani, taking in the tower houses of Kitta and stopping at Gerolimenas for refreshment at a quayside taverna and watching the tankers traverse across southern Europe, before pressing on to Vathia. We really liked Gerolimenas and I am sure this would be a great place to stay as a stop-off point if you are intent on exploring every part of the Mani. I knew we were getting close to Vathia as we past a petrol station signed up as "the last gas station" and headed round more winding roads.


The first sight of the tower houses at Vathia is another "wow!" moment and as you approach the village you are both struck by it's spectacular location as a lookout post for invading forces and with some sadness as you begin to think about the bloody feuds that prompted the feuding locals to build the towers higher and higher in self-preservation during decades of fighting and also that many of the buildings are falling into disrepair with only a few of the houses being preserved as important historical relics. You pass fields where you see the crumbling foundations outlined of buildings long gone and wonder if the remains of this village will ever be given a chance to remain the important historical monument it is and be a thriving community once again. We left the village, ahead of several touring camper vans, also looking for that postcard picture and I took many photos of the remarkable village, which it has been commented looks 'like a painting'.
This is a truly amazing place, eerily spooky, very moving and for me was one of the highlights of the whole adventure. I would certainly recommend venturing into the depths the peninsular to see this magical place.
The final few days of the holiday were spent in and around Stoupa and Ag Nik and finally a little homesickness kicked in in the last few days.


My enduring memories will be the drive from Sparta to Kalamata through the mountains, the hospitality and peace of Saint Fridays, Gargarou, the friendliness and interesting day-to-day life in Ag Nik and the beautiful Skafidakia Villa, the stunning scenary of the Peloponnese and the contrasts of the landscape, the tower houses of Vathia and fortress of Mystras.

The car we hired for the duration was an economy 1200 Hyundai Getz, which you had to turn off the air con to have enough power to make it in second gear up the mountain roads, but the 'flying bullet' did us proud!

The mainland Peloponnese is an absolute gem of a place and I am not too sure I should be telling too many people about it!! but there is much more of mainland Greece to explore and this has just whetted our appetite. More adventures will follow!