Day 178/366: Diros CavesDay 178/366: Diros Caveshttp://www.greeklandscapes.com/greece/peloponnese05_diros.html Our main goal for the day was to drive up the west coast of Mani to see the Diros caves. The caves are unusual in that it’s half-filled with water, so you go through most of it by boat. The roof of the cave is very low at times, and we all had to bow our heads down quite far, which was quite loudly told us by our guide who steered the boat for us. It was a spectacular view inside though... you are viewing thousands of years of water doing its work through the lime stone cave system and it leaves you pretty awe struck with its natural beauty... it is like a different world or planet! The underground river is moving through the limestone that makes up the cave system. It said in my guide book that cave divers have attempted to explore the cave and it is believed that the river system goes as far north as Sparta. Human remnants from the Neolithic times have been discovered in the caves. Which is to be expected because it is one of the only sources of fresh water in the area.
Day 177/366: Vatheia
Day 177/366: Vatheiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatheia
This spectacular fortress village sneaks upon you as you drive up this very narrow, windy road in the mountains. We reached it just as the sun was setting... It completely took my breath away, so gorgeous! It is a mostly abandoned city today. A few of the towers have been renovated and are lived in but not many. Some were renovated as part of a scheme to develop tourist accommodation by EOT the Greek tourist organisation but that never worked and is bankrupt, towers all closed up. It used to house different people in the past., I think at some point four dueling clans tried to claim it as theirs. you can read more about the history of the place here.
Day 176/366: Meze for lunchI love Greek food, and if you didn't know, it goes far beyond the pita Gyros! Meze is one of my favorite ways of enjoying it because you get to sample so many different dishes at once. It is like the Greek version of the Spanish Tapas. They use so many fresh ingredients, lots of seafood and cheeses (fried cheese called Saganaki being one of my favorites, together with the many variations you get served Feta: fresh as it is, baked, spiced up, grilled... yum) and what they call salads, which almost always at least includes tzatziki and taramosalata. There will also almost always also be keftethes (meatballs), Tiropites (little cheese pies ), dolmathakia me Kima (stuffed wine leaves) marithes (whole fried whitebait smelts), calamari and little baby squids served... everything cooked with olive oil. Looking through my pictures, this is about the only one I shot this day! Lazy day at the beach mostly again, gearing up for our two day road trip the next few days.
Day 175/366: Swimming foolsYet another day spent at the beach/hotel. The girls spent all day in the water. From early morning to late in the evening. They are such fishes! I swam a lot as well, too hot to just lay out tanning.
She called the dolphin Delphi - very fitting for a dolphin bought in Greece!
Friends!
Overview of the whole beachside Beautiful evening light We ate a ridiculous amount of Olives, especially Emma - that and feta cheese are some of her favorite food, so she was pretty much in heaven the whole time we were here Day 174/366: Sara in NapflioToday we took the bus into the nearest bigger city, Napflio. It was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the regional unit of Argolis. It is a beautiful city full of Venetian architecture.
The castle of Bourtzi Emma in Napflio
Streets of Napflio Sara at dinner in the evening, back in Tolo Restaurant Moonlit sea
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© Anne-Cathrine Nyberg
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