Biz School Buddies, Mani Peninsula, & Monemvasia

Shortly after having learned of Kardamyli and the Mani Peninsula from Rick Steves' book "Greece, Athens and the Mainland" Pat realized that Paul Varotsis, a business school classmate, has a home in Kardamyli. Paul invited us to visit and the timing worked such that Mark (another classmate) and Rosemary Keatley were able to visit at the same time. This also provided the perfect time & place for Alejandra Martinez (yet another classmate and friend from Mexico City) to join our little tour.  

It seems that Paul and Agnes had been renovating an historic property for roughly 10 years (what with all the normal building codes and the ongoing list of requirements to maintain the history and likely the ecology of the spot.) I believe this was their first season to actual stay in their new house. 

We had a great time visiting and dining with one another, as well as exploring the countryside and enjoying Kardamyli and neighboring coastal villages (Kastania, Old Kardamyli and Stoupa.)

Mark & Rosemary; Alejandra, Mark, Paul, Pat; Pat & Alejandra; Pat & Bill; Paul & Agnes; Note: Behind the arch is the Mourtzinos Tower which had stables & storeroom on ground floor, and living space on the top two floors.  

Paul and Alejandra started each day with a swim around the point. Alejandra takes a lot of good selfies. Bill photobombed a couple of her selfies with the octopus mosiacs in Paul and Agnes's decor. We and Alejandra added a little touch of Mexico to that decor as a thank you for the Kardamyli experience. The vase is a Mata Ortiz piece from northern Mexico. It has a Greek flair that works very nicely in their home.

View OF the house; View FROM the house; Church decorated for a wedding; Octopus mosaic; Mata Ortiz vase

In nearby Stoupa is the creatively named Εστιατόριο "Στούπα" / Stoupa Restaurant. It is apparently one of the best in the area and in our experience, it lived up to that acclaim. The menu looks amazing. Paul did all the ordering and did an admirable job of it. But while we recall a series of tasty dishes, we were too busy catching up to recall the foods in detail. Mind you there was one disappointment. Here and pretty much everywhere around the Mani Peninsula, the wine list options are "Red, White, or Rose". They were good but disappointing for wine lovers hoping to experience the widest range of fine Greek wines possible.

The Mani is noted for its dramatic views of and from its many deserted (or nearly deserted) cliffside villages. Interestingly enough, it is drawing a lot of renovation work which in time will change the character of the area. (Much as our home town of San Miguel de Allende Mexico has evolved in the 16 years we have been here. We still love the place but it is very much more of a city than the small town we moved to.)

After wandering around the town of Kastania, enjoying the views and checking out the Church of Agia Sophia  (1 of 10 Byzantine churches in Kastania), we moved on to the Almyriki Tavern on Kalogrias Beach in Stoupa. The Tavern provided a fine lunch and a great hangout for the nearby beach. 

Exploring Kastania and Old Kardamyli: Church of Agia Sophia - top left. Church Agios Spyridon - lower left.

As part of the major renovation of their house, Paul & Agnes renovated the outside of the neighboring church. As a result it has become an appealing spot for weddings and other sacred ceremonies. We were there for the first wedding in recent years. It was charming. And pretty cool to see the bride arrive by boat! The next day there was a baptism. We see a trend here...

A wedding at the chapel next to Paul's house. The bride arrived by boat! Lunch at Dioskouri Taverna overlooking Paul & Agnes's fabulous home on the point and the whole group at the departure dinner.

The now group of 5 continued the Peloponnese tour. On the road to Areopoli we wound our way through hillside and seaside villages with stone buildings and churches; all picturesque and in varying levels of decay (or renovation.)

On the way to Areopoli

We wrapped up the day with a stroll around Areopoli and dinner at nearby Limeni with a fine sunset and half moon. 

Aeropoli town & environs

We ventured further down the peninsula and got some great views and, near the tip of the peninsula in Porto Kagio Beach, lobsters and other fine seafood for lunch. 

On our way back to Areopoli we encountered more photo ops including some traditional traffic on the road.

Gythio, port city for Sparta in ancient times, made a nice break in the drive to Monemvasia. We enjoyed the short walk out to the marble clad lighthouse and lunch served in an interesting fashion...as one big dish for the table.

We arrived in Monemvasia and were met by our porter. He wheeled our luggage to our hotel, about a 15 minute jaunt through narrow cobbled walkways.

The lower town is where the hotels, restaurants and shops are located. 

The upper town, a short uphill hike (see that cliffside below, the upper town is at the top of that), is a collection of ruins with some spectacular views over the water. We met an Austrian couple here that we encountered several more times over the next few days.

We spent one afternoon/evening outside the village at a local winery, tasting the wines and olive oils and then dining on some nicely paired food.

Our drive to Nafpoli took us near another ancient site, Mystras. The city sprawls up a hillside. We spent half a day wandering the lower part admiring the churches and views. After a refreshing and rejuvenating lunch we continued our drive to Nafpoli.