1006 – Tuesday 6th March 2018: Salanti to Drepano
Fantastic early sunshine – excellent running along the beautiful beachfront at Salanti and K took O with C for the first time running off lead. Shall we stay here another night? Hmmmm…no – we’ll go to campsite Triton ii at Drepano and get electricatified and laundrifryed….or summat like that! Speaking of Frys – we’ve been listening to Stephan Fry talking about Greek Gods – talk about incest and debauchery! Then there’s Hermaphrodite – merged man with woman – so he/she became both – with a ‘ballsgina’….
The campsite was excellent and at €20 per night is reasonable value – hedged pitch with water … twin tub set up for laundry …..bike maintenance – until I discovered my front wheel was a nut short of a shilling! Bikes back into garage…..K swept all before her, including the garage floor. Along came Sue and Pete in their van – they (like us) are semi looking for a house in the area – exchange of views. Lovely hot showers and evening BBQ – first of the year and we missed the Webber Smokey Joe … a Cadac just ain’t the same. ….. Another day in ‘Pelopsadise’.
Salanti: We woke to a super sunny day … you just can’t beat the colour of the sea here.
It got a bit congested whilst we had breakfast!
1007 – Wednesday 7th March: Viva Vivari
Running again –….. walk to Vivari for lunch – red mullet for K and enormous pork chop for moi – and vino. Manager introduced us to a local estate agent….. a nip of wine in Drepano en return route to Jez. Has this become a pub crawl?
We invited Sue and Pete for drinkies – lots in common…..rather boozy evening (day actually!) but lovely. Well, tomorrow is one of our ‘dry’ days…..
Vivari is a stunning fishing village on the shores of Drepano Lake, which opens out to sea.
1008 – Thursday 8th March: Corinth to Nafplio
“Buona sera, signorina – buona sera – it’s time to say hello to Napflio…” OK, the original song is about Napoli – but now relevant to Napflio. But first to Corinth where Corrie got her stitches out, micro chipped and rabies jab. Next week we will return for database entries as their computer systems were down… New doggyfood as our current supplies have all been eaten – by whom? Yes, you guessed it…
Parked on the harbour side in Napflio – several other motorhomes there. Tried the nearest estate agent – closed. Bike shop for wheel nuts – they need to check their store for the correctly threaded nut – we need to have a clockwise screw (is that in the Kama Sutra?)…..so you sit on a clock and…..(enough of that James! – the second hand might stick in your wotsit – ouch!).
So – back to Napflio in the am to check the estate agent and bike shop – we’ll overnight on the harbour side – tad windy but quite OK…….
1009 – Friday 9th March: Nafplio to Kosmas
One non-Aged P has a birthday – Diane is getting younger! Phone call to congratulate her….. Back to estate agent for lots of helpful advice on buying…..bike shop had the correct ‘Rama Putra’ screw nut – and washers as well.
Jezzed along another stunning coastline – lunch near Leonidi – and the inevitable tight mountain town streets. Then along a superb gorge to Kosmas for overnightie – just above the town in one of our most secluded wild spots – we could have stayed in town near the church – but the ‘campanology’ might have awoken us (that’s a camping analogy for bellringing, I think…).
Lovely wooded area for doggoperambulating……
The pic doesn’t do the gorge justice.
Kosmas: When you van don’t go anymore, it’s useful life is not over.
Our super quiet parking.
My wooded walks.
Watch out Oscar … Corrie is learning your stick game!
1010 – Saturday 10th March: Lower Monemvasia Day 1
Today, the non-Aged Ps have an anniversary…..lots of wedded years – another phone call! Drove to Monemvasia – Gibraltar rock of Greece. Perfect beachside overnight parking – filled Jez with watering can from local tap – young teenagers helping and so polite – after their swimming. They cold showered on the beach – brrrrrrr…….!
Post-luncheon walk to Lower Monemvasia – through carpets of wild flowers to the kooky town – and – wine. Sorry loads of pix as it was so beautiful and the Aged Ps had wanted to visit, but it was too far from where we stayed with them.
View of the Peloponnese Rock of Gibraltar from our car park.
Looking back to our parking.
I can’t express how lush and beautiful everywhere is … the wild flowers are just stunning.
We followed the slightly overgrown flower meadow path to the Lower Town.
Arriving.
The terrace bar … it don’t get any better than this.
You can just make out some of the ruins of the Upper Town on the cliff.
1011 – Sunday 11th March: Upper Monemvasia Day 2
Another home phone call – Mothering Sunday….
It is so hot – we walked in shorts, T-shirts and walking boots in 20+c sunshine. Flower meadow again to Lower Town and then up to Upper Town. Church, fortress and water cisterns – back to Lower Town – for “fionn ban” – Amelia and the Gaeilgoiri will know this as white wine in Gaeilge. En route back to Jez – a bar called to us – a couple ‘for the road’ – well it was a long 400 litres – metres back home…..nanny nap. Snacks, chocolate and crips had been our survival food today!
The Church C12 is the only restored building up here.
A petal amongst flowers.
And another.
Ancient church, ancient haman and young hubby!
From the fortress.
Finding some shade.
1012 – Monday 12th March: Monemvasia Cleaning Day 3
A fourth phone call home …. got into the daily habit after a birthday, anniversary and Monthering Sunday!
Jezkleaningday……how come we have millions of extra white doggyhairs? Corrie! Despite K’s a.m. routine being dogg tooth cleaning with chicken flavoured paste and brushing!
Walking along the front and town – a glass of wine? Perchance x2 (?)….. Some may say we’re a couple of ‘old soaks’ – definitely not! Because we are not ‘old’, at all!!!
No babies here, unless they are correctly presented!
Clune Gap Years 