Kardamyli 🚍 Kastania🚶🏼☕️ 🚍 Limeni🍴🚍 Monemvasia🍴🚶🏼 🛏️
So 'Mani ' Villages, So Little Time!
An Authentic Mani Coffee Break |
Our morning ride to Kastania, along the Mani Peninsula coastline, is short and beautiful. We stop at this enchanting place, well off the beaten tourist path, to experience a traditional Mani village. After our explorations, we are warmly welcomed with an authentic Greek coffee tasting.
Kastania Explorations Slideshow ⤵
|
"In the old Mani villages, a boy was considered a child, a girl was just a girl!!"
- Becky ponders this perspective on children and girls.
A Seafood Lunch by the Seaside
🤩 CUE A WOW MOMENT 🤩
Limeni is a stunning environment to enjoy a scrumptious seafood lunch! We appreciate being exposed to delicacies that we might be too scared to try on our own. Food is plentiful and varied, so if something is not appealing, other options quell our hunger.
Our afternoon ride brings us to medieval Monemvasia
where we find a scenic spot for dinner and anticipate new discoveries.
where we find a scenic spot for dinner and anticipate new discoveries.
Gefyra🚶🏼🚐 Lower Monemvasia 🚶🏼🍨 Upper Monemvasia 🚐🚶🏼Gefyra🍴🛏️
Whisked Back In Time In Old Monemvasia |
In other words, WOW!
|
Our base is Gefyra, or New Monemvasia, with a lovely view of "the rock." Today, access to the rock, or Old Monemvasia, is by a short shuttle bus ride or a walk across a land bridge. Once there, we enter the village through a single gate in a medieval wall that whisks us back in time. While Monemvasia is supported by tourism, it certainly does not feel touristy at all. Strolling these passageways feels like entering another world. We are captivated.
"These narrow passageways and picturesque homes are the things my dreams are made of." - Becky on exploring the lower village |
First, we investigate the Lower Town, with its shops, nooks, winding alleys, archways, stone steps and medieval wall.
Exploring the Upper Town on the plateau awaits and we are eager to make the climb. Upper Town is no longer inhabited and exists mostly of ruins, except for the Church of St. Sophia.
Impromptu Happy Hour!
We arrive back to the hotel, and are greeted with an impromptu Happy Hour. Diana has bought the same type of cookie from 4 different shops. We sample each one and give our ratings. The question posed is, Will we choose our guide Danae's favorite as our favorite too?
Answer: We all had different preferences. |
First We Cook...
Our tour family gathers at the hotel for a Greek cooking lesson with some of the tour family, including Mark, doing the cooking.