Wildflowers and a Mighty Wind:
Nine days in the Peloponnese and Athens.
Nine days in the Peloponnese and Athens.
Madness? This is Sparti! (and Mystras)
With a whole lot of driving and sightseeing scheduled for the day, we
awoke, showered, had breakfast (on the outdoor roof deck, as the morning
was gorgeous), visited a Citibank ATM, settled up at the front desk,
schlepped our bags down to the car, got a full tank of gas and hit the open
road…all before 10:15 am. Not bad at all. “Thundercats are GO!!!”
exclaimed Chris, as he put the hammer down and slipped a new CD in the
stereo.
It was mostly highway driving, first down to Tripoli and then toward modern
Sparti. We had to navigate some maddening rush hour traffic in Sparti
before we reached Mystras around noon. With only a few hours, we
focused primarily on the lower town, which offers plenty of interest…if not
the views afforded by the upper town and fortifications.
Mystras is an undeniably beautiful place, situated on a vast hillside amidst
a sea of lush wildflowers (at this time of the year, anyway), overlooking the
fertile Spartan plain. Dozens of ruined and semi-ruined monasteries,
churches, rectories and palaces have stood here for centuries. In the 13th
Century, under the despot Theodore, it had become (arguably) the second
most important city in the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople. It was
one of the leading educational centers in the empire, and throughout all of
Europe, until the city was surrendered to the Turks in 1460.
Today, it’s deserted…save for a small order of nuns in a convent (who do
some nice embroidery), and a small population of feral cats. To get a good
feel for the place, you need to do a lot of hiking and climbing on somewhat
uneven terrain. Be sure to use your best walking/hiking footwear.
Walking around and stepping into these 600- and 700-year-old structures
is very much like stepping into the past. They are beautiful, rich in iconic art
and architectural intrigue, and so very NOT of today. It is an otherworldly
experience, and our photos don’t really do the place justice. Some of the
sites were closed to us because it was Monday, but we didn't feel cheated
at all. Overall, Mystras is a fascinating place and we recommend it highly.
With closing time approaching in an hour, we left around 2:00 and popped
in for lunch at a restaurant called the Xenia Cafe across the street from the
parking lot. We enjoyed two small pizzas, Greek salad, a half liter each of
wine and beer, and a coke…all for 27 Euro. The food was pretty good,
especially the feta cheese on the Greek salad, and you can’t beat the
location if you’re visiting Mystras.
Afterward, we drove about an hour south to the Inner Mani area and the
town of Aeropolis. Clouds were starting to build and threaten, but only
sprinkled a little on us as we drove. As we approached the coast, the
scenery took a turn for the dramatic. Rugged, rocky outcrops rose starkly
from the coast, and we saw quite a few burned bushes and
trees…remnants of the previous summer’s fires. But like everywhere else
in this verdant land, the undergrowth was alive and well, and very green.
We found our hotel for the next two nights, the Limeni Village, fairly easily
on the coast road winding down from Areopolis. We checked in, and were
directed to our own private “Mani tower” (actually, a modern reconstruction)
where we rested a bit from our journey and freshed up. The skies were
clearing, but a strong wind had moved in. It only seemed to enhance the
dramatic, windswept setting of our cliff-side dwelling.
Our room was fairly nice, with a good size balcony that has a great view
over the bay. Nearby was a cylindrical tower with a blue and white Greek
flag waving proudly above it--though by the end of our stay and in the fierce
wind, it appeared to be hanging on by a thread.
After sunset, we decided to explore a little of the area in our car. We took
the coastal road down to the smaller villages along the bay (Oithylo and
Limeni), but saw very few people or anything else of note. Returning the
same way we came, saw a few headlights heading in the opposite
direction, and wondered aloud where the party was.
We returned to Areopolis, and found it just a little awkward driving in and
parking; not entirely unlike the scene in The Bourne Identity, we were
driving down long, flat cobblestone “stairways” at one point. We strolled
around Aeropolis in the dark for a bit, realized it is actually a pretty cool
town and decided we’d like to come back and visit some more in the
daylight. Hopefully, it would not be so windy the next day. After procuring
some wine and snacks at a local grocery, we returned to our hotel room
and had a quiet evening in. We turned in early, shut off the lights, and
listened to the wind.
It was a very windy night.
Next: Greek Independence Day (March 25) on the Mani Peninsula
See all of our Greece photos
our travels
home
contact us
With a whole lot of driving and sightseeing scheduled for the day, we
awoke, showered, had breakfast (on the outdoor roof deck, as the morning
was gorgeous), visited a Citibank ATM, settled up at the front desk,
schlepped our bags down to the car, got a full tank of gas and hit the open
road…all before 10:15 am. Not bad at all. “Thundercats are GO!!!”
exclaimed Chris, as he put the hammer down and slipped a new CD in the
stereo.
It was mostly highway driving, first down to Tripoli and then toward modern
Sparti. We had to navigate some maddening rush hour traffic in Sparti
before we reached Mystras around noon. With only a few hours, we
focused primarily on the lower town, which offers plenty of interest…if not
the views afforded by the upper town and fortifications.
Mystras is an undeniably beautiful place, situated on a vast hillside amidst
a sea of lush wildflowers (at this time of the year, anyway), overlooking the
fertile Spartan plain. Dozens of ruined and semi-ruined monasteries,
churches, rectories and palaces have stood here for centuries. In the 13th
Century, under the despot Theodore, it had become (arguably) the second
most important city in the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople. It was
one of the leading educational centers in the empire, and throughout all of
Europe, until the city was surrendered to the Turks in 1460.
Today, it’s deserted…save for a small order of nuns in a convent (who do
some nice embroidery), and a small population of feral cats. To get a good
feel for the place, you need to do a lot of hiking and climbing on somewhat
uneven terrain. Be sure to use your best walking/hiking footwear.
Walking around and stepping into these 600- and 700-year-old structures
is very much like stepping into the past. They are beautiful, rich in iconic art
and architectural intrigue, and so very NOT of today. It is an otherworldly
experience, and our photos don’t really do the place justice. Some of the
sites were closed to us because it was Monday, but we didn't feel cheated
at all. Overall, Mystras is a fascinating place and we recommend it highly.
With closing time approaching in an hour, we left around 2:00 and popped
in for lunch at a restaurant called the Xenia Cafe across the street from the
parking lot. We enjoyed two small pizzas, Greek salad, a half liter each of
wine and beer, and a coke…all for 27 Euro. The food was pretty good,
especially the feta cheese on the Greek salad, and you can’t beat the
location if you’re visiting Mystras.
Afterward, we drove about an hour south to the Inner Mani area and the
town of Aeropolis. Clouds were starting to build and threaten, but only
sprinkled a little on us as we drove. As we approached the coast, the
scenery took a turn for the dramatic. Rugged, rocky outcrops rose starkly
from the coast, and we saw quite a few burned bushes and
trees…remnants of the previous summer’s fires. But like everywhere else
in this verdant land, the undergrowth was alive and well, and very green.
We found our hotel for the next two nights, the Limeni Village, fairly easily
on the coast road winding down from Areopolis. We checked in, and were
directed to our own private “Mani tower” (actually, a modern reconstruction)
where we rested a bit from our journey and freshed up. The skies were
clearing, but a strong wind had moved in. It only seemed to enhance the
dramatic, windswept setting of our cliff-side dwelling.
Our room was fairly nice, with a good size balcony that has a great view
over the bay. Nearby was a cylindrical tower with a blue and white Greek
flag waving proudly above it--though by the end of our stay and in the fierce
wind, it appeared to be hanging on by a thread.
After sunset, we decided to explore a little of the area in our car. We took
the coastal road down to the smaller villages along the bay (Oithylo and
Limeni), but saw very few people or anything else of note. Returning the
same way we came, saw a few headlights heading in the opposite
direction, and wondered aloud where the party was.
We returned to Areopolis, and found it just a little awkward driving in and
parking; not entirely unlike the scene in The Bourne Identity, we were
driving down long, flat cobblestone “stairways” at one point. We strolled
around Aeropolis in the dark for a bit, realized it is actually a pretty cool
town and decided we’d like to come back and visit some more in the
daylight. Hopefully, it would not be so windy the next day. After procuring
some wine and snacks at a local grocery, we returned to our hotel room
and had a quiet evening in. We turned in early, shut off the lights, and
listened to the wind.
It was a very windy night.
Next: Greek Independence Day (March 25) on the Mani Peninsula
See all of our Greece photos
our travels
home
contact us
Mystras
Byzantine icon in a Mystras church
Mystras church
Mystras ruins
View from our balcony, Limeni Village (in the wind)
Greece home
The voyage to Nafplio
Mycenae: Bronze Age equinox
To the theater! Epidaurus
Madness? This is Sparti! (and Mystras)
Greek Independence Day on the Mani
Monemvasia: a one-way trip to the past
Athens is calling
A rainy day in Athens
Our big, fat Greek finale / the journey home
Hotel reviews, air, driving, and other logistics
Logistics con't, and some final thoughts
The voyage to Nafplio
Mycenae: Bronze Age equinox
To the theater! Epidaurus
Madness? This is Sparti! (and Mystras)
Greek Independence Day on the Mani
Monemvasia: a one-way trip to the past
Athens is calling
A rainy day in Athens
Our big, fat Greek finale / the journey home
Hotel reviews, air, driving, and other logistics
Logistics con't, and some final thoughts