Author: Gisela Wuerfel

We leave the idyllic landscape of Elis with its wide plains, hills, olive groves, vineyards and villages. We drive further south, to Laconia, which was shaped by Sparta. From here comes - exactly! - the term laconic. Oldest explanation for this somewhat short-winded way of speaking, again from antiquity - Philip II of Macedonia to the laconic ruler: "When I have defeated you, I will burn your cities, destroy your army and your women will be widows!". The answer: "If."
The landscape becomes more rugged. Steep cliffs plunge vertically into the sea, white and reddish-brown cliffs, covered with grass and maquis, form a harsh, and in combination with the blue-turquoise sea, of course, a wonderful picture.

The town of Pylos is built on a hill and has a large Venetian fortress from the 16th century in front of it. It is situated on the edge of a wide bay - one of the best natural harbours in the Mediterranean - which is lined by towering cliffs - the Bay of Navarino, as Pylos was called in Venetian times. The Nestor Palace, which was excavated here, dates from far before. Nestor is the hero of Greek mythology, the King of Pylos, famous for his wisdom and eloquence, and also appears in the Iliad of Homer, in the Trojan War.
In 1827 a naval battle took place in Navarino between the Turkish fleet and a fleet of the English, French and Russians. This battle put an end to the Ottoman-Turkish domination and led to the independence of Greece, therefore in the central square a monument to the "three admirals", a similar one on a tiny island in the middle of the bay. This is something that is always noticeable in Greece: The fight for supremacy, also over Europe as a whole, between the (Western) European countries and the Ottoman Empire/the Turks, since the decline of the Eastern Roman Empire and then the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. Actually, these conflicts were started in Western Europe by the Crusades in the 11th century. Partially, the lordships/occupations changed in a 100-year rhythm, the Venetians built fortresses, the Turks took them over and finished them……and vice versa.
Pylos is a small cheerful town with a central square with many pubs and bars. Short ways lead to the fortress and therefore to wonderful viewpoints over the bay. The Venetian fortress is a spacious building with long walls high above the sea, a church and a large meeting place. The church has, as many Greek churches, its model as a round building with towers in front of it in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul; one was also pragmatic at that time: the church was partly used as a Christian-Greek-Ortohodox and partly as a mosque.
An attraction a little outside is the Oxbelly Bay, also called Golden Beach, a kilometre long sandy beach that separates a lagoon at the northern end of the bay.

We are located in the marina - no utilities (electricity or water or diesel), also no fees, but quiet and cosy, also picturesque, directly below the rock face on which the houses of Pylos rise.

12 km south of Polos is Methoni, the southernmost tip of the western Peloponnese, here we are already in Messinia. An incredibly gigantic fortress, again partly Venetian, partly Turkish, limits and protects the bay. Huge long walls and an incredibly picturesque tower, partly used as a prison, partly as a lighthouse, partly as a military hospital, closes the ensemble to the south, ending in the turquoise sea, right next to the beach and cafes and bars, Methoni is a real small seaside resort.

Kyparissia is situated at the southern end of a crescent-shaped bay, 27 nautical miles from Catacolon, in the ancient landscape of Eli.
It has a small idyllic harbour with a huge breakwater to protect against storms, you moor alongside, very comfortable.
The seemingly most inconspicuous places sometimes reveal hidden charms, as here too. Coming from the sea, one sees a city that rises up a steep mountain, with the typical greek mostly square cube-shaped houses. The tour guide says that it is a Byzantine city. One has to work hard to get the charms of the city: estimated 300 meters of altitude at 32 degrees. But then you are on the Byzantine fortress and have a wonderful view over the whole bay, the harbour and the sea.
20 meters below the fortress, glued directly to the wall: a kind of lounge/bar with a gigantic view and good draught beer.
A little further below, but still high above the new town and the harbour: a wonderful picturesque street with a church and many pubs, bars and shops. The houses are colourful and all have similar gable shapes, a very balanced street scene with pleasant proportions.
And as one has already made the effort to climb up here, one stays for dinner, which one can enjoy with a direct view to the sunset.
And as this is not all the charm of this wonderful little city, at approximately 9 p.m., some really original Greek folklore music starts, completely unplugged: a double bass player, a guitarist, a bouzouki player, three-part singing - wonderful, impressive!
It remains to mention that right next to the harbour there are beautiful sandy beaches with clear water and roaring surf - what more could you want?

Katakolon is a tiny town on the west coast of the Peloponnese, 25 miles from Zakynthos. The first thing you notice is that the port is an international customs port for clearing in from abroad, with restricted area, duty free and all that. Why? Cruise ships dock here and their guests can visit the old Olympia from here.
We moor with stern line and bow anchor - another somewhat exotic detail: There is water and electricity at the pier, very pleasant, every evening someone comes and writes down the names of the boats and their home ports - but never someone collects anything.
The little town is geared for day visitors, small boutiques with jewellery, leather, olive wood items, also some restaurants. It is located at a wide bay, 200m from the harbour you can find beaches with fine sand, the water is shallow, you can still stand comfortably 150m from the shore.
Katakolon is located on a headland that one has to drive around if one comes from the north. Behind the place, the way approximately 100 height meters through a pine forest, there, one can enjoy the wonderful view from a restaurant. By continuing to walk alongside the small road in order to descend at the end back to the city, one is immediately in the middle of the Greek agriculture: small flat houses, very simple, goats, sheep, chickens, olive groves………all in all, a nice worthwhile country day.

We are located in Katakolon on the west coast of the Peloponnese, in the landscape of Elis. From here a kind of S-Bahn goes once a day via Pyrgos to Olympia. In the tiny village Katakolon even cruise ships dock because of Olympia - luckily not today.
After a 45 minutes drive we arrive at the pretty little station of Olympia, five minutes walk from the ancient sites. It is impressive and fascinating: the sheer size of this temple and sports complex, which was one of the most important cult sites in Greece. It is impossible to grasp all the individual temples and to whom they are dedicated. A special charm is given to the place by the ancient olive trees that stand in between. Huge columns, pictures that we know from history books.
In a wide landscape, between two small rivers, the old Olympia is situated between light hills. One can imagine how sports were practiced here, in 776 before the turn of the century the first Olympic Games. The excavations are still going on, probably it was already before 776. Especially the stadium is fascinating: 192 meters long, the stands right and left made of grass, only in the middle a stone box, for the referees and dignitaries. It is said to hold 45000 spectators, they will have stood.
Which contributes to the fascination of the place: there are almost no people there. Because of the corona, only a few people come here at the moment, not to mention the hundreds of cruise tourists.
Beside a museum of the history of the Olympic Games that we did not visit, there is an antiquity museum in which there are findings of Olympia, huge statues of Zeus and other gods, frieze pieces with fighting scenes, but also Roman emperors.
The museum is once again a highlight, as it does not only show the findings from the classical Greek period, but also art and utility objects from the pre-Greek era as also from the following Roman era - thus, an overall picture results that goes far beyond the pure classical image of Greece - who knows that the Roman emperor Nero watched the Olympic Games here in a palace that was specially built for him?
The decline of Olympia was initiated by the fact that Christianity became the state religion in the Roman Empire and that other religious customs were subsequently banned. So this holy place decayed, earthquakes also contributed to it.
Nevertheless, Olympia is still today an intense experience of antiquity.

Zakynthos (in Venetian times: Zante) is the southernmost island in the Ionian Sea. It is beautiful and very versatile. We spent three days there and in one day we rented a car to see more of the island.
The island is divided into two parts, so to speak: The south-east is intensively cultivated, wine, olives, potatoes, corn……, the landscape is flat, partly hilly, with wide valleys. The north-west is harsh, the coast is rugged, vertical cliffs plunge into the sea, interrupted by small bays with sandy beaches.

Perhaps the most famous: Navagio, the Shipwreck Bay. Here a freighter stranded 40 years ago, which allegedly smuggled Turkish cigarettes on behalf of the Italian Mafia. A spectacular sight, from above, almost vertically over the bay. There you can see why the colours of the Greeks are blue and white.

The landscape forms are impressive: as said before, vertical white cliffs, but then also loose-like weathering forms, also volcanic rock.
A special thing in the southwest: the protected area for the loggerhead turtles that lay their eggs here, the young turtles hurry to get past the tourists into the save water. There is indeed a protection zone, but it is a tourist hotspot that is a little bit like a Party-hotspot.

In the interior of the island there are pine groves, plateaus with tiny villages, where from olive wood carvings to rose liquor (really tastes like roses!) local products are offered.
Not to forget: several monasteries, at least 500 years old, the Greek Orthodox Church is present everywhere.
We were located in the lively city harbour, at the moment it is pleasant, there are, probably due to corona, not the otherwise feared tourist rushes there.
Zakynthos is a worthwhile destination, for most different interests and preferences.

On August the third - exactly one month after we arrived - we left Messolonghi, first to Zakynthos.
A month which was so completely different from what we had expected. The equipping of the boat, the preparation, the putting in and out, the testing, the optimizing - we had not expected that this would be a real hard work and on top the Heat.
But beyond this work we got to know the city, it doesn't open up immediately, only at second glance, no, actually only at third glance. And we still get lost in the chessboard streets. But we really liked the beautiful streets, partly paved with marble, like from the Venetian times, the cafés and the shady squares, by the way also the restaurants. Also the beaches in Tourlida and in Kryonéri, we enjoyed them very much.
It is a beautiful city with very very friendly, helpful and uncomplicated people. Two are worth mentioning: Dimitris, the self-sacrificing, totally reliable and very friendly electrician, who helped us in the sweat of his brow by kneeling in the boat for hours at 30 degrees for the electrical system - and Mimis, the wonderful boss of the Marina Bar, who read every wish from our eyes, who also made contact with other important people - and who always brought us something good to eat and/or drink. We will miss them........
But we plan to come back: At the end of October we want to be in Messolonghi again and then "winterize" the boat, go back to Heidelberg, and then in spring back to Messolonghi - it was beautiful there!

This week even the Greeks think it's a little hot. Until 37 degrees……..
What can you do? Take a bath. Our current local mountain is the Varàsova, barely 1000 m high, its huge rock face rises vertically from the sea.

Less than 100 m in front of it there is Kryonéri, a tiny village with a small fishing harbour and several rustic pubs. And the special thing about this location is that you can swim on a sandy and pebble beach right in front of the rock face - and that the water is shallow there.
These are the typical Greek bathing places: A parasol, under it a small table, on the left and right a sun bed. One orders something to drink and by doing so, one has so to speak paid the user fee, a very pleasant regulation, we think.
Kryonéri is located about 15km east of Messolonghi, you are diagonally opposite Patras with its huge Rion bridge. And the wind that blows out of the Gulf of Patras makes bathing and lying even at 37 degrees not only bearable but really pleasant.