Sailing Aglaya

Kalamata. Of course, the city is known for its excellent dark reddish-brown fleshy olives, some say the best in Greece.
But there are many other interesting and beautiful things to discover in the second largest city (70000 inhabitants) in the Peloponnese.
Kalamata is a port city with an international port for foreign clearance, customs and all that - at the moment there is less or nothing going on because of Corona and probably also economic crisis.
But the old town is not at the port, as one might expect, but up on the hillside below the 800 year old fortress. Like everything else here, the fortress has changed "owners" between Turks and Venetians again and again.
One has a grandiose view of the whole city and into the surrounding mountains and gorges, in the west the Taygetos mountains, behind which Sparta lies, and further east the Kalatio mountains, also strategically an interesting location.
There are many small, winding, picturesque alleys above, of course with many pubs and bars, where you can eat very good and very regionally original Greek food. In the middle of the old town a tiny church from Byzantine times, which was completely rebuilt after the violent earthquake in 1986.
Kalamata is the centre of the Greek Orthodox Church of Messenia, all metropolitans have their statues here.
The newer city is essentially a chessboard structure, with axes up to 3 km long from the old town to the port and cross streets.
Even late in the evening you get the feeling that all inhabitants are on the streets and squares, in bars and taverns, including the many children.
A very unusual detail: The Railpark with lots of greenery and trees, also water areas, which goes right up to the harbour - and where many old railways, freight wagons, passenger wagons, steam locomotives and railcars are located, an open-air museum, in the middle of which is the obligatory bar, the station pub so to speak.
The marina with its marina for pleasure boats is located west of the large commercial harbour, here you can find supply of electricity, water, showers, washing machines…..and of course restaurants and cafés.
All in all a not spectacular, but still very worth seeing city in the western Peloponnese.

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.