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Blogs from Kalamata, Pelopennese, Greece, Europe
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The home of the ancient Olympics
Published: October 31st 2009Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Kalamata
September 30th 2009
today is a day trip to this ancient site. the highlight was viewing the spot where the Olynpic torch is lit every two years. a chic greek fashion model or someother noteworthy and beautifyl woman takes on the role of a goddess. Origins The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece. Records indicate that they began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. They were celebrated until 393 AD.The Games were usually held every four years, or olympiad, as the unit of time came to be known. During a celebration of the Games, an Olympic Truce was enacted to enable athletes to travel from their countries to Olympia in safety. The prizes for the victors were laurel wreaths, palm branches, sometimes even food for life. The ancient ... read more
September 23rd 2009
Hello, 9/22 - 9/26 Ryan: One night in Tropea, Claire and I had a few drinks and decided that Greece sounded good. So that's it, our first train was at 6:50am the next morning and we arrived in Brindisi (on the West coast of Italy, port jump off point) at 6pm. We took four trains and one 15-hour ferry to Patras, Greece (about 28 hours total travel). We made it to the port and booked the ferry with 1/2 an hour to spare. We booked a room and Claire demolished more of Ken Follet's sequel to Pillars of the Earth. The next morning we were back at it, a 4-hour train ride south along the west coast of the Peloponnese to Kalamata. We thought of staying, but the real town we wanted was just another 38km, ... read more
Peloponnese Day 2: Mystras and Mani (The Coast)
Published: May 7th 2009Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Kalamata
May 6th 2009
I neglected to mention we crashed early in Nafplio the day before which meant we did not get to enjoy as much of that city as we would have liked, it is clearly a place you could spend a few days in. We left Napflio at a bit of a leisurely time and headed out towards Sparta in a bit more of a back way which took us over the mountains rather than around them. A lot of hairpin turns but it wasn't horrible by any means. I have to admit that I initially mistook the exuberance of Greek drivers as meaning that anything goes so long as I was safe, plus I was foolish enough to think that the photo-controlled speed zones were not a real threat until I realized that when I saw the ... read more
December 5th 2008
Today we left our olive farm in Proastio, a small village near Kardamili, which is a town in Mani, the southern part of the Peloponnese (that big island on the SW of Greece). It's been a beautiful past 2 weeks. We lived in the bottom part of a house surrounded by old yellow stone houses and olive tree terraces until the Ionian on one side and the Taygetos mtns on the other. As you approach Kardamili from Kalamata (a city an hour away where we spend a few nights), you see the mountains descend into a plateau that stays flat for quite some time, with its own villages, and then another steep descent into the sea, with just room for Kardamili between the cliffs and the water. It is a beautiful, rocky, austere view, as though ... read more
October 27th 2008
I apologize to everyone for the late entry. Unfortunately, right after I returned to school, I was bombarded with midterms. In fact, this is the eve of my last midterm, and I have ceased caring. So, instead of studying, I decided to finally get my pictures up and post on my blog. At this juncture, I am thankful for my travel journal (compliments of Quin Mero) because otherwise I would have some issues remembering the sequence of things. I shall begin with a fun fact about Athens. It is the safest city in Europe with the lowest crime rate. Another fun fact: Greek men are beautiful and tall which is a nice respite from the short Italian creepers (I feel like this blog makes me sound boy crazy, because I feel like I mention interactions with ... read more
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October 1st 2008
From Olympia, we headed south to stay a couple of nights in the coastal village of Kardamyli. Not much to do in this tiny spot along the Agean Sea. The landscape is rugged. Hard to imagine making a living from the earth in these hills. Pirates and bandits hid here. Down by the water it is more inviting, though the beach is made up of stone and pebbles. We took a sunset stroll with our friends and ate at a charming outdoor taverna. It was another delicious Greek supper. In the morning, we headed out with a couple of friends, to walk up to Agia Sofia, past the Old Kardamyli tower houses. On the way, we came upon a goat. Not so unusual in the country, but he was munching grass growing out of the ... read more
August 30th 2007
KARDAMYLI Kardamyli is a peaceful little village on the Mediterranean, in the Messinian Mani. The people treat you like family and not like tourists. It was a refreshing experience at this point in our trip. Our trip was cut short by the terrible fires that have affected Greece for the past week. But while we were in Kardamyli, we had a great conversation with a local named Yanni in his olive oil - honey - wine - dried herb - soap - lotion - book shop (all homemade), we swam daily, ate our own greek salad and canned dolmas on our balcony overlooking the village center, and hiked through old Kardamyli and up the hill to their ancient church. Vula, our host treated us one lunch with peppers and tomatoes stuffed with rice, meat, onions, and ... read more
