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Published: January 7th 2023
You can’t build a wall with just one stone… ~ Greek Proverb
HE SAID... Today we were continuing to explore the seaside village of
Kardamyli.
We woke early, and while we had an inkling our accommodation was a little left of field (based on our check-in experience the previous day), it wasn’t until our first breakfast experience that we fully understood just how left of field Kardamyli Beach Hotel really was.
First things first. The hotel manager. She was out there. Like really, really out there. I was terrified of her. She was gruff and loud, and she had the outward demeanour of a fiendish tyrant. She could put you in your place for speaking too loudly, or asking the wrong question, or not following the rules of the swimming pool (of which there were many). She had enlisted a bevy of fun police to work at the hotel, and she was their cultural leader. Funnily enough, she had a sense of humour.
I was not surprised to find the breakfast area within her control. There were no self-serve options. No tea or coffee making facilities. No large bowls of Greek yoghurt. There was a glassed-in buffet, behind which she was standing. With a grumpy face. To acquire
a breakfast item, you had to form a queue. When it was your turn, she would gruffly tell you what was available, and you would let her know what you wanted. There weren’t all that many items on display, and woe betide if you asked her to repeat her brief (two word) explanation of each item. If you misheard, it was your problem.
I am, of course, exaggerating. A little.
The baked savoury items were mostly tasty, and the outdoor location of the breakfast area – overlooking the Messinian Gulf – was extraordinary. It was an enjoyable breakfast, and when I summoned the courage to ask for another pot of tea, she was reasonably accommodating. Some of the items were a little over-baked, possibly from the previous day, but we were sitting in the early morning sun with waves lapping at the rocks just over the road from where we were sitting. A great location always makes food taste better, and this was definitely the case at Kardamyli Beach Hotel.
The hotel was approximately two kilometres northwest of Kardamyli. While the thirty-minute walk along the coastline was mostly picturesque, we would have preferred to be a little
closer to the main township. However, we adjusted quickly.
Having survived (and enjoyed) breakfast, we walked into Kardamyli to revisit the Church of Ayios Spyridon and the Mourtzinos Tower. We’d briefly explored this fortified complex the previous night, and we loved its remote location in the rocky hills above the seaside town. As we wandered the site, we checked out a small and uninspiring art exhibition that had been temporarily strewn through the magnificent old buildings. Artistic concepts often sound great on paper, but they don’t always reach their potential in reality. This was a case in point – poor curation in a great location, with dreary art.
Luckily, the clumsy exhibition did not detract from the mesmerising atmosphere of the old fortified buildings. Having captured more than enough photos of crumbling walls and parapets, we made our way down to the township of Kardamyli via a dirt track that snaked through a sprawling olive grove. On our descent we rested at a picturesque little cafe called Old Kardamyli. It was just before midday, and the sun was hot. The cafe’s outdoor tables offered gorgeous views of the surrounding olive trees and distant blue water of the Messenian
Gulf, but the Greek coffee we ordered wasn’t ideal. It was possibly the weakest we’d tried since arriving in the country. However, we didn’t mind, because the setting was fabulous. A great location always makes coffee taste better.
We continued our descent to sea level, walked a short distance to the main street and checked out the town’s boutique and touristic shops. Spanning two small blocks, Kardamyli’s shopping precinct is diminutive. It has a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ feel for people passing through, even for those on foot.
After picking up some local postcards from a dusty old trinket shop, we headed to Tikla for lunch. This waterfront cuzina and wine bar had been recommended to us, and it was an absolute revelation! We ordered the following two dishes to share:
- beef burger patties with yoghurt, tomato and mint
- beetroot and goats cheese salad with guanciale, orange and hazelnuts.
While we were waiting for our meal, the waitress brought out complimentary bread, a hot tomato-based dip and a bowl of olives and rusks. She also placed a tiny bottle of complimentary olive oil on the table. It was amazing to graze on this meze
while the sea breeze drifted through the open dining area. We simply drizzled olive oil over the bread, then spread hot tomato dip on top. It was superb!
With a cold local beer at hand, I made use of our relaxed lunch break to write postcards to our family in Australia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. When our dishes were placed on the table, we couldn’t believe how good they looked, and we couldn’t believe how amazing they tasted! The char-grilled patties with yoghurt were sensational, and the beetroot and goats cheese salad was extraordinary. We finished the meal with two complimentary Greek coffees. We are usually reticent to give restaurant recommendations, but we have to break the rule when it comes to Tikla. The food is exceptional, the staff are exemplary, and the waterfront location – overlooking the Messinian Gulf – is unbelievable. We absolutely loved the place.
Feeling very relaxed and happy, we sauntered back to the post office in the main street, and we only just managed to get there in time! We arrived one minute before the place closed at 2:45pm. After stamping and posting our postcards, and being assured they
would arrive at their destinations within a week or so, we walked back along the coastline to our hotel, stopping at the Galazio Cafe Bar along the way to cool down with beer and ice cream.
We eventually arrived back at the hotel in the late afternoon. After catching up on my travel notes, I headed over the road for a final swim in the cool waters of the Messenian Gulf. With barely enough time to dry-off, we walked back into the township of Kardamyli around 7pm to join a local family for a home cooked meal.
We were met at the gate of an unassuming residential house by a very friendly Greek woman, and we soon discovered that the house was her mother’s. A long table with plastic chairs had been set in the back courtyard for us, and there was an intense amount of activity emanating from the family’s small kitchen. The elderly mother and her adult daughters were cooking
lalagia (a Greek doughnut), and they invited us to join them. I helped roll the pre-made dough into long thin lengths, while the mother – standing by the stove – folded and fried these in a
large pot of bubbling oil. The kitchen was packed with people, and the intermingling of Greek and English language created an incredibly heady atmosphere.
White wine in large plastic bottles was poured into plastic cups, which we sipped while the family worked feverishly to prepare our meal. It was an amazing experience, and the wine was fantastic. We eventually moved outside and settled at the long table in the courtyard, and the daughters placed an extremely generous selection of local dishes in front of us.
The home-cooked dishes included:
>
pastitsio (baked pasta with cheese, mince and bechamel sauce)
>
spetsofia (Greek stew with sausages, peppers, onions and wine)
> large bowls of salad
> large bowls of fresh bread
> plates of cheese (including feta)
> bowls of
tzatziki > bottles of beer
> endless glasses of white wine
> a selection of store-bought ice creams (I opted for a drumstick).
It didn’t take long before we were learning traditional Greek dances. I tried my best to keep up with our spirited hosts, dancing arm-in-arm in a circle around the courtyard while traditional Greek music played from a mobile phone. Ren was far more coordinated in
her dance steps, and she lasted much longer than me. It was a magical evening. I have no idea how many glasses of wine were poured and consumed during the meal, but judging by the quality of my photos towards the end of the evening, I would say the number was considerable. 😊
The night was getting late, and we had a thirty-minute walk back to the hotel in the dark. Before we set out, our friendly hosts informed us that dangerous wild boar roamed Kardamyli’s streets at night – especially along the deserted coastal roads. It certainly put a spring in our step!
SHE SAID... We woke to a beautiful sunny morning in
Kardamyli. Our private balcony had a gorgeous panoramic view of the sparkly sea, black rocky shore and green hills full of olive groves. Such a view is bound to put anyone in a great mood!
We had the whole day to ourselves with no engagement until dinner, but we wanted to get an early start to do some exploring before the sun got uncomfortably hot. We walked down to the Kardamyli Beach Hotel’s breakfast room and were faced with a slightly
odd sort of cobbled together bain-marie set up. The lady from reception wandered over and stood looking at us. We hadn’t had much to do with her until this point, but her demeanour at check-in made it very clear that she didn’t suffer fools. In other words, she seemed efficient enough, but wasn’t the most welcoming personality.
Well, my first impression of her turned out to be spot-on! When she asked you what you wanted, she expected an answer straightaway. Taking time to try to figure out the contents of the small trays and plates of food behind the glass was met with unspoken bristling. Questions were answered once, and once only. If you asked for clarification, she just stared back at you… with the metal tongs clicking in her hand. My dithering wasn’t going down well, so I did what ‘pre-cup-of-morning-tea’ me had to do – I pushed Andrew forward and let him face her irritated countenance… while I figured out what I wanted. 😄
There weren’t many food options, but what we got was tasty enough. I settled for a pot of tea, orange juice, fresh bread, fresh tomatoes, two small slices of savoury pie (a
cheese and dill, and a cheese and tomato), and a sweet pastry. Not having any self-service was very COVID-safe, but having to wait for staff to leave reception or another task to help you with every little thing such as getting a second slice of bread or another glass of juice, wasn’t very pleasant. I felt like I was intruding and/or being demanding. The only other non-buffet breakfast we’d had on this trip had been at Poros, and that hadn’t felt particularly relaxing either.
Nevertheless, our outdoor breakfast space was fabulous. With a view of the water beyond a well-manicured lawn, an already warm sun on my back, and a fresh sea breeze washing over us… we could forgive all the small peculiarities of the breakfast setup.
Not long after this, Andrew and I walked into Kardamyli village and retraced our steps to the Old Town. The 30-minute waterside walk was lovely, but a bit tiresome given I really wanted to get our day started. When we reached the yellow orthodox church with the large old olive tree (that had become our landmarks which separated our beach road and the village), we veered left and walked uphill to
revisit the complex of historical fortified stone buildings in the far corner of the Old Town. The Old Town and the fortified complex had looked lovely the evening before, but were even more glorious in broad daylight.
This area was ruled for centuries by clan families, and the 18th century Church of Ayios Spyridon with its octagonal dome and unusually pointy bell tower was the family church of the powerful Troupakides-Mourtzinoi family. The other eye-catching construction – the beautiful Mourtzinos Tower – was a four-storey tower with defensive features. Additional stone buildings in the complex included a house, a small kitchen, a cistern, an iron workshop, a barrel vault building used as a prison, an olive press, and a couple of defensive enclosures.
Most of the buildings were being used for a temporary art exhibition titled ‘The Revival of the Stones’. Even though I tend to love many aspects of modern art – and I did like a few pieces of the exhibition – the majority of what I saw was definitely not to my taste (or understanding). The main house in the complex also acts as a museum of sorts, containing a permanent photographic exhibition on the
traditional settlement of the Mani peninsula.
My favourite areas of the fortified complex were the arched Main Gate which beautifully framed an olive grove outside the fortifications, and the Mourtzinos Tower. While I’d loved the soft dusky light the tower had been bathed in the evening before, I’m very much a fan of appreciating angular architecture in strong daylight – especially when it produces stark shadows. As a side note to this, I should add that while photographing the Mourtzinos Tower the night before, I’d noticed the corner turrets of the tower had downward facing slits which gave it a frog-like face with a wonky window nostril! Having seen it, it was difficult to un-see it even a day later. There’s a psychological phenomenon called ‘pareidolia’ where people have a predisposition to see faces in random inanimate objects, and Andrew and I definitely have this tendency! 😊
We spent quite a while scrambling over the complex and taking far too many photos of the immense stone structures and the crumbling escarpments and arches. We eventually started walking back to the village, and as we meandered through the small Old Town we stumbled upon a pretty little cafe. We
weren’t sure if it was open, but a man eventually appeared and assured us we could order two Greek coffees. We settled at a table under grape vines and shady trees, and drank in the stunning view – Messinian Gulf to one side, the Taygetos Mountains to the other. The Greek coffee wasn’t great, but the setting was extremely picturesque.
I recently read an article that used the term ‘a slow-blooded life’, and to me, the Old Town of Kardamyli was the poster child for the type of slow-paced and peaceful life it advocated. It’s the sort of warm tranquillity I’d love to bottle and take back home to use on those stormy Tasmanian winter days.
I’ve probably said this before in the past week, but whenever we’ve strayed into local-ish areas without tourists, we’ve found the locals stare at us quite openly, sometimes even suspiciously. However, a simple
kalimera (good morning) and a smile absolutely changes the atmosphere. It not only draws a returned greeting, but with the older generation it sometimes also elicits laughs and nods of approval. I don’t think they expect anything even vaguely Greek to come out of the mouth of someone who
looks like me. 😄
Sadly, even after much cajoling from me, Andrew’s still a bit gun shy after his
kalimera effort in Hydra spilled out as CALAMARI and slightly startled an old woman. It probably also hasn’t helped that I’ve been giggling about it ever since. We have a few more weeks to go in Greece… I’m sure he’ll master it soon. 😊
We left the quiet leafy sanctuary of the Old Town and started exploring the charming but compact main street of the village. I say ‘exploring’, but really, it was over and done in a matter of minutes. The small street was full of cafes and tourist shops selling products that ranged from cheap souvenirs to local handcrafted objects, but only three of the shops drew us in – a bookshop and two jewellery shop. I like to buy a piece of local jewellery from each country I visit and had been hanging out to check out the local shops in Kardamyli, but sadly the jewellery was mostly of the beaded or chucky variety which wasn’t what I was looking for. We bought some postcards, and then scouted all the cafes for a lunch venue.
As luck would have it, we ran into Georgia (our group leader) who recommended Tikla on the waterfront, and it was sensational. Just a few doors down from our dinner spot at Lela’s the previous night, we sat at a table on the undercover terrace and settled in for a relaxed afternoon. As we received our drinks, we were presented with complimentary bread which came with a small bottle of olive oil, tomato relish, a bowl of olives and rusks. By now we had learnt the Greek way of drenching the bread and rusks in the olive oil… and it was exceptionally good! I also love this Greek custom of not allowing your guests to drink without some form of accompanying food! 😊
We ordered two dishes to share – grilled beef patties which came with yoghurt, tomato and mint; and a salad of beetroot with goats’ cheese, guanciale, orange and hazelnuts. And they were both absolutely delicious! I began to wish that I was much hungrier so I could taste the other dishes on the menu too. The view of the water from our terrace was beautiful, but to be very honest, the food they served us was
so luscious that I couldn’t have cared less about the view.
While we waited for the bill, we also received complimentary Greek coffees. This place had already won our hearts with their views and amazing food, but their service and hospitality really deserved high praise as well. We both wished we had an extra day in Kardamyli to come back for another meal!
Andrew had written all the postcards over lunch, so our next task was to navigate the Greek postal system and post them to our families in Australia, the UK and the UAE. We made it through the doors of the post office just minutes before closing time. The sole gentleman at the counter was extremely helpful, and the postal process was very straightforward. We often joke that we need to be better at documenting the idiosyncrasies of the postal systems and postal staff in the various countries we’ve sent postcards from – ranging from weird to frustrating to even grossly smelly! But I’m digressing big time. 😊
As we left the post office, we ran into four members of our group who were returning from an optional kayaking trip. This was essentially our last
full day of the trip together, and we decided an afternoon drink was in order. We opted for a cafe near our hotel and settled in their shady courtyard for drinks, coffees and ice creams.
Since we’d arrived in Kardamyli, we’d been trying to get a grasp of where the other tourists in the town were mainly from. And as we had suspected the day before, we heard a lot of German in the village. With the peak summer period over, there seemed to be lots of local tourists about too… or so I thought. Georgia later informed me that even though they were speaking Greek, it was heavily accented. So, I can only assume they were tourists of Greek heritage who lived in countries such as Australia.
After a brief rest back at the hotel, we walked to a local home for a homecooked meal and a demonstration on how to make
lalagia (a local doughnut). We were warmly welcomed to a house on a small suburban street. We walked down the side of the house into their backyard and entered their home through the kitchen… like family and friends would do. The small kitchen was already
packed with the elderly owner of the house, her two English speaking middle-aged daughters, and two of the daughters’ friends who had come over to help with the cooking. The cat lovers among us had noted that there were about half a dozen cats and kittens lazing around the backyard… aka awaiting our love! 😊
We were ushered into seats around the kitchen table and offered what they called ‘our own’ white wine from plastic bottles. They had already made the dough for the
lalagia doughnuts and we helped hand roll the dough into what I would call breadstick sized long rolls. These were rested a few minutes to form a light skin before the mother double twisted the dough around her hand (like you would coil up a length of rope) and deep fried them. A few of us helped with the rolling of the dough, but Andrew really took to it and did most of the work. 😊
We were then moved to a long table set up in the courtyard and served a hearty meal that consisted of
pastitsio (a lasagne-like dish baked with tubular pasta at the base and minced meat and a cheese
and bechamel/white sauce on top); a local Mani peninsula salad similar to the one we’d had at Lela’s the night before (tomatoes, cucumber, white onions, yellow cheese, salted pork, olives, orange and dried oregano); baskets of fresh bread; a sausage, onion and wine dish called
spetsofia; freshly made
tzatziki (dip of yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, salt and olive oil); plates of various local cheeses; and bowls of the
lalagia we’d just made. The
lalagia was really light and delicious when freshly fried, but became a bit too dense and oily for my liking as the night wore on.
The meal was simple but very substantial. Dessert was equally simple with a large bowl of mini-ice creams placed in the middle of the table. The mini vanilla and raspberry swirl magnum-type one I had was the perfect size, temperature and fresh flavour after a heavy meal on a hot night.
Our hosts were very generous with drinks, and the bottles of beer and glasses of white wine flowed freely all night. This might have contributed to me asking about Greek dancing and some of the ladies took it upon themselves to teach us a few dances. The first dance they
tried to teach us was a bit too complex for newbies (who’d also consumed a bit of wine), but then the famous ‘Zorba’s Dance’ song started playing and the relatively easier steps of the
sirtaki found more success with us. The group did a few circuits of the small cemented floor of the courtyard, but then started dropping out one by one… after Andrew sat down, it was just Dani and I left with our three hosts for a few more circuits. Dani had a knack for picking up the steps very quickly, and I only lasted as long as I did by following her lead.
I was mortified when it came to light that Liz had made a video of us dancing, and I had visions of it being played on the Greek version of Funniest Home Videos. Thankfully it really didn’t look too bad. In hindsight though, the family of cats who had to scatter from the reach of our clumsy feet, and the budgie who was knocked around its cage at least twice by a wayward head… may have a different tale to tell. 😄
The evening had gone quickly and we hadn’t realised how
late it was getting. So when the cat broke the pot plant plate it was sitting on, we took it as a sign that we should leave. 😊
These local home visits (as well as homestays) are one of the things we look for in our trips with Intrepid Travel. It not only gives us an experience we could never find on our own, but more importantly it gives local families a step into the tourist industry that supplements their income. It means a lot to us that the benefits of tourism are shared more evenly around the communities we visit. All in all, it had been a fun evening, and we were very grateful for the opportunity to get to know some locals and be showered by their hospitality.
The walk back to the hotel should have been a pleasant affair on that balmy night, but it was impossible to enjoy as I was a bit on edge. As we’d wrapped up the evening, the family had warned us that wild boars had started coming into the village at night to look for food. Mariana and I were walking ahead of the others, and we got quite
spooked when Pedro and Andrew announced they had seen two massive boars behind some bushes we’d just walked past! Given the boys were laughing (plus taking into account the number of beers they’d consumed), I remained unconvinced that they’d actually seen wild boars… but a small part of me kept remembering that we’d heard a rustling noise too. Considering neither Mariana or I are stoic types, I’m sure the whole of Kardamyli would have heard us scream if anything even closely resembling a wild boar had stepped out in front of us! 😄
And on that slightly dramatic note, our time in Kardamyli had come to an end. It had been a relatively short visit, but we’d got to know the village quite well in that time. I felt we’d filled our time with a good balance of experiencing everything the village had to offer. Having said that, we had exhausted ourselves and I was extremely glad I’d packed that morning… and could now shower and crawl into bed at the stroke of midnight.
We often talk about returning to places we’ve loved, and on this Greece trip our list was getting longer with each new place visited.
However, as much as I’d loved Kardamyli, I very much doubted we’d travel to this far south western corner of the Mani Peninsula again. I really shouldn’t try to predict the future, but I very much felt this was going to be a final thank you and goodbye to Kardamyli.
Postscript edit: I feel I should make a small confession at this point. All our hotel rooms were on the same floor, and when Mariana, Pedro, Andrew and I were walking past Dani’s room, I impulsively knocked on her door and ran. The other three then panicked, and also ran down the hallway and hid in a room. Mariana was last into the room, and Dani spotted her… so Mariana got the blame! I meant to own up to Dani at some point, but totally forgot about it until right now. So, Dani and Mariana, I’m sorry… the first drink when we next catch up is on me. 😄
Next, we travel northeast back to Athens – the Capital of Greece.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Yum
I could live on bread and olives! Sorry you were taking too long to order. This lady wanted decisiveness. Sounds like a lot of fun wine and dancing. Carry On.