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Published: March 27th 2016
Dimitsana Taverna
First glass of Greek wineThe olive harvest had just finished.
They hand pick from December to March
from olive groves seemingly covering
every inch of Greece.
The result was fresh preserved olives
and cloudy fresh pressed olive oil
that tasted like none we have ever tasted
sweet, pungent and delicious.
We saw none of this
because we arrived in Athens at 2:30 am
We left Friday right after work
and flew through the night.
We had a layover in Warsaw, Poland
where Kevin had a run-in with
the LOT departure agent
who woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
She threatened to take Kevin off the flight
because of a carry-on issue.
We worked it out and were on our way.
Met at the airport by the rental car rep.
Then off to the Peloponnese…
dark, quiet, eerie toll roads
(think Atlanta Walking Dead eerie)
We stopped at a gas station
to buy gas, water, map
Friendly, clean… no zombies!
Stopped by the Corinth Canal
Still dark, windy and cool!
But the perfect time to see
the canal lit at the bottom.
Constructed in the 1880s,
It is a deep narrow sea level canal
connecting the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea
with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea
Back on the toll road
What to do now? 2 hours to sunrise.
Hotel in mountains ready at 11 am.
Let’s go to Mycenae
the mysterious stronghold city
of the Mycenaean empire
The ruinous outer walls were lit
with amazing affect as the moon rose
over the mountains.
The guard said we could stay in the parking lot
until it opened at 8 am
Kevin slept, twilight crept in
then the glorious warmth of the sun.
Walked around – looked over the valley
filled with a patchwork of olive and orange groves.
Mountains beyond dusted with fresh snow.
Signs of spring everywhere with earthly smells,
fruit tree blossoms, wild flowers, and George’s allergies.
A leisurely walk through the ruins and museum
- we were the only tourists
Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae
The entrance to the domed tomb there!
Amazing cyclopean stonework – the size of stone
similar to the Incas in Cuzco and Machu Picchu.
Greeks thought only the mythical Cyclopes
had the strength to move the enormous boulders
Finally, Agamemnon’s great domed tomb
with its dwarfing entrance.
On to Dimitisana in the mountains of Arcadia
A quick stop to pick out a bakery breakfast in Levidi
Winding mountain roads
finally lead us to the red-roofed village
of Dimitsana perched on the mountain side
looking over the Lucious Gorge
Asked directions and found Amanites Guesthouse
Friendly Panos and Maria
enthusiastically greeted us with coffee and cookies
Beautiful room with balcony overlooking
the village and valley beyond
A 2 hour rest, walk through the village,
then tour of the Water Power Museum
- flour mills, leather works,
wool fulling tubs, gun powder stamp mill
Fascinating the way these people harnessed energy!
Then we walked on to the Emilian monastery
No monks to be found, but peacefully quiet
we left money for the cherry liquor and bay leaves
we
Dimitsana
From our balcony in Amanites Guesthouse took from their little shop.
Back home and walk to dinner in the village
- rooster in red sauce, baked eggplant,
Greek salad (of course), fresh baked bread,
and BOXED wine?
Coffee house for a cappuccino
before heading off to bed.
What a great first day!
Sunday, March 6
th Breakfast with Panos
grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
homemade jams, and Greek yogurt!
Drive to our much anticipated monastery walk
down, down, down to parking
then walk to Prodromou Monastary
perched on the cliff wall
Friendly monk guided us to the visitor part
We had wandered into the private kitchen area
- we always check out open doors.
A small chapel –carved into the cliff, dark,
but beautifully decorated
Continued our walk down to the bottom of
the Lucious Gorge, cross the bridge over rushing stream
up the other side to New and Old Philosophers Monasteries
Friendly monk provided us with refreshments
cool water and fruit candies
After exploring the abandoned old monastery
we hiked back across the
valley to our car
Drive through some more red-roofed villages.
Stopped in Stemnitsa for a bakery snack,
then on to Zatouna to try a taverna
recommended by Panos
- just a salad there and then on to
the guidebook recommended Zerzova in Panagia
Great atmosphere, friendly service, good wine
wild boar, lamb, dessert
Home and a visit with Maria while sipping tsipouro,
a brandy made from the residue of the wine pressings
Monday March 7
th Breakfast and conversation with Maria
pack and drive to Kardamyli
stop in Levidi for more bakery pastries – why not?
Out of the mountains and onto the new freeway
many toll booths and tunnels until Kalamata
then winding narrow road through rocky terrain.
Finally, arrive in Kardamyli and find our apartment
Friendly Elias welcomed us with a few stories
about this place - the Mani –
how it drew him back after years in Australia;
how the people here retreated to the surrounding mountains
to avoid dominance by the many invaders of Greece;
how the feuding families never came
together
to fight a as a unified force;
how stubborn the people,
yet they feel an obligation to welcome strangers.
A drive through town yields no open restaurants,
we are here in the off season,
so we stopped at the small supermarket
for some yogurt and a tomato, feta cheese.
We had picked up some wine in Kalamata,
Elias provided some fresh olive oil and olives.
We would make our own meal!
It was amazing on the veranda of our beautiful apartment
at the top of Elias’ tower house replica, overlooking the sea!
A leisurely nap
and walk along the cobble beach
to watch the sun go down
a walk into the village for dinner.
Meager choices so we stopped for
a Greek salad (you can’t go wrong),
lamb and skewered chicken
washed down with 500 ml pots of house wine.
We walked home in the dark to find
a pile of books and maps that Elias had promised.
We sat at the table perusing this treasure trove
- poems by Elias,
books on the Mani,
and George’s favorite – a tome on olives
(Olives, Mort Rosenblum)
Tuesday, March 8
th Coffee and cookies and yogurt with musli on the veranda
listening to the mourning doves coo
and the waves crash on the nearby shore.
The sun eventually working its way to the veranda
just sitting and soaking up the warmth of its rays.
Hang laundry on the drying rack and make plans for the day.
A hike up to Old Kardamyli,
to the side by side graves of Castor and Pollux.
We are in the land that mixes history, mystery, and myth.
We hiked even further up the stone path
enjoying the olive groves tucked here and there
on the steep rocky mountain side.
Flowers dotting the path, adding color to the green.
This stone path with steps that have been walked on
for hundreds or thousands of years.
It is easy to imagine when you are in this place,
looking down through the sea haze
to the village with tower houses, church domes,
bell towers
and roofs of red tile.
Stopped by the grocer for some bread and tomatoes for lunch
We forgot the tomato, but when we arrived at the apartment
Antonia (Elias’ mom) was out and showed us her garden.
She gave us two of her winter tomatoes, cut a head of Romaine,
some fennel, dug two carrots, and picked some shell peas
and a lemon from her lemon tree. Gardener heaven!
We gratefully put it all together
with her Kalamata olives and fresh olive oil
for an amazing salad lunch.
We decided to head south on the Mani Peninsula
through several villages to see
the Caves of Pyrgos Dirous.
We and two ladies from Athens
were paddled through the cave in a boat.
Many magical stalactites and columns along the lit route
reflecting in the water surface.
We had several interesting chats with Elias
- the Mani are kindred spirits with the Scottish
both with their warring clans
- his fond memories of times with Patick Leigh Fermor,
an Englishman who made his home in
Karamyli,
(after a walk through Europe at age 18
and capturing a German general on Crete during WWII).
Elias supplied us with two more armloads of books and hiking maps
- a bio of Fermor, more poetry by Hafiz.
Out to the local cafeteria for a pizza dinner
with the locals all gathered to watch tv.
A nightcap of Tsipouro and Ouzo.
Wednesday, March 9
th Kevin fixed bacon and local farm eggs
with a hunk of crusty bread to wipe up the yolk.
The egg yolks were so yellow
they hurt your eyes to look at them. Delicious!
We took a leisurly walk through the village,
stopping at the pier to sit and watch the waves.
The clouds seemed stuck in the sky.
We bought a local cookbook at the booksellers.
Voula Kyriakea wrote this book
because of something a man once said to her:
“Share the beautiful things in your life.
If you keep them to yourself they will only diminish
and lose their beauty.”
We stopped in at a naturalist shop
which sells their own natural products,
including honey, olive oil, pasta
We tasted several types of honey – pine, fir, sage, thyme.
We left with pine and thyme honey and hilopites pasta.
Further down the street we popped in at the pharmacy.
We were greeted and looked around this all-in-one tiny shop.
Kevin found some shoes and olive oil skin products.
I found some allergy medicine and some ibuprofen
-we always buy ibuprofen in the EU because
they have stronger doses than Belarus
We met a charming American customer who moved to Kardamyli.
She invited us for wine at her house later that evening.
Home to rest before Elias came up for our history lesson.
He is a gifted storyteller, able to pose a problem at the beginning
then weave a thread far and wide before bringing you back
at the end to surprisingly solve the problem.
We interrupted our lesson to go down
to cook dinner with Mrs. Antonia in her kitchen.
We had asked Elias to arrange a cooking lesson.
She showed how to prepare
baked giant beans.
She also prepared a beautiful salad from her garden
and halvas for dessert.
It was delightful to be in her kitchen
full of ripening winter tomatoes
and the warmth of her olive wood fired oven.
We sat on her porch and visited
while waiting for the beans to cook in the oven.
We took our meal on our veranda.
Elias came back up to regale us with more history and stories
until darkness crept in and we shared some tsiperos to warm us.
The next day we decided to find
the abandoned villa of Patrick Leigh Fermor!
Thursday, March 10
th Up early to visit the villa and grounds of Patty,
Kevin and I nervously make our way to the villa
unseen from the remote road.
We tried the gate; it was locked.
We continued along the rock wall
to a place where it has fallen down and scramble over.
We heard that we might meet the gardener, Kristos,
blond, 2 meters tall – “He likes to play chess.”
I think I might ask
him to play if we bump into him.
We first saw Patty’s hut
- a square stone villa with roof veranda.
Peeking through the windows
we saw his writing desk, but no typewriter
(As a kid Elias used to fix the jammed keys)
There was a box on the desk stating:
“Working pens as long as you put the lids back on”
The patios and courtyards were covered
in mosaics of small white black and red stones.
Many seating areas to relax and enjoy the sea views.
We found his secret stairs down to the private cove.
Truly a magical space.
Then a 3 hour drive to Nafplio.
checked into the charming Pension Marianna
perched at the top of the old town
with many stairs down to the shops and restaurants.
We had lunch at Mezedopoleio O Noulis,
more walking and then recommended gelato at
Antica Gelateria di Roma
Back home to relax - another walk through town – sleep
Friday, March 11
Breakfast, check out,
then visit Nafplio’s folk art museum with
Epidavros Theater
Hear the coin drop? cultural costumes
from around the Peloponnese
A quick drive to the amazing Epidavros theater,
the best preserved theater in Greece.
The acoustics are still perfect - from the top row
you can hear a coin drop in the orchestra
We drove into Athens and checked into Hera Hotel
City driving is for the birds. We ditched our car
for walking and the metro.
We ate a late lunch of baked pies with the pigeons
on a bench in Syntagma Square
Busy with people going here and there, some lingering,
one yelling, protesting something.
A short walk to the Benaki Museum
and a walk through time in ancient Greece
More amazing pottery, sculptures and regional clothing
Walked around the Acropolis
Congregate with others on Mars Rock
with amazing views of the Acropolis
lit by the setting sun, showing off its honey colored stone
Dinner in a small restaurant near the Acropolis.
Waiter seems to know more about American politics than we do.
We found that people in Greece a very interested in the election.
Saturday, March 12
th Breakfast and a quick walk to the Acropolis
We enter as the ancient Greeks did
Up many stairs and through the imposing gateway, the Propylaea
and by the recently restored Temple of Athena Nike
A short walk to the immense Parthenon
with massive columns of stacked marble drums.
The final structure on the Acropolis is the Erechtheum
the third temple to Athens’ namesake Athena
This temple has the caryatids supporting the eastern porch
We exited and walked to the Acropolis Museum,
A beautiful modern building that complements the Acropolis
with its suspended galleries and open views to the ruins
Here are housed most of the original remaining sculptures
and the top floor is designed to the exact size and orientation
of the Parthenon with the frieze in its original position
Leisurely walk around the various neighborhoods around the Acropolis
dinner of souvlaki - shish kebab chicken, fries and salad in a pita
Surprised by a small Carnival parade passing by.
Long walk home.
Sunday, March 12
Prepare to travel home
One
last walk through Athens
Metro to the airport, layover in Vienna
Home at 1 am
Pleasantly exhausted and ready for more.
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