Peloponnese

If you drive from Athens to the Peloponnese, you cannot avoid it. You drive over the Corinth Canal, so definitely a reason to stop and take a look. The Peloponnese seems to be very beautiful. Everyone hears about it, the nature, the beaches, the nice villages. We are curious.

Corinth Canal

A 'must see' according to the books and it was. The Roman emperor Nero was the first to propose to dig a canal, so that ships from Italy would not have to go all the way around the Peloponnese. However, it took until 1893 before the 23 meter wide canal was actually dug.

There is an exit to the canal from both the north and the south, very easy to stop if you are on your way. It's already impressive when you drive over it, but when you stand on it? Wow what a special channel. On the bridge you look steeply down and is less suitable for people with a fear of heights. I had also heard that people sometimes get dizzy, but nothing like that with me. It was cool to be on the bridge. Unfortunately we didn't see any ships passing through it, because they were at work.

Nowadays the large tankers can no longer get through at all, some cruise ships still can and that seems to be a very nice sight.

It is a tourist spot, because the buses with students and cruise travelers also stop there. So it can be busy, but we think it is definitely worth it.

Mycenae

The most important historical site in the Peloponnese. It is an ancient city, or what is left of it, from 1200 B.C. The complex was only rediscovered in 1874 and if you walk around now you only see remains of stones and you need a lot of empathy to see what it was.

The Lion Gate is beautiful, which you walk under when you enter the city. This has remained intact, as has the Tomb of Atreus. The Mycenaeans buried their dead in tombs and they were given enough food, drink and weapons for the journey through the underworld.

I thought the tomb was the most beautiful of Mycenae, it is really well preserved. And the views from the ruins over the surrounding hills are also beautiful. The town itself was a bit less for me. Yet it seems to be quite popular, luckily we were only there at 5 p.m. and with 1.5 hours we had seen it.

This allowed us to continue our journey the next day to Gythio in the very south of Peloponnese (on the middle peninsula)

Gythio

There were two reasons why I wanted to go there; the shipwreck and the village of Monemvasia.

We stayed at camping Meltememi. Fairly large campsite, with new sanitary facilities. The area is also suitable for surfing because of the wind that blows there. The disadvantage is that they have not made windows in the showers, so a cold wind blows into the sanitary facilities. That was a lot of shaking at times.

The beach in front of the campsite is special, because in July the sea turtles come here to lay their eggs. A month later, the little turtles hatch and find their way to the sea. The nests are protected with bamboo poles. There are no beach chairs and umbrellas in the summer on this very long stretch of beach - where there are even more campsites. It's a pity it's not July, I would have loved to see the turtles.

At Gythion there is also a shipwreck on the beach. The wreck stranded there in the 1980s. According to rumors, it was used for cigarette smuggling. They just left it alone. It is special to see that on such a beautiful beach there is a large wreck. Many tourists now come to see it, so I understand that it is now interesting to ignore it.

Rudolf went into the water and filmed the wreck up close, you'll see in the weekly vlog if that went well :-) haha.

And then on the way to Monemvasia. It is located about seventy kilometers from the Gythio, all the way on the right peninsula. You drive at least seventy minutes to get there. The road to it is surprisingly good, like many roads here in Greece, these are really much better than, for example, in the south of Italy.

Monemvasia was once separated from the mainland by an earthquake and is now connected to the mainland again via a dike. Monemvasia comes from the Greek for 'single entrance'. There is only one gate through which you can enter the city. This is a small gate, no cars can go through.

When we get to the gate, we see several carts on which the water, fruit and towels for the hotels are placed. They are driven one by one into the town.

If you go through the gate, through a zigzag corridor, you will arrive on the other side in a town that really looks like it did in the 15th century. You are right in a whole different world. What a surprise this town is. The lower town has been partly restored and there are small shops, restaurants and a few hotels. Remember that you also have to walk through those medieval streets with your large suitcase to your hotel. I don't want to think about it, but there are people who do.

The upper town has not been restored and it is also quite a climb to it. Bring water I would say. We didn't. Rudolf had picked a restaurant all the way on the other side (end) of the city. That seems far, but it was only a 10 minute walk.

We had a delicious lunch there and enjoyed the view. Because the view is beautiful. You look far away over the sea and if you are lucky, sailing boats pass by.

Monemvasia is definitely recommended. Unfortunately now discovered by tourists, fortunately the students were just leaving the town when we just arrived.

Olympia

The place where the Olympic Games originated and where the fire of the Olympic Games is still lit today (at the Temple of Hera)

From 776 B.C. to 393 AD the games were held here every four years, until it was banned. In the beginning it was only about running and later more disciplines were added.

The resurrection of the games happened in 1896 with the first modern games in Athens

What a complex to see. Especially now in the spring when the trees are in bloom. All colors meet you, the light and dark green, but also purple and white blossom. And you can smell that too, unfortunately I can't pass that on in a blog or in the vlog.

You can also clearly see the contours of the buildings, various pillars and it is well described what it is. It was wonderful to wander around here.

And you pay one price for three sights, because you can also visit two museums. Definitely worth it in that regard.

And it's great that the entrance tunnel to the stadium is still intact.

Oh yes, bring some water for the walk. There is limited shade on the site and there are no facilities, except toilets.

We went to the museum of the Olympic Games. This does concern the old games, so you see old medals and certificates, old posters, etc.

Here we found out that the stadium was used for a shot put competition in 2004. No facilities have been rigged up for this, so it has been used as it was then and is now.

So sitting on the ground, no grandstands, only for the jury, no buildings erected for athletes or press (temporary facilities at most). Only the access road and the main street - which is now pedestrian - have been modified.

After the museum we went looking for a supermarket, but they are not much here. We did eat delicious gyros in the main street. This street is a combination of souvenir shops, jewelers and authentic shops. There are so many jewelers because the American cruise passengers come here and buy a lot of gold and silver.

We stayed at camping Alfios. The sporty types can walk from this campsite to Olympia, it is only a 1 km walk. Back, however, it is uphill!

We were lucky to get a spot at camping Alfios. On the same day, an 'we're almost there' group from the ANWB would arrive. The tour guides were busy numbering the places and after an hour or two the first 'equipes' arrived. So the campsite was full. As seen on TV, so it is in real life. Nothing has been installed. Welcome drink, singing together when it's someone's birthday, doing the laundry, visiting a restaurant, at 08.30 we all go to Olympia and so on. Very nice to see.

In our opinion, the Peloponnese is definitely worth it. It shows you a different Greece than the north. The Greece feeling was finally a bit present here. Although Rudolf still hoped to see the pictures of Santorini haha.

Thermoús chairetismoús Lefkada (Lefkada)