Monemvasia Castle!
Today had the perfect balance. An active morning and a relaxing afternoon. Perfect!
We are staying in a simple two-star hotel on the waterfront. When we arrived yesterday afternoon, we were given a small unit facing off the back of the hotel, and on the busy street. We were supposed to get an upgrade through booking.com to a front unit with sea views. We don’t usually complain, but…So Annemarie went down and talked to the owners, and they said that the upgrade was subject to availability. And you guessed it, there was no availability. I decided to try my luck and went down and chatted as well. The end result was that we were moved to a smaller unit, but with sea views. So at least when we sit on our little deck, we can see the Med and the rocky beach. A small adjustment that’s made all the difference in our experience.
After my first sleep of more than 5 hours in the past week I was feeling much better this morning. Following a very good breakfast at the hotel (part of our booking) we began walking out to the island. There is a causeway running out to the ‘rock’, and it’s just over 2 kilometres long. A nice wake up stroll.😀
A little history courtesy of AI for those interested;
- Foundation (583–583 AD): Laconian residents founded the fortified settlement under Byzantine Emperor Maurice as a safe refuge from Slavic and Arab invasions.
- Byzantine Golden Age (13th–14th Centuries): It grew into a powerhouse naval, commercial, and trade center with up to 40,000 residents, remaining fiercely autonomous while exporting the world-famous sweet Malvasia (Malmsey) wine.
- Foreign Rule (15th–18th Centuries): After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, control shifted back and forth multiple times between the Venetians (who called it Napoli di Malvasia) and the Ottoman Empire.
The town is really a joy to wander. Lots happening with small shops and cafes and of course no motorized vehicles are allowed inside the walls. For one they wouldn’t fit through the z shaped gate. And even if that was overcome they wouldn’t fit the narrow pathways.🙄
A very quiet, peaceful place to wander and enjoy early morning before the tourist buses arrive.
After walking the lower town for a while, it was time to climb up to the aptly named upper town. There were only a few tourists in town at that time, so the climb was relatively quiet.
Most of the tour groups and cruisers who bus here from the port 90 minutes away don’t go to upper town, however, quite a few others climb up far enough to visit the beautifully restored Byzantine church, Hahia Sofia.
As mentioned, I had hoped to get to the top of the rock for the view back to town. One definitely needs a decent pair of shoes, and I was glad that I’d thought to put mine on. It was a fairly nice climb and there were all sorts of ruins along the way which kept things interesting.
A sign was posted at the bottom of the climb asking visitors to respect the unique floral found on the island. What I found helped make the walk very pleasurable. Small clutches of colourful flowers, almost potted into the pockets of the limestone.
Sleep assisted, I eventually made it to the top during a warm enough morning. The views were worth the effort!
Annemarie texted me that she had reached Hahia Sophia and was going to descend to lower town to find a nice place to have a cold drink. I was to join her there when I finished. She later texted me. that she was sitting on a nice shaded terrace with a great view. Something to look forward to.🍹
I found another route back which eventually took me along the western walls that we had passed underneath as we approached the main gate.
There are many more ruins as well.
I eventually made it back into lower town where I joined Annemarie on the terrace she’d found. I was soaked with sweat and an ice cold cola went down very nicely.😊
We walked into town, and I went onto the small grocery to pick up some food for our lunch, which we enjoyed on our balcony.
It was then time for a dip into the Med, finally.
As I am apt to do, I struck up a conversation with a woman who had grown up in Canada before immigrating back with her parents 44 years ago when she was just 22. She lives in town and has grown children and grandchildren. Had a nice chat about the area, and she said that September and October are typically the best months of the year. This past September had been very windy and she was hoping that October would be calmer. So far so good.
Tomorrow we travel northwards along the east coast for a one night stand at Leonidio before completing our visit to the Peloponnese with a 3 night visit to Nafplion. So far so good!
See you tomorrow!
Geoff🍻
