How are the Ashes then? Sunday 11th April.
Mystras back to Zacharo
Today we are on a bit of a tight schedule as the car turns back into 6 white mice and a pumpkin at about 4 and there is a lot to be seen and done. There is also quite a long way to go and several mountain ranges. So off we set to the ruined village of Mystras and the first thing to amaze us was that we were allowed in for free. Not, we hasten to add because they thought we were pensioners but because on the first Sunday of every month all museums and historical sites are free and since last Sunday was Easter day it presumably hadn’t counted. Old Mystras was another Byzantine fortified town and the former administrative centre for the Plain of Sparta. Today there is one functioning church and a monastery occupied by nuns. It is here we think that Eddie Enfield fell under the spell of a young nun who he described as being able to look inside his soul. I suggested to Vivi that if she looked into mine she wouldn’t see much and was a little disappointed by her reply! The ruins with their narrow cobbled alleys, tunnels and archways are very beautiful. Being a ruin, wild flowers have sprouted everywhere and the ‘garden tour’ people we’d met at breakfast were having a ‘field day’ discovering new species or at least things which they had never seen before.
The convent (we think)
Ancient streets
Cupola with beautiful ceiling paintings.
View of the church from higher up.
Old Administrative buildings.
We then went to the top of the mountain to see the castle
Aquaduct to the castle.
The castle
The Illia Plain, there were 5 tractors working here but they seem to have disappeared!
which in the space of three weeks since we were last there had turned into a ploughed and drilled farmscape to rival anything in Suffolk or Norfolk. Up to 5 tractors working in any one field, irrigation pipes everywhere and the sheep and goats all moved to the sides. They grow cotton, wheat, alfalfa and another crop being planted individually by a large team of workers. We had fun watching a flock of yellow wagtails on the plough, a real blend of colours We saw a banana tree complete with fruit and a curious bell shaped thing dangling down which must have been part of it but not sure what part! We ate a picnic on the beach and both swam, the first time since we’d caught those terrible colds and the sea is definitely getting warmer! We arrived in Pyrgos feeling full of sun and well exercised as the 30 miles are mostly on gravel tracks which are pretty bumpy. Then as Alec said, on the bus and in Patras by nightfall.
Mystras back to Zacharo
Today we are on a bit of a tight schedule as the car turns back into 6 white mice and a pumpkin at about 4 and there is a lot to be seen and done. There is also quite a long way to go and several mountain ranges. So off we set to the ruined village of Mystras and the first thing to amaze us was that we were allowed in for free. Not, we hasten to add because they thought we were pensioners but because on the first Sunday of every month all museums and historical sites are free and since last Sunday was Easter day it presumably hadn’t counted. Old Mystras was another Byzantine fortified town and the former administrative centre for the Plain of Sparta. Today there is one functioning church and a monastery occupied by nuns. It is here we think that Eddie Enfield fell under the spell of a young nun who he described as being able to look inside his soul. I suggested to Vivi that if she looked into mine she wouldn’t see much and was a little disappointed by her reply! The ruins with their narrow cobbled alleys, tunnels and archways are very beautiful. Being a ruin, wild flowers have sprouted everywhere and the ‘garden tour’ people we’d met at breakfast were having a ‘field day’ discovering new species or at least things which they had never seen before.
The convent (we think)
Ancient streets
Cupola with beautiful ceiling paintings.
Old Administrative buildings.
We then went to the top of the mountain to see the castle
Aquaduct to the castle.
From there we headed over the Taygetos mountain towards Kalamata then up a valley which we had hoped we could cycle along to a train station at Zevgolatio where we would learn if it was possible to put our bikes on a train and get to Korinthos - the canal, as I’ve never seen it. The short answer was NO (in lengthy Greek) which was a pity as from Corinth we would have liked to cycle back to Patras and then caught the ferry to Igoumenitsa.
We stopped for petrol in Kalamata – all petrol stations here are staffed, none of that filling it up yourself lark. We were amazed to see the cash till stuffed full of money perched on a chair out on the forecourt.
Anyway we made it back to the hire company who kindly dropped us 15ks back up the road so that we could catch a bus back to Theo’s house where we had left the bikes. The buses have an equally relaxed attitude to cash. You just get on board and at the same time as driving, the driver has a box full of money which he digs around in and passes the tickets back to whoever needs one. It is all very relaxed and crime doesn’t seem to be any kind of problem. This evening we tried a different taverna. Whilst here last weekend we had walked past it on the beach and everything was covered in sand and it looked as though it would never open again. However, in our absence a massive spring clean had been done and it was up and running. Again we were talked into eating fish but this time we had the presence of mind to ask how much first and got the price down to 20 euros which was an awful lot better than last time. The fish was better too. Supper took a long time as the owner and his mate were playing a crucial game of backgammon with much shouting, slamming down of the counters and the dice frequently flying across the floor. All a bit reminiscent of the ante room pre lunch RHG/D at Combermere. Since I‘ve hardly played since those days I didn’t think that offering to take on the winner would go down too well. On the occasions that the owner had to go to the kitchen his backgammon partner talked to us and was enormously informative and well educated. He spoke perfect English and as far as we could gather, several other languages too. We learnt lots more about olive farming, water sources, wine and life in general. Vivi fed a pack of starving strays the entire contents of our bread basket dipped in the fishy oil which was the residue of our meal.
Monday 12th April.
Zacharo to Patras
Having failed in our attempt to get to Corinth via a southern route and having decided against going to spend a week on Zakinthos, we set off cycling to Pyrgos with the intention of either taking a train or a bus from there to Patras. To our utter amazement we were allowed on the bus which left an hour before the train so that was a bonus, and we were also allowed back into the hotel we’d been in before so it was pretty much like coming home.
On the ride to Pyrgos we passed through the same vast agricultural plain
We stopped for petrol in Kalamata – all petrol stations here are staffed, none of that filling it up yourself lark. We were amazed to see the cash till stuffed full of money perched on a chair out on the forecourt.
Anyway we made it back to the hire company who kindly dropped us 15ks back up the road so that we could catch a bus back to Theo’s house where we had left the bikes. The buses have an equally relaxed attitude to cash. You just get on board and at the same time as driving, the driver has a box full of money which he digs around in and passes the tickets back to whoever needs one. It is all very relaxed and crime doesn’t seem to be any kind of problem. This evening we tried a different taverna. Whilst here last weekend we had walked past it on the beach and everything was covered in sand and it looked as though it would never open again. However, in our absence a massive spring clean had been done and it was up and running. Again we were talked into eating fish but this time we had the presence of mind to ask how much first and got the price down to 20 euros which was an awful lot better than last time. The fish was better too. Supper took a long time as the owner and his mate were playing a crucial game of backgammon with much shouting, slamming down of the counters and the dice frequently flying across the floor. All a bit reminiscent of the ante room pre lunch RHG/D at Combermere. Since I‘ve hardly played since those days I didn’t think that offering to take on the winner would go down too well. On the occasions that the owner had to go to the kitchen his backgammon partner talked to us and was enormously informative and well educated. He spoke perfect English and as far as we could gather, several other languages too. We learnt lots more about olive farming, water sources, wine and life in general. Vivi fed a pack of starving strays the entire contents of our bread basket dipped in the fishy oil which was the residue of our meal.
Monday 12th April.
Zacharo to Patras
Having failed in our attempt to get to Corinth via a southern route and having decided against going to spend a week on Zakinthos, we set off cycling to Pyrgos with the intention of either taking a train or a bus from there to Patras. To our utter amazement we were allowed on the bus which left an hour before the train so that was a bonus, and we were also allowed back into the hotel we’d been in before so it was pretty much like coming home.
On the ride to Pyrgos we passed through the same vast agricultural plain
The Illia Plain, there were 5 tractors working here but they seem to have disappeared!
which in the space of three weeks since we were last there had turned into a ploughed and drilled farmscape to rival anything in Suffolk or Norfolk. Up to 5 tractors working in any one field, irrigation pipes everywhere and the sheep and goats all moved to the sides. They grow cotton, wheat, alfalfa and another crop being planted individually by a large team of workers. We had fun watching a flock of yellow wagtails on the plough, a real blend of colours We saw a banana tree complete with fruit and a curious bell shaped thing dangling down which must have been part of it but not sure what part! We ate a picnic on the beach and both swam, the first time since we’d caught those terrible colds and the sea is definitely getting warmer! We arrived in Pyrgos feeling full of sun and well exercised as the 30 miles are mostly on gravel tracks which are pretty bumpy. Then as Alec said, on the bus and in Patras by nightfall.
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