Credibility suffers if each and every day is the very best ever. In spite of our previous claims, Joye and I are prepared to put our credibility on the line and say that today was the best day ever (for Greece... and Portugal for that matter). This is a day when we sat in the car for 4 hours... but the countryside we traversed was spectacular! If you are planning a Greek holiday, take out pen and paper and start making notes... you will not want to miss this drive.
We started the day at Nafplio (tucked away at the top of the Gulf of Argolikos). Before we left, we did a folk museum and walked the heights of the Palamidi Fort overlooking Nafplio... not a bad start... little knowing the delights that lay ahead.
We chose to travel to Monemvasia along the coast road... a much slower alternative because of the mountainous terrain... but Lonely Planet said there was an impressive gorge along the way. We are far enough from Athens to free us from traffic. The sun was behind us... the sunshine was brilliant and the water sparkled. The first 50 kms we were travelling up and over the ridges from the mountain range running down to the Gulf. We had clear views to the other side of the narrow Gulf... the scenery was spectacular, so we thought we had struck it lucky.
We turned into the ravine at Leonidio and another world opened up. Driving the Ladron Gorge made the gorges of Crete look like driving down airstrips. We would have climbed 2000 metres in 20 klms of road. The average slope of 1 in 10 disguises the much steeper climbs in some of the hairpin corners. The spring flowers were colouring the mountainsides... we had a monastery... ancient bridges... goat herds... snow capped peaks.. the works! But the depth of the drop at the edge of the narrow road was what held the concentration. The views along the rugged ravines were breathtaking.
At the top of the mountain, we drove through tiny mountain villages... that had made very few concessions to accommodate modern life... with roads barely wide enough for our small car.
Late in the day, we arrived at Monemvasia... an isolated medieval fort built on an island... similar in some ways to Mount Saint Michael. As you would expect, it has a colourful history... fortifying itself against barbarians... being conquered by the Turks... eventually causing the Turks to surrender... and then massacaring the Turkish population... you know, the usual thing.
That's all for today... and I promise not to claim a 'best day ever' status for tomorrow.
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