After a pleasant motor from
Zakynthos to Katakolon we found Steve and Jenny safely tied to the town quay,
awaiting our arrival.
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Katakolon is a tiny town which, on most days of the week
is inundated with tourists from boats, and I don’t mean little sailing boats
like Alhambra. I mean huge cruise ships. While we were there three a day came
in.
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| you can go for a beer ride! |
However, the town closes down (literally) when the cruise ships leave, but while
they are in port you can buy anything you want, apart from any real decent
vegetables! The town quay is however free (at the moment) and has electricity
and water provided. There is a large amount of building work going on to extend
the outer harbour walls, and it is currently very noisy and dusty.
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| View of Katakolon when ship in port |
We arrived on Monday, and Steve
and Jenny’s visitors were arriving later that evening. Chris and Gill will be
spending a month on board Lilla as we travel around the Peloponnese. Tuesday
was a rest day – they had after all travelled all the way from South Africa and
probably just the thought of wandering around Ancient Olympia would have been
enough to make them stay on board and relax for the day.
Wednesday, the six of us headed
for the tiny train station, in which sits a very modern train with just two carriages.
Although there is a ticket office outside, we actually bought our
ticket on board (€10 return), which is hand written. There is a route map showing that the train was originally from the main lines in Patras. For the next 45
minutes we travelled through the plains of and valleys of the Peloponnese.
There are a few stops on the way and we pick up a few shoppers and students,
but the train is almost empty apart from us and a couple of other tourists
heading for Ancient Olympia.
Ancient Olympia
Entrance to both the museum and
grounds is only €9 and our pamphlet tells us the following:
‘The Altis, the sacred grove at Olympia took
shape in the 10th-9th c. BC, and was devoted mainly to
Zeus. The first monumental buildings were erected in the Archaic period (7th-6th
c. BC) and new structures were gradually added to meet the continuously growing
needs of the sanctuary. The area of the sanctuary received its final form at
the end of the 4th c. BC. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, it
underwent a number of modifications dictated by the conditions of the times.
The games, which were held in the area already in prehistoric times, were
reorganised in the 8th c. BC by Iphitos, king of Elis, Kleisthenes
of Pisa and Lykourgos of Sparta, who instituted the “sacred truce”. From that
time on, the Olympic Games were held every four years and acquired a
panhellenic character. The athletes competing in the games had to be true-born,
free Greek men. Women were not allowed to watch the games. Visitors in the
games were crowned with a branch of the “beautiful-crowned wild olive tree”
that stood near the temple of Zeus. This crown bestowed the greatest honour on
the competitor, his family and his native city, and could not be compensated
for by either money or high office. When the pagan religions were suppressed,
the institution of the Olympic games, which had flourished for twelve
centuries, and made a brilliant contribution to the history of sport, fell into
disuse.”
The museum is filled with an astounding
array of finds, dating from throughout Olympia’s history, beautifully
displayed, and gives an amazing insight into the development of the human race.
Right from early simple clay pots, through intricate carvings, bronze work,
jewellery, glass wear, and of course the wonderful marble statues.
Although
photography is allowed, posing in front of any of the statues is not, and very
much frowned upon.
Walking out from the museum, a
shady path leads you through neat gardens and down into the main Sanctuary.
Our first sight is of an actual dig being carried out, extending the Gymnasium.
There is no direct route to follow, but there are 23 historical sites to stroll
around at your leisure. You are not allowed to stand or sit on any of the
stonework (in fact any one spotted standing on what looks like a rock, but is
in fact part of a fallen monument, will be whistled at from all directions from
the staff carrying out guided tours).
The most impressive, of course, is the
temple of Zeus, ‘the most important
building in the Altis was a Doric peripteral building with 6 x 13 columns,
built between 470 and 456 BC’. Although all you can see now is the rubble remains after two major earthquakes in 522 and 521AD (http://www.olympia-greece.org/history.html)
Having been wisely advised by our
friends to take the 08:40am train to avoid the crowds, we were finished by
lunchtime, just as the crowds arrived from the cruise ships. Back on the train
to Katakolon, along with the other sensible tourists who had made their own way
to Ancient Olympia.
It was a very impressive place to
visit, on a par with Delphi and I would thoroughly recommend a visit if you are
ever in the area. (More photos on the Flickr site)
11th June 2015
Katakolon to Kiparissia
The following day we sailed (yes
actual sailing, well for an hour or so) to Kiparissia, 28 miles down the coast.
On route we had our first dolphin visit of the season, at least three come
along and swim in the bow. Over the last few years I have been sending dolphin
sightings to the Ionian Dolphin Project (http://ioniandolphinproject.org/ ).
An organisation that ‘aims to ensure the
long-term viability of dolphin species living in coastal waters of the eastern
Ionian Sea.’ Having sent off our
sighting details and photographs, they kindly e-mailed us to confirm we had
seen a short-beaked common dolphin (http://ioniandolphinproject.org/species-guide/short-beaked-common-dolphin/
).
Kiparissia has a lovely town
harbour and on entering we were greeted by the first, of what was to become
many, sightings of turtles. We were told that the local fisherman have spotted
five different turtles swimming in and around the harbour. We saw one at least
four times, or four at least once, but we have no real way of telling which it
was! It was free to stay at the town quay, no power, but water available – well
there was until the next morning when local workmen managed to cut through the
pipe and had to turn it off! Not a problem, we have enough on board for a while
yet.
12-13th June
Kiparissia to Pylos
Another 25 mile jaunt down the
coast to Pylos (historically also known under its Italian name Navarino) and is
famous for the Battle of Navarino (fought on 20th October 1827) during
the Greek War of Independence (Wikipedia:
An Ottoman armada, which, in addition to imperial warships, included squadrons
from the eyalets (provinces) of Egypt, Tunis and Algiers, was destroyed by an
Allied force of British, French and Russian vessels. It was the last major
naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships, although most
ships fought at anchor. The Allies' victory was achieved through superior
firepower and gunnery.)
The coast at the entrance to the bay has been worn away over the years to reveal an array of coves and caves, and a natural archway. A stunning natural protection to the bay beyond. On the southern side of the entrance to the bay is the man made protection in the shape of a castle and fortifications. We stayed one night on the town
quay (5€ no power or water, but can be arranged) and had gyros in town that
night. It is a very pleasant town, with a typically Greek square, set with
trees for shade, and ubiquitous coffee shops.
The following day we went to the
head of the bay and stayed at anchor for our first night this season. We were
blessed with a stunning sunset, a firework display on shore, and a starry night
with shooting stars – perfect. However, the weather men on the various websites
we use are beginning to tell us of impending bad weather where we are heading –
decisions will need to be made.
14th June Pylos to
Methoni
Only 10 miles south from Pylos
lies the town of Methoni, its name may be derived from Mothona, a mythical rock
(Wiki: Methoni has been identified as the
city Pedasus, that Homer mentions under the name "ampeloessa" (of
vine leaves), as the last of the seven "evnaiomena ptoliethra", that
Agamemnon offers Achilles in order to subdue his rage). However, it was the
Venetians who built the stunning fortification around the town. (Wiki: The Venetians had their eye on Methoni since
the 12th century, due to its location on the route from Venice to the Eastern
markets. In 1125, they launched an attack against pirates, who had captured
some Venetian traders on their way home from the east, and who inhabited
Methoni at that time. The Venetians fortified Methoni, which developed into an
important trade centre with great prosperity. Methoni became the important
middle station between Venice and the Holy Lands, where every traveller stopped
on their way to the East. A pilgrim who went by in 1484 admired its strong
walls, the deep moats and the fortified towers.)
The castle itself is still very
impressive (although we could not get inside as it was closed after 3pm,
perhaps tomorrow). Its entrance is over
a stone bridge of 14 arches, traversing what would have been a massive moat. The
fortifications run along the length of the small cape, and provide protection
to the anchorage, which in itself is one of the first perfectly sandy beaches
and anchorages we’ve been to for a while.
The decision now is do we stay or do
we go...what is the weather going to do? Although the anchorage is perfectly
protected, there are 2 or 3 days of strong winds forecast, followed by a lull
and then a really strong blow. Do we want to stay in this anchorage for a week,
or move on... to a safe haven?
Our 07:30am wake-up call from
Steve on the hull of the boat told us we were moving on. So much for seeing
inside the castle!
15th June Methoni to
Kalamata
Missing out on a couple of small
stops along the coast, and a planned major stop at Koroni, we all agreed it
would be best to head directly to Kalamata, the only real marina in the
Peloponnese. It’s just over 32 miles, but not a problem as we will have a nice
breeze from the right direction, we should be able to sail most of the way (ha
ha ha I hear the boaters say). Yep, 32 miles with no wind out of the wrong
direction, but rather that than Force 7 on the nose!
(Wiki: Kalamata is renowned as the land of the Kalamatianos dance and
of the Kalamata olives.
Kalamata olives are grown in Kalamata in Messenia and also in nearby
Laconia. They are almond-shaped, plump, dark purple olives from a tree
distinguished from the common olive by the size of its leaves, which grow to
twice the size of other olive varieties. The trees are intolerant of cold and
are susceptible to Verticillium wilt but are resistant to olive knot and to the
olive fruit fly. Kalamata olives, which cannot be harvested green, must be
hand-picked in order to avoid bruising.
The Kalamatianós is one of the best known dances of Greece. It is a
popular Greek folkdance throughout Greece, Cyprus and internationally and is
often performed at many social gatherings worldwide. As is the case with most
Greek folk dances, it is danced in circle with a counter clockwise rotation,
the dancers holding hands. It is a joyous and festive dance... Depending on the
occasion and the dancers' proficiency, certain steps may be taken as jumps or
squats. The lead dancer usually holds the second dancer by a handkerchief, this
allowing him or her to perform more elaborate steps and acrobatics.
So we have now been in Kalamata
for three days, tomorrow the big blow comes – but not here, a gentle breeze
should keep us cool, along with the promised thunder storms.
However, having taken a walk and
a bike ride around the town, which is quite a big town with all facilities
provided for the needy shopaholic, we happened across a strange site. A lovely
park, adorned with numerous steam trains. They sit on tracks, alongside what
looks like the refurbished train station, now a cafe, waiting.
The rolling stock on display includes seven
steam and one diesel engines, two draeseners (foot-and hand-operated
respectively), a manually-operated crane (1890), first and second class
passenger carriages (1885) and eight freight cars of various types (1885-1947).
Fascinating!
So we have now completed the
first ‘finger’ of the Peloponnese and so far it has been above expectations.
Tiny towns with castles and forts, beautiful bays and a few sailing days. We
will wait out the weather and head back, whence we came, to Koroni, before
crossing the bay to the middle ‘finger’ and see what awaits us around the
corner.
Until next time
Michele and Dave
On board Alhambra – Kalamata,
Greece
Sailing with Steve, Jenny, Chris
and Gill on Lilla
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