3. Yerolimenas
After leaving Limeni we headed back up the mountain to the village of Aeropolis - the capital of the Mani, named after Ares the Greek god of war. It is a busy traditional town servicing the surrounding mountain villages. It is also a very pretty town, the main square lined with cafes and tavernas, and the alleyways with colourful doors some adorned with wreaths of dried flowers. We stayed long enough for a stroll, a coffee and for Paul to buy his straw summer hat - beautiful quality, only €10, what a bargain. At the bakery we stocked up on tsai tou vounou - mountain tea from the Teygetus - and some Greek almond biscuit delicacies and we headed south to explore what is called the deep Mani. Such an evocative name for the southern-most part of this beautiful peninsula of the Peloponnese.
As the green groves of olives, pine and fir trees gave way to a more sparse landscape of low, stunted olives, rocks and pencil pines, we came across the main attraction of the coast, the Caves of Drios where boatmen carry hundreds of tourists a day through great stalactite and stalagmite caves of crystal formations. But we're heading ever further south, more remote, through the stone-tower villages of Kitta and Neomi. From a distance the stone towers of the villages loom like San Gimignano or Montepulciano in Tuscany, they seem quiet, almost deserted in the sizzling heat of the midday sun, but these villages of the deep Mani have a history of long and violent family feuds, a place of pirates and where people came to hide away. Even the mountains, the Kakovoulia, are called the Bad Mountains!
Before leaving home I tracked down a 40 year old copy of Patrick Leigh Fermor's 1958 book Mani: Travels in the Peloponnese. It's a fantastic read, part travelogue, part history book, and part a study of the culture of the Maniot people. Full of details of the the trek he took to explore the Mani in the 1950s and the people he met. It brings to life this mysterious and isolated region
By mid-afternoon we arrived at our destination, the fishing village of Yerolimenas at the southern-most tip of the Mani. The sun was scorching and we were delighted to see that our accommodation, the beautifully restored stone Kyrimi Inn, perched on the rocks was just steps from the sea front, and overlooking the impressive cliffs of this tiny village. Oh how refreshing was that sweet clear emerald water!
 |
| White stone beaches of the deep Mani |
 |
| Best Greek breakfast - yoghurt, honey, nuts, fruit, mountain tea |
 |
| The small fishing village of Yerolimenas and its crystal clear water |
 |
| Meszapos Beach spectacularly set between two high sea cliffs |
 |
| From the Teygetus mountains to the sea |
 |
| Like a treasure trove of local produce |
 |
| Greeks are rightly very proud of their mountain honey - méli. It's delicious. |
 |
| A treat to stop of these mountain roadside bakeries that sell all the local produce - olives, oil, honey, tea, herbs |
 |
| Stepping from the rocks into the sea at the Kyrimi Inn, Yerolimenas |
 |
| The sheer rugged cliffs of Yerolimenas |
 |
| Maniot towers both ruined, and restored, can be seen all through the landscape |
 |
| These towers were once fortresses during the long clan feuds that went well into the 19th century. |
 |
| We seem to fall in love with all the fishing villages! |
 |
| Such a beautiful area and so few tourists, mostly Greek tourists. |
 |
| Kitta with its Maniot towers called pyrgoi |
No comments:
Post a Comment