Despite my horrendous experience on the road to the cave of Agia Sofia yesterday, I feel surprisingly optimistic about today’s adventures here on Kythira. I’d asked the staff at Manolis Taverna what the roads were like on the North side of the island and was told that they were pretty good. I felt sure that…
Well I woke up this morning still in a bit of a quandary about what to do about hiring a car. Although I was still petrified at the thought of driving a car where everything is the other way around, more than anything I wanted to get out and about to see this beautiful island….
Today we leave for the island of Kythira. As we walk through the large doorway in the castle wall to exit Monemvasia rock, we see a cruise ship has docked nearby. Small boats were ferrying groups of people to the causeway. I thought it had felt very busy as we walked the cobbled streets. It…
The weather was very pleasant during our stay. We were very lucky as we had heard about the Saharan sand storms that had blown their way over to the Cyclades. Apart from one overcast day we had beautiful spring sunshine and the temperatures of an English summer! We had planned to walk up to the…
Although we have spent Easter in Greece before, we know that the various regions and towns have their own traditions and their own programme of festivities. We know very little of what to expect in Monemvasia apart from the church service on Good Friday and the procession of the epitaphios – though the timings we…
Monemvasia has been on my bucket list for a few years but until now I haven’t made a concerted effort to get there. It is fair to say that the best way to get around the Peloponnese is by car – and this is from an ardent public transport user when in Greece. The whole…
Athens is the starting point for our next trip. I’d usually have a day or two in Athens at the end of an island hopping trip because you know that feeling when you leave the islands? Sometimes like a little bit of your heart has broken off? Yes, and Athens is a good diversion from…
3 week itinerary – a journey through the southern Peloponnese and Kythira—proving you don’t need a car to reach Monemvasia’s Byzantine rock fortress, Kythira’s remote beauty, Elafonisos’s Caribbean-blue beaches, Mystras’s Byzantine ruins, Gythio’s shipwreck, Areopolis’s tower houses, and the haunting village of Vathia. This route celebrates KTEL buses, small ferries, and the occasional taxi as the keys to unlocking Greece’s most dramatic landscapes. Best time: Spring for Easter celebrations and wild flowers. Note: This trip took place in April-May 2019; prices and some services may have changed.
For many years I’ve had an obsession with photographing doors and windows. There is something so evocative about an old, ornate door that through its layers of peeling paint, begins to reveal the patina of time. It’s not just about the external appearance, it’s the curiosity of what lies within. The lives that have been…
I never plan my trips too far in advance. Often they are spur of the moment decisions (driven by depressingly grey UK weather) or the opportunity to take advantage of a cheap flight. My last trip to Crete and onward around the Dodecanese was neither of these. The summer of 2018 was probably one of…
17 years ago, my partner and I kept a travel journal during our trip around the Dodecanese. This was back in the day when a travel journal meant a notebook and pen rather than a piece of tech. Each day we took turns to write a summary of our travel experiences. This particular trip took…
I arrived back in Rhodes Old Town from Chalki last night and fly home tomorrow night. How on earth am I going to wrench myself away? I’m staying at the Sylvia Hotel close to the port again – it wasn’t far to fall from the ferry to a bed! For now I have one last…
