Patah tulang pendek di Peloponnese

Mengingat untuk mengemaskan imajinasi anda.
Patah tulang pendek di Peloponnese.

Antarkan penerbangan pagi-pagi benar ke Athena, mengambil mobil di pelabuhan udara dan anda bisa mogok kecil taverna minum enak Nemean merah dengan segar merah mullet menjelang waktu makan siang. Sejak membuat yang baru motorway kepada Elefsina Peloponnese jauh lebih dapat dicapai untuk patah tulang pendek. It`s sejam berjuang bulu burung jalan korban baru, dengan pemandangan baik kilang minyak, tetapi satu kali anda meluncur di seberang kanal Corinth, anda merasakan ganti pemandangan. There`s keliaran di lapisan-lapisan gunung yang berguling ke dalam jarak itu. Burung pemangsa berputar-putar tinggi di udara, biara melengket tebing terjal, negeri Tuhan mengisyaratkan anda.
Sebagai motorway beruang membiarkan ke arah Tripoli, tembok Ancient Corinth tinggi di atas anda berpegang dengan membahayakan teguh pada permukaan jurang. Jika anda tidak dengan tergesa-gesa ini membuat baik terlebih dulu berhenti dan makan siang pecah. Pandangan dari Ancient Corinth adalah pertunjukan spektakuler 360 derajat, di banyak kali tahun salju clad gunung bisa dilihat di cakrawala, sedangkan bejana besar menjelahjahi jalan mereka di seberang Teluk untuk memasuki kanal.

Sebagai dengan banyak tempat kuno suasana di apa yang anda bayangkan. Skala Corinth dan lokasinya memaksa anda mengagumi yang merencanakan dan belaka akan menggerakkan untuk membuatnya suka eagle`s menyeramkan menguasai pemandangan. Kebanyakan apa yang bisa anda lihat hari ini adalah sisa kota Roma yang dibangun oleh Caesar, di puncak timur adalah Candi kepada Armed Aphrodite, di mana se-1000 orang pelacur suci ialah housed. Lais satu yang paling kesayangan terkenal untuk payudaranya. Seniman bersaing untuk mencat mereka "dia lebih cemerlang daripada sumber air air jernih Peirene" satu kontemporer penyair wrote.To mencuci kegemparan kenangan ini ada sejumlah kedai murah dan riang di kota kecil Ancient Corinth dengan pandangan petak ke laut.
Berikutnya berhenti di archaological tur harus menjadi Mycenae. Benteng sangat mengherankan. Berat rata-rata masing-masing batu sangat besar di tembok sangat besar, adalah 6 ton, tebalnya 15 ft dan mitologi tingginya 50 ft memberi tahu kami mereka dimajukan oleh raksasa Cyclops.We tinggal di Tempat 3 di Belle Helene, sebanyak untuk membualkan bahwa kami sudah tidur di tempat tidur terkenal arkeolog Heinrich Schliemann, daripada untuk kenyamanan. Aegammenon yang dinamai secara pantas, owner`s anak lelaki, foto dan tanda-tangan yang diperlihatkan dengan bangga pengunjung lain, termasuk Virginia Woolf dan Henry Moore. It`s spartan tempat, dewan kosong dan kasur menggumpal tetapi penuh watak. Untuk tinggal yang lebih nyaman dan sebuah genangan, La Petite Planete, dianjurkan, meminta kepada kamar dengan pemandangan puing, gaip malam hari.

Naplio sejam saja jauh adalah pangkalan baik dari yang untuk menjelajahi. Ibu kota Yunani sampai itu pindah ke Athena pada 1824, masih kota subur dengan banyak sekali menyibukkan anda. Toko dan rumah makan berjajar sepanjang pelabuhan lincah, dan keanggunan arsitektur neoklasik gang sepi. Di pusat kota tua anda bisa menemukan menyenangkan Hotel Byron, 19c rumah besar dianjurkan di Jacoline Vinke`s istimewa buku, Hotel Kecil yang baik di Yunani. Tidak murah, tetapi keanggunan dan keasliannya berharga ongkos.

If, however, it is romance you are looking for, then Monemvasia is the place to head. Perhaps, not in the height of summer, but off season when it has a haunting mystery. Mont St Michel without the tourist tat. Often these rock fortresses can be austere places but the honey coloured stone and red tiled roofs give Monemvasia a warmth and glow in the late afternoon sun. It entices you to while away hours over a game of tavli and fresh orange juice on one of the lovely cafe terraces. It is easy to imagine the small harbour, reached through a hole in the wall, full of Venetian schooners, or the noise and bustle of barter in the medieval streets. Nothing much has changed you feel since Keats wrote,"Charm`d magic casements, opening on the foam - Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn". At night the place bursts into life with trendy but tasteful little bars, you can stay on the mainland but we opted for the medieval Hotel Byzantino. Every room is individual and are scattered in various village houses. Make your choice between ones with balconies overlooking the rooftops to the the sea or like ours in a secret inner courtyard.

Continue round the coast and you will reach the island of Elafonisos, which many regard as the best beach in the Mediterranean, pure white sand and a sea reminiscent of the Far East or Caribbean, clear and translucent. It`s importance as wetlands for birdlife has protected it from tourist development but as in all Greece simple but adequate rooms can be found in the small villages. Such beauty inevitably has its price though, the abundance of wetlands also brings an abundance of mosquitoes. Bring some spray.

Each finger of the Peloponnese has a different character. The mystical Mani with its remote mountains and dark forbidding gorges has a wild charm . Windswept and austere, you feel that you are being spied on by the spirits of the past. The towered villages perched on their rock pinacles are often deserted now, but a few are being carefully restored. Stoupa the one place where package tourism has had an impact is best avoided in the summer but the rest of the Mani remains inaccessible, with small mountain roads cutting through gorges and eagles soaring overhead.They say there are more wild herbs to be found here than anywhere else in Greece. It is a land of potions and magic, not surprising that the,"gate to Hades" is reputed to be here. A place where those of us with evil blue eyes are spat at by old ladies in black. A place which Patrick Leigh Fermor describes as, "a dead planetary place, a habitat for dragons". For those wanting the River Styx experience, the thirty minute punt through the caves at Dirou is eerie and magical, better than any ride at Alton Towers, although it is a tourist destination and it is best to avoid weekends in summer. Accommodation like the place tends to be on bare side but you can stay in in a cave like room on a small beach at Marmari or in a traditional Mani tower, as in the beautifully restored Guesthouse Londas in Aeropoli.

The final finger is my favourite, Messinia. Bedecked by endless olive groves, it is a land of fruit and plenty. As Euripedes wrote. "While o`er Messinia`s beauteous land, Wide watering streams their arms expand, Of nature`s gifts profuse.". At its tip lies the two protected villages of Methoni and Koroni, "the eyes of Venice". Each has wonderful unspoilt beaches and castles, Koroni boasts the better Venetian architecture and is a bustling town full of harbourside fish tavernas and a maze of steep alleyways winding through colourfully painted houses, but Methoni has the more impressive castle. North of Methoni is Pylos, famous for the Battle of Navarino and its castle on an island off shore. The town has a genteel, cosmopolitan air, still untouched by the tourism that has developed Naplio. It`s central square full of huge plane trees would not be out of place in Provence. Further round the coast is the perfect crescent bay of Voudokilia, with yet another castle perched high above it. In the height of summer it gets busy with camper vans and scantily clad Scandinvian sunseekers but even in August you will still find a quiet spot. The water is emerald clear, it`s a great place to snorkel and to play at castaways. A small sandbanked causeway links it to the Gialova lagoon, the only home in Europe of the African chameleon and some 245 species of birds have been sighted here. Wonderful in spring and autumn.

But for me the place to visit is Mystra, the great Byzantine ghost town, built in the 13c and known as the "Florence of the East". Once home to 40,000 people now it tumbles down a the edge of the Taiyetos mountains. It would take a day to do the ruins justice, but it`s a city of frescoed churches, all the more atmospheric for being shared with bats and wasps nests. Overgrown, romantic, every path leading through abundant wild flowers to another hidden ruin, backdropped by views of mountains and winding valleys. It is not surprising it appealed to Byron.

Mystra is a metaphor for the Peloponnese, there is still a feeling that you are in one of the few undiscovered places in Europe, rich in its layers of history yet stunningly beautiful. Once off the main roads every track leads you to a surprise: a charming village taverna, a stunning view across mountains to the sea, a small undiscovered cove. There is always good food at the journey`s end: pork in celery, rich lamb in red wine and tomatoes, beef stew with shallots. Road side takeaways of roasted pork, small vineyards producing agioritiko (argued to be one of the oldest grape varieties in the world), barrels of thick green Kalamata olive oil. Much to try and taste.

It`s a place to return to time and again, to explore and savour slowly like a good love affair. You will not unwrap all her secrets at once but in just a few days you will be entranced by her beauty. From the dark caves and hidden gullies of the Mani to the lush fertility of Messinia. From the verdant and aptly named Arcadia to the towering Taiyetos mountains.This is a land of myths and mysteries, remember to pack your imagination.