HE SAID
Sunday Aug 26
From Kalamata Down the Mani to Kardamyli!
Doves cooing all night from above and in the big pines below. The huge pine just below covers a beautiful sidewalk cafe. Most tables there and in the many many many sidewalk cafes & taverns we passed on our long morning walk after breakfast were full of locals catching up.
Our breakfast buffet had all the many specialties of the Mani…and beyond in Greece. So fresh and healthy! Nothing like Kalamata olives in Kalamata!! Plus many wonderful photos of old Kalamata on the walls.
We finally found an open pharmacy to buy spray and bracelets for mosquitoes…good insurance for the US State Dept ‘West Nile Caution in Greece’ email alert. So far, it’s working!
We caught bus #100 for Kardamyli at 1300. With Greek music playing away in the background, we wound our way out of Kalamata and up and up and up into the spectacular mountain chain running south down the Mani.
We finally reached elevation and continued to weave our way along the side of the mountains, in and out of many many ancient olive trees, some thousands of years old. We got occasional glimpses of the blue Gulf of Messina to our right and west. All the olive trees were loaded with small green olives, a sign of a bountiful harvest yet to come. These olives are the primary livelihood for most of the mountain villagers.
There seemed to be many more U-turns than miles on this road! By 1345 we broke out into the clear and could see Kardamyli in the distance far below, then began to wind our way down through the switchbacks to it for an on-time arrival of about 1400!
We didn’t see our ride so headed out on the beach road to the north – the Elies Hotel was only 2,000 meters away! A refreshing onshore wind kept us cool until about the halfway point where Stavros drove up to our rescue!!
We’re in Room 18 this year, one of their best! Our view to the south is across olive groves down low, packed with thousands of trees, to the high mountains beyond. Our view straight out to the Ionian Sea is like last year’s, over their beautiful olive grove with the blue sea beyond. It reminds me of last year, looking down below Delphi into the deep plain toward the sea packed solid with olive trees, and the guide saying that conservatively there were several million trees just within view!
These olives will grow much bigger by the end. An optimal way for harvesting is covering the ground underneath with cloth and gently shaking the limbs, gathering all that fall. Redo until harvested.
Lunch and dinner day 1 at Elies were superb!! A new chef?! Late dinner’s Spaghetti a la Carbonara and Sea Bass over greens were right up there!
And as Anne says, “This is just my favorite place ever!!”
SHE SAID
Sunday Aug 26
Drive from Kalamata to Kardamyli
Up early in Rex Hotel for the standard tourist hotel in Europe breakfast feast. Greek yogurt a great addition. Short walk around town, then walked our bags to the bus station. And away to Kardamyli as we climbed the coastline hairpin curves. Spectacular views of the mountains and seas. Arrival at Elies. Large lunch at 3 with cold Mythos under the olive groves facing the sea and the mountains! A spell on the beach and then back for dinner. My spaghetti carbonara was the best I’ve ever had – light sauce, little cheese and perfectly cooked al dente. The white wine was delicious, the perfect accompaniment to the sea bass and the pasta. We succumbed to the waitress’ suggestion of the cake with cream and chocolate cream inside covered with chocolate sprinkles. Divine with the espresso. And off to bed after another day of travel.