Two Sore Backs

This is a first – a hotel gets its own post. Katafigi Hotel is unique. It is hotel with a tower. We have so many photos.

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Leaving Kythira…..

Being ‘rule following’ Canadians, when the fine print says be at the terminal an hour before, we comply. We are slow learners – it will take a third ferry trip in a few weeks to realize we can be tardy without consequence. (Maybe it makes sense in peak season to show up that early?)

The ferry back to Neopoli is late in the afternoon and the winds are strong. Our first choice is to find a new beach to explore as we drive north to Diakofti. It is not a beach day so plan B is a drive to the far north of the island and we get as far as Karavas.

Given the rough seas, our ferry runs late.

Afterward, we have a two hour drive from Neopoli to Areopoli. Pat finds a great hotel on Booking.com so during the drive and through some spotty cell coverage I book it. (Yes, we are deviating from our strategy.). And we book three nights because it is Mani!

We arrive at Katafigi Hotel in Charia (10 minutes south from wonderful Areopoli – Mani’s capital) just after 8pm. We are gobsmacked. The owner Dimitris explains that the structure is 400 years old. He has inherited this place from his father. There is love and attention baked into the walls and the land.

We are shown a choice of rooms by Dimitris. The most intriguing is the Tower room. We take it.

The sun is setting.

We are starving! We can chat about the tomorrow’s itinerary at breakfast. And we can follow Dimitris to a nearby taverna. Perfect.

Tower Room

How to describe this space?

The entrance to our hotel room is the door on the far upper left of this photo. Up the flight of steps and next to the cannon. What you can’t see is our nice balcony space.

Viewpoint from the door

Balcony

I think the best way to describe our hotel room interior is to go room by room.

Living room

We have a tiny sofa, refrigerator and fireplace.

Passage to bedroom

Bedroom – notice the steps down from the living room. It is a very small space (hence taking the photo from this perspective).

Stairwell to loft

Approaching the top stair you see another stairway above your head.

The loft

Pat uses this space like a walk in closet. I prefer to avoid the stairs. You see how tight the main bedroom is so I promise to be very neat!

Another stairwell to the tower

It is a tight fit!

Tower

THE VIEW, PRICELESS❤️

Thanks to Pat for braving a tight space to chronical the last stairway to the tower.

Around the hotel

The exterior spaces are worth sharing.

North view from balcony

The canon was discovered during the renovation of the hotel.

Breakfast is served and we relax in the garden.

Trip planning:

Dimitris suggests we break up our exploration into three days: down the eastern side of the Bay of Messinia, down the western side of the Bay of Laconia, north of Charia to Kardamyli.

After breakfast we have a plan and a map with Dimitris’ own map legend:

-place names circled (recommended)

-double starred (must stop)

-marked with ‘s’ for swimming beach

-marked with ‘e’ for eating places

In our books, Katafigi is a full service hotel.

Around Charia

To wrap up here are a few more photos from the neighbourhood.