Two Sore Backs

Our first impression of Mani bodes well for the next few days of exploration. Our Porto Heli friends talk of Mani as a very special place. Yup! Mani is as promised.

Instead of one long blog post, I’ll break it down day by day. Otherwise I think my brain is going to explode.

The photos that follow will do most of the talking.

Mani eastern side of the Bay of Messini

Caffeinated and fed we drive south. We stop a few times to take photos because the views are amazing.

First stop is Tainaro at the southern tip. In medieval times, Tainaro became a notorious pirate base – with merchant ships carefully avoiding it – and during World War II the Battle of Tainaro (March 1941) was fought off the coast between the British and Italian fleets.

We’ll hike to the Cape Tainaron Lighthouse and stop to view the Roman Baths. The lighthouse is the southernmost point on Mani and the Balkan Peninsula.

The trail is to the left. It is 2 km to the lighthouse. This is about as flat as it gets on the Peloponnese.

The wild thyme stands out against the rock, earth and dried grasses.

A lighthouse has existed here since 1887.

Roman Baths

The baths and ‘The Star of Aria’ mosaic date back to the Roman occupation. There is no obvious water source. Likely rain water was collected.

It is a warm day and we are two hours there and back. We have four more stops planned (thankfully no more hikes).

So many beaches, so little time. This is Vathi Beach in the distance. It is highly rated, a shortish hike to reach and not even mentioned on the map.

Next stop is Porto Kagio. Nestled in the next bay and surrounded by mountains there are a few tourists around.

Looking across the bay there is a small village halfway up the mountain.

Main Street

We have a late light lunch, walk around and take in the view.

A group of bikers come into town, park their bikes and settle in at the taverna. Riding these roads must be a blast!

We skip over Marmari – the beach is nice with a large hotel nearby – and today both are deserted.

Instead we stop at Vathia.

This is a ghost town except for a couple of accommodation places. It is very quiet.

Pat chats with a fellow who is renovating an old property. He is the only local we encounter. Our walkabout is eerie and awesome at the same time.

It is late afternoon and we haven’t gone swimming. We stop at Kapi beach. We had made a note of this beach on the drive south (surprisingly not on Dimitris’ list).

Final stop is Gerolomenas for dinner.

Back to the tower.