Peloponnese Mania: The Mani

OK, next on our little bloggerific jaunt through the Peloponnese is the Mani, which is the middle of the three peninsulas that make up the Peloponnese Peninsula. In other words, the Mani is the "middle finger" of the Peloponnese, and truth be told, its inhabitants embody that "seriously, leave me alone" attitude. Case in point, as we were driving from Monemvasia all the way over to Gerolimenas, we went through Githio, thinking, "Yeah, this is a big town, let's get gyros for lunch and then be on our way." Silly, silly Americans. Surrounded by about 4,000 bustling fish tavernas, we wandered around for the better part of an hour trying to find a gyro joint. Anyone who has been to Greece knows that these places are dime a dozen--you can't say you're in a "town" unless it's got a gyro place. But no, Githio was strangely devoid of such establishments. We actually got as far as going into a restaurant that looked promising (meat on grill--always a good sign), ordered and received sodas from the rather odd dude at the counter, and made a clear request for souvlaki (close enough to a gyro). I went to use bathroom, and when I came back, Eph was sitting outside, sans fatty pork and pita, and the guy was holding the door open, obviously waiting for me to leave. I gave him a rather quizzical look, and he locked the door behind me. Eph was like, "Yeah, I guess he's closed now. I paid for the sodas, though." Wait, what? We're still scratching our heads over this one. First of all, where did the meat that we saw cooking go? There were a couple other people in the restaurant who left shortly before we did--did they take it? Secondly, why in God's name did he take our order and then not give us food? Finally, why didn't he give us the sodas, since clearly, we had been totally screwed over. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? We sped away in our rented Hyundai Accent (four-door!), vowing never to return and to spread the word that Githio, ahem, sucks.

This is a shot of Gerolimenas which, as you can tell, is one huge metropolis. It's really a very pretty little fishing village, with a few hotels and tavernas and a cafe right on the water. Eph and I were two of, oh, let's say, two visitors in the whole town, and as you can imagine we had no trouble getting a room. Or a table and the empty, empty tavernas. Actually, there were some British women roaming about, but we never saw them out at night. I'm sure in the summer the place is happening, but early April is still decidely the off-season.

Eph and I took a walk along the coastline one evening before dinner, and happened upon these old windmills. Pretty cool, eh?














For some reason, I am intensely proud of this picture. Glad I got that off my chest. There is no adequate way to describe how barren the region is. We drove through village after village, each containing a few houses, sometimes a gas station, and rarely a grocery store or taverna. The Mani is known for its honey, though, and we did see a few signs tacked up on trees advertising one guy or another's home grown honey. We lacked the fortitude to knock on anyone's door though. I wussed out and bought some at a grocery store in, Kardamili, one of the bigger towns.

We spent one day driving all over the tip of the peninsula, looking at ancient sites like this Temple of Posidon on the ultra-barren Cape Tainaros (the southernmost part of Greece, by the way). Scintillating. Not pictured is the that donkey brayed unbelievably loudly the entire time we were there.

This cave, which is right below the Temple of Posidon pictured above, contained a Death Oracle in ancient times. Now, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yeah, that's right--when I get my metal band together, I think "Death Oracle" is at the top of the short list for names. I can't believe it's not already taken, but who am I to look a gift donkey in the mouth? Thanks to Kathy, I already have the xylophone (Toronto neighbors, here I come!), so anyone who's interested, you know where to post comments...

I totally forget the name of this site, but it near Vathia, a little ways south of Gerolimenas. Stay tuned for more pictures (think "Eph in Classics action!"), but this is what's left of a very pretty basilica. It basically stands in some cow farmer's pasture now.

Gratuitous scenery shot from a medival fort in Kardamili. I've spared you so far, so deal with it.