Monemvasia

Crossing the Peloponnese

We left Finikounda at 11 a.m., much later than we planned, and headed north to Kalamata, then down the middle peninsula of the Peloponnese into the region known as the Morea and then into Mani, a place of unparalled rough beauty--with ancient stone house, impossibly windy roads, and places that time left behind.

Even Little Martin is having fun. He found an old rusty hulk of a freighter on a lonely stretch of beach and stopped for a strum or three.

Then we were off again, crossing into the eastern most peninsula of the Peloponnese, landing at sunset at Monemvasia, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is perhaps the best preserved and continually occupied (in 1960, a dozen of the original Byzantine families remained) cities in the world. It is a treasure of Orthodox Christianity, with scores of chapels dotting the rock that forms this fortress city. Monemvasia means, in Greek, one entrance--and for this reason the city remained impregnable for many hundreds of years.

Later today we will follow the coastal road north toward Nauplion, Greece's first modern capital (1832), which is located on the mainland near the island of Spetses, where Jonathan's beloved maternal grandmother, Efstathia, was born (in 1899) and where he and Ann will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.

Here are a few more photos from Monemvasia.

We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to visit a place of such incredible wonder.

The next five weeks promise to bring more adventures.