Greek marvels extend to mountains

  • By Rick Steves
  • Friday, March 6, 2015 3:13pm
  • Life

While most travelers to Greece head for the islands, I head for the hills — the mountains and valleys of the Peloponnese. Attached to the rest of Greece by a thin isthmus, this rugged land has always seemed isolated from the rest of the country. And while it holds some of Greece’s greatest ancient monuments — such as Olympia or Mycenae — there’s a lot more to this region.

Start with the Mani Peninsula — the southern tip of the Peloponnese — empty and wild like a landscape in a Hollywood western. Once struggling with pirates and brigands, today the Mani is a peaceful land of rustic villages and untrammeled beaches. Many Mani towns feature sumptuous, old, fresco-slathered churches — pockets of brightness in this otherwise parched land.

Sealed off from the rest of the country by a ridge of mountains, the Mani has — over the centuries — harbored refugees, fleeing whatever crises were gripping the rest of Greece. People would hide out in the mountains, far from the coast and marauding pirate ships. And when they weren’t fighting foreign invaders, they would fight each other.

Clambering up ridges are ghostly, empty villages fortified with towers. The most characteristic is Vathia, built on a rocky spur. This place is an extreme example of what can happen when neighbors don’t get along. Years ago there was a feud between clans — Hatfields and McCoys, Greek-style — that’s left this village partially abandoned to this day.

After spending a day driving around, exploring the Mani’s scraggly landscape and contentious history, I enjoy unwinding in the stay-a-while beach town of Kardamyli. If the Mani is the Wild West of Greece, Kardamyli is the saloon where everyone goes for a drink.

Compared to your typical beach getaway, it’s an anti-resort — relaxed and relatively unspoiled. The people of Kardamyli — determined to keep their town real — passed a law that prohibits new construction over a certain height limit (ruling out big resorts). It also helps that its beach has pebbles instead of sand, which keeps away the party-hearty crowds.

Having dinner under a leafy canopy at my favorite Kardamyli taverna brings back memories of my first meal here many years ago. I had settled my chair into the sand under a bare and dangling lamp, and felt a faint but refreshing spritzing. Looking around for the source of the mist, I saw a tough Greek teenager tenderizing a poor octopus by smashing it on a big flat rock. Someone else had it for dinner that night — not me.

These days, light bulbs still swing in the breeze — but, no longer naked, they’re dressed in gourd lampshades. I sit under an eave enjoying the view. I love gazing into the misty Mediterranean, knowing the next land is Africa. The inky waves churn as the red sun sets.

While Kardamyli is an intoxicating retreat, the most charming town in the Peloponnese is Nafplio. Nestled under cliffs at the apex of a vast bay, Nafplio has a unique pride. Its role as the first capital of independent Greece once made it a prestigious port town. And although its glory days have faded, the town retains a certain genteel panache, with palm-tree waterfronts, and narrow and atmospheric back streets lined with stately Venetian houses and inviting shops. Owing to its past, Nafplio’s harbor is guarded by three castles (all wonderfully floodlit at night): one on a small island, another just above the Old Town, and a third capping a tall cliff above the city. Nafplio also serves as a handy home base for touring the historic ruins of Mycenae and Epidavros. With its harborfront setting and pleasant present-day vibe, Nafplio doesn’t even need tourists — and doesn’t disappoint them.

Another Peloponnesian retreat is Monemvasia — a Gibraltar-like peninsula with million-dollar views. Tucked along the southeast coast, this gigantic rock juts up improbably from the blue-green deep, just a few hundred yards offshore.

The Lower Town hides on the sheltered side of the burly rock, tethered to the mainland by only a skinny spit of land (Monemvasia means “single entry”). A steep, zigzag path leads up to the even bigger Upper Town, whose fortress, in its day, was considered the mightiest in Byzantine Greece. Today its scant ruins sprawl evocatively across the broad summit — though it’s closed for renovations until mid-2015. If it’s open, climbing Monemvasia takes only about half an hour, but on top, spend as long as you want, getting lost in the Middle Ages.

Since Greece has been going through tough economic times (at some point it might even have to leave the euro), nervous tourists have been avoiding it. But smart travelers know this means fewer crowds and cheaper prices. Traveling in Greece is safe, your vacation dollars are needed, and you’ll enjoy a particularly warm welcome — especially in the characteristic countryside of the Peloponnese.

Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.