Greece Day 16 - 9/15/19 - Exploring the Messinia Region

Unfortunately the upload internet at this hotel is poor - will get pics up as soon as I can!

9:00pm: at the hotel after a long and tiring day. We ate breakfast here just after 8an, dropped off some clothes that the hotel said they would wash for us, and set off for Kalamata, yes of olive fame, which is a large-ish city about an hour away. We parked easily enough but had trouble finding the historic/old town I had read was nice. We finally found an old church and a few streets but it is Sunday and most things are closed. So after a little wandering we left, but not after encountering a nice lady from Chicago of Greek descent who heard us speaking English and gave us some tips.

We then set out another hour or so south to Koroni, a little seaside village. We parked in town and wandered a bit and had lunch on the water. We then set out for our next stop, Methoni, which is known for having a huge castle, and huge it was. We could have probably spent hours there but frankly, it was hot and we were starting to get tired. It was still a cool castle though and a nice little town.

We decided to skip the third stop Pilos - though we drove through and it looked essentially like the others - and it took almost 2 hours to get back to our hotel in Kardamyli. The roads here, while generally in good condition, are windy and slow-going in many parts. We got back just before 5pm and our laundry had been hung out on our balcony and was dry. We rested for a bit and then drove just outside ton to Taverna Kastro, which basically everyone says is the best place here to eat. We arrived and were seated almost in an olive grove. The owner then came and sat with us to tell us about the menu for the day. They have no written menu. We split the “Mani salad,” which was made with all kinds of local products, ham, cheese, tomatoes, oranges, olives , etc. It was fantastic. Matt had the slow cooked beef with potatoes and I had the chicken but we shared. They were delicious. We also split some hire wine that was only 3.50 for a half liter carafe. For the free little dessert, it was some kind of yogurt-based cake so not my favorite but still a nice touch. A fantastic meal and lovely experience and only 34 euros!

Tomorrow we will try to see some caves and explore the area known as the Mani Peninsula!