Greece the Skids

Today was splendid! Yup, pulled out a thesaurus and found other words besides "outstanding". So you're in for a treat.

Gythio (also spelled Gythion) in Greece is a beautiful seaside town on the southern side of Peloponnese, in the peninsula of Laconia in Greece. Constructed on the hill slopes around a natural bay, Gythio is the largest town in the region of Mani. The most popular beach in Gythio is Mavrovouni, a large beach with golden sand and crystal water. Mavrovouni is preferred by the endangered sea turtles Caretta-caretta to lay their eggs. With a very convenient location in southern Peloponnese, Gythio can be a base for road trips to Monemvasia, Mystras, Areopoli, Diros Caves, and Stoupa.

We decided on Mystras as it sounded the most interesting and it's a UNESCO site. Mystras is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, near ancient Sparta, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering during the Palaeologan Renaissance. The city also attracted artists and architects of the highest quality. The site remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period, when Western travellers mistook it for ancient Sparta. In the 1830s, it was abandoned. As an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Byzantine city and because of its testimony to the development of Late Byzantine and Post-byzantine art, Mystras was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1989.

These UNESCO sites are amazing and this one lived up to the reputation. Maybe exceeded it!!! I've never been so close to 1000 year old frescos...we could and did touch them.

We hired a private taxi for 4hrs. Total cost $200 including tip for 4 people. We went with our friends Scott and Anita. The 40 min ride was pleasant and our driver, John, dropped us off at the top of the Mystras site. Entrance fee was 6 euro pp. Very reasonable!! From there, we walked up another mile to the top where the views were outstanding .....whoops, I mean amazing.

We started the trek down the mountain toward the lower entrance where our driver would be waiting. It took a full 1.25 hrs. Along the way, we stopped at an ancient house and 2 churches. There's also a monestary but it was closed for renovations.

It is spring here and so much was already in bloom. Here are some interesting species of flowers, some of which I havent seen before, lining our path.

The frescos in the buildings were so wonderful and shockingly unguarded. Each one was better than the one before. Here's a selection from the house and the first church.

Here's a selection of frescos from the second church. To the best of my knowledge, these are original, not restored. Just outstanding....., whoops, ...exquisite!!!

We made it to the bottom and looked up in amazement at how far we'd walked down. Zoom in and look at the tippy top of the mountain. That's where we started. And it was very primitive walkways so somewhat difficult for these almost-seniors.

On our way back to the ship, we stopped in Sparta, not much to see there but a geocache. Then back to town. Exactly 4hrs at 1:30. Everyone was hungry so we stopped at a place recommended by our driver. The food was great. 83 Euro for 4.

Then a little shopping but more to stay loose than for purchasing. Our legs had quite the work out!!

This little town isn't quite ready for 2000 additional people in a day. But they did well. We thoroughly enjoyed our day!!!

I'm going to post now, 2 blogs in one day (finished up and posted Turkey about 1hr ago). The internet his been painfully slow on the ship since exiting the suez canal. They say the signal is more scrambled here due to security protocols. So with most people still not back yet, the internet is unusually fast so I'm loading pics and posting as much as I can.

Sea day tomorrow and then 2 days in Ravenna italy!! Can't wait.