Peelies travels

We spent almost a week in Stoupa and it's still our favourite seaside place. If I were Dutch or German I might think differently as it is a 'British' resort, mainly on account of the easy access to the airport at Kalamata and the two Thomas Cook flights each week arriving from Manchester and Gatwick. So that's two hundred or so Brits coming in on Sunday afternoons. Fortunately for the few Dutch and German visitors,  two hundred or so Brits also leave for the airport each Sunday morning. I've been one of those Brits several times in the past and probably will be again next year. What makes Stoupa so special is its setting, small size and the crystal clear water of the bay, fed with cold fresh water to liven-up a swim. This is the view down the coast towards Stoupa ( which is actually hidden, but in the middle distance). It's the view that the Thomas Cook visitors see during their coach transfer on a spectacular mountain drive from Kalamata. The town down ...

A most impressive feature of the Mani is the mountain, or mountain range called the Taygetos. It is absolutely dominant throughout the peninsular south of Sparta. At Kardamili and Stoupa, as well as places further south, the mountains tower above the coast and often, as this week, they steer the weather. It's hardly surprising as the range is over 2,000m in many places, with the peak at 2,404. This elevation, combined with lapse rates and dew points means that there's a great deal of mist and cloud formed with any unstable airmass. That's what we saw this week, with a thunderstorm every day from Saturday to Thursday. This was what things looked like yesterday afternoon at about 5pm (that's over four hours before nightfall). This is the raw picture from the camera; it really did look like this. You can guess what happened next! (Note that rather nice looking Landy conveniently parked for the beach). In 2003 we hired a small Suzuki jeep and drove up the m...

It seems that historically and geographically, the Mani is a rough and barren place. Certainly the Maniots appear to have spent most of their lives fighting each other. The only time they were united was when they cast their differences aside and fought the Turks instead. Moving south into the middle finger of the Peloponnese, the ground becomes very barren, the mountains seem to be closer and the architecture takes on a distinctive Mani look and we know "we're here". We drove towards the southern tip, which is the most southerly point of mainland Europe. As we did so the weather developed a most Northern Europe feel, with cooler temperatures and cloud with some rain. HAS WWW indeed! The approach from the mountains to the last few kms of the peninsular, is dramatic, accentuated by the driving position in the Defender which provides a clear view over the edge! Getting down to those two bays in the distance is straightforward as the road is smooth...