Pyrgos Gerakiou and Badron Gorge

Monday 25^th October 2010

After the usual breakfast of Greek yoghurt, some sort of baklava and “Greekified” Nescafe we headed into Monemvasia to visit Agia Sophia, since it had been closed when we visited the site last Tuesday. Today we strolled purposefully along the main street and, just after the square with the cannon, we turned up the steps to the old town.

Passing into the upper town we headed straight for the church which was, thankfully, open. Although an attractive building from the outside the inside is really very basic with a central dome and two small side wings. Interestingly there is a passage way behind the rood screen and past the altar.

On leaving the church we explored the Eastern side of the upper town. Lots of ruins with stunning views of the sea, with an island on horizon. We returned to the car to discuss the next move for the day. If it looked like being a glorious sunny day then we would have headed back to the beach. However, as it was fairly cloudy and showing no signs of clearing we headed out on another road tour. We followed the main road out of Monemvasia and about 2km beyond Vlachiotis we turned right towards Mirtia and on to Geraki, where we followed a signpost to Gerakiou and then turned left to follow the road up to the castle. Up a steep and twisting road (quell surprise) we came at last to a high chain link gate across the road with a parking area on the left. A sign on the gate informed us the the person on duty was there on Sundays between 8.30am and 3pm. Fortunately for us however the gate was open and we walked up the rest of the track to the ruins of Pyrgos Gerakiou. Along the lines of Monemvasia and Mistras this looked like a settlement on the mountainside with an upper fortified section on the summit. From the battlements we spied some more ruins on the next summit – about 1km away. After one false start, where we tried to walk across the ridge through the prickly Kermese oaks (Quercus coccifera), we found the correct path at the bottom of the main settlement (and at the top of the track up from the gate) and made easy process to the far peak, examining lichens and plants along the way. At the second set of ruins are the remains of another church with what looks like celtic knotwork designs and painted images.

After about ten minutes exploring this second site we retraced our steps back to the main site and down the track to the car. We had just sat down on the edge of the car boo t to have some lunch when a local woman pulled up to the gates, got out of her car, locked the gates, got back in her car and drove off again. If we had been five minutes later we would have been locked inside.

We returned to Yeraki and headed north east towards Leonidio, via the small town of Kosmas, where the road goes round the church and across the village square to follow a very narrow road that exits to the right of the square. There is another road that leaves the square that has a signpost to about hald a dozen places that were not on any of our maps, nor was the road! About 14km from Kosmas, as the road begins the descent into the extremely scenic Badron gorge, we passed the turning to the monastery at Moni Panegios Elonis, where it looked as if the monks were flying the Cornish flag.

At the end of the gorge we finally reached Leonidio and wre faced with three choices for getting back to Monemvasia:

1. We could go North to Astros, then across to Tripoli and back down the main Sparta road (a very long way).
2. We could go back up the Badron Gorge and return the way we had come
3. We could try the minor road to Peleta and Agios Dimitrios

On reflection, the most sensible choice would have been number 2. But of course, I chose number 3.

Shortly after leaving Leonidio (again by a steep, twisting road) we got lost in a small village and ended up following some local home, before we realised we were going the wrong way. Fortunately, thanks to D reading the Greek signposts correctly we found the correct road to Peleta. Shortly after leaving Peleta we came to a junction and followed the signpost towards Agios Dimitrios and all was looking good as we followed a modern well made tarmac road until the tarmac ran out and it became a dirt track. With dark heavy clouds and gentle drizzle threatening to become a downpour there was no way I was going to risk the little Fabia coming unstuck on a steep dirt track in the middle of nowhere.

So, we retraced our steps to the last junction and followed the signs towards Sparta, which eventually led us, after descending into a beautiful valley, to the village of Agios Dimitrious and then the main road back to Monemvasia.

We made it back to the old town by about 6.15pm and finished where we had started the day by having dinner at Matoula. I had a Greek salad, full of tomatoes, cucumber, olives, onions and feta cheese (fantastic) followed by Dolmades, which were not quite so good. Since when did Dolmades come with a white sauce and surely vine leaves should be very dark green and thick, not thin and light green?

We purchased some wine (sold in reused water bottles) from the butchers by the causeway and returned to the cottage. D liked the wine, which is almost a Rose with a dry white taste, but I stuck to the Greek beer, Mythos.

It was a long day today with over 200km of driving, made even longer by a late night drinking before we crawled into bed about 1am.