Exploring Messenia: Kalamata, Mystras & Methoni
After leaving Spetses and the Argolis, we decided to skip over the very popular Laconia Area that includes the famous Mani Peninsula in favor of coming back to its seaside towns and beaches in warmer weather. Instead, we headed for more castles and the large city of Kalamata in Messenia. Again it was up and over the mountains to get there. It seems no matter where you want to go in Greece, you are going to leave one coast, cross a mountain range, and arrive at another coast!
And we only hit one "tractor-jam" so we felt fortunate.
KALAMATA
Arriving in Kalamata was a return to big cities. It has lots of traffic and terrible parking but it also has a vibrant core filled with people, shops, and restaurants. We had considered Kalamata as a place to put down our roots but decided it was too far from an airport and the places we wanted to travel. It may be a good choice for the future, though. We really like that it has a blue flag beach right in town. Not many people now, although a few were swimming, but I'm sure it's hopping in summer.
It is a bit of a hike from the center though and most of the shops and restaurants were closed. We were fortunate that recommendations were to stay near the central square at this time of year, which is what we did. The historic center is well integrated into the modern city, just adjacent to the central square, and is mostly shops and restaurants now. The entire area is very walkable with many pedestrian-only streets and, of course, decorated to the hilt for Christmas.
There are very nice restaurants and we found some great bars. We certainly feel that we're happy in Thessaloniki for now but if we want to move, Kalamata might be a top contender. Our first impressions were that is felt a little less friendly, a little less cosmopolitan, and a little less likely to speak English without hesitation but it could just be the winter/holiday season so we'd give it another chance.
===MYSTRAS===
We did a few day trips from Kalamata and the first was to Mystras. It's about an hour and a half from Kalamata and you can either go 34 miles through the mountains or 64 miles around them. We decided to take the mountain route on the way there and are so glad we did. It's one of the most beautiful drives we've done, rivaling those we did on Crete.
It definitely wasn't the fastest route with all the twists and turns but going through the tunnels, the gorge, and the mountains was really beautiful.
When you arrive at Mystras, there are two parking areas, an upper and lower. The site is divided into the older upper part, the palace compound in the middle, and then the monasteries at the bottom. We parked first at the upper lot and hiked up to the old castle.
The fortress was built in the mid-13th century by William II of Villehardouin during the Frankish rule of this part of Greece. It was pretty quickly captured by the Byzantines and became a seat of their power until its surrender to the Ottoman Turks in 1460. It was quite a hike up but we'd learned by now that if we just take our time we can make it. It was totally worth it. Once inside, there's quite a bit to explore and climbing up to the very top makes for amazing views out over the valleys and up to the surrounding mountains.
You can also see back down over the entire site with great views of the large palace complex.
The palace and the buildings surrounding it in the upper town date from the 1300-1400's and were built over time. There are the walls of many buildings remaining, giving the area a sort of haunted feel, along with some chapels and, of course, the palace.
You can walk around and into many of the buildings and normally visit inside the palace. Unfortunately, it was closed while we were there for some renovations. A big disappointment after hiking all the way down to it!
We hiked back up to the upper parking lot and moved the car down to the lower lot. We were pretty spent by this time but persevered to view some of the churches, buildings, and monasteries in the lower town before leaving.
There's a great view back up the entire site.
And also of the Pantanassa Monastery.
It was a great day out exploring. The site is so massive it really takes most of a day to explore fully. There were so few people again and the whole area was so green. We took the longer way back, which was much quicker on the highways, and again only met the one "tractor-jam" outside Kalamata. This is such a beautiful time to be here; you see the most amazing things. There are whole areas of wild fennel growing in the shade of trees, hedges of sage bushes (yes the kind you cook with), and roadsides covered in large, blooming rosemary bushes. This area is known for oranges and there are groves with ripe, bright oranges everywhere! It reminds us of how Florida used to be. It may be cooler and a little rainy but it's so worth it for the greenery and the lack of crowds!
METHONI
Another day trip we took was to the far southwestern corner of the Peloponnese to Methoni Castle. Unlike most of the others we've visited, this is a seaside castle so required very little climbing! It was built by the Venetians in the 13th century and the huge fortifications, the moat and the emblematic lions are great examples of Venetian architecture. The castle witnessed events like the Ottoman conquest in 1500 AD and the Venetian recapture in 1686. You enter through a massive gate after passing over the arched bridge that crossed the moat.
Once inside and after navigating a pathway between the massive walls...
...
...you essentially enter a huge park that happens to have the remains of a castle in it. It a vast green area and was absolutely beautiful on the gorgeous sunny day we had.
A hedge of sage! 
We first climbed up to the upper acropolis of the castle for views over the rocky coast and back to the modern city.
The middle part of the castle has a few restored buildings and a seagate.
The best part of the interior castle though is the port gate and the pathway out to the small Bourtzi, similar to the one in Nafplio, that sits at the very tip. It was built in the 1500's as further fortification of the harbor.
The view back to the seagate and the water near the harbor.
We had such a beautiful, warm day for our visit. It was, again, so quiet and peaceful. We only met two other people the entire time we were there!
Having encountered serious roadworks and diversions on our way to Methoni via Pylos, we headed back across the bottom of the peninsula through Koroni to get back to Kalamata. It was a nice drive along the coast. The area seems like a serious summer holiday spot with tons of holiday rentals and small towns filled with tourist places - all completely closed up and virtually deserted this time of year. 
We made a brief sojourn up the narrow, winding roads to Koroni Castle and were rewarded with some nice views but didn't go in. Next time!
THE ROAD HOME
We left Kalamata for home, stopping for the night at Nafpaktos across the Gulf of Corinth from the Peloponnese. The drive there was thankfully uneventful. The road took us all along the Gulf or Corinth and it was really beautiful, especially crossing the Rio-Antirio bridge.
Nafpaktos is a very cute small town with a nicely restored Venetian Harbor at its center. It's a very petite harbor and really quaint.
There's a nice view of the castle, we didn't visit it, and the clock tower.
Ouside the gateway in the harbor wall is a beach with a view back to the bridge.
And at night it transforms into a Christmas light show.
We enjoyed cocktails and dinner by the harbor before going back to our hotel. Glad we got a good nights sleep because the next day was a doozy! We knew that Central Greece and Thessaly, the regions we had to travel through to get home, were the epicenter of the farmer's protests and there were numerous "tractors jams". We didn't really understand the extent though as almost the entire length of the National Highway was closed! As a result, we were treated to an extremely scenic drive around the back of Mount Olympus and through tiny rural villages almost all the way home. What should have taken six hours took nine!
But we made it back and it's great to be in Thessaloniki again. It's a wonderful feeling to come back from a great vacation to a place we've fallen in love with and call home.
Wishing all of you all the best this holiday season. We're home for awhile now but stay tuned. We're planning a week in Rome for February.
This featured blog entry was written by mrb430 from the blog Arrr Adventures.
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