Month: Sep 2024

#1041 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Greece, Serendipity1 Comment

All the colours of my day. We took a trip to Monomvasia. Two reasons. Someone had said it was ‘Worth a look’. And secondly I remembered reading about the fortress town, in an old edition of National Geographical, such an old edition that the pictures were in black and white.

The understatement of black and white images and a throw away remark had not prepared me for  the vibrancy and beauty of a town hanging on the slopes of a rocky island close to mainland Greece.

Our day started very grey, torrential rainfall and a waterspout accompanied the bitter, but essential phase of coffee in a taverna.

Arrival to Monomvasia brought turquoise sea, free parking and a cheap bus ride up a steep hill.

Every corner of the town was a visual treat. Old houses still awaiting some twenty first century tweakments, or not. I do love a dishevelled building in the right circumstances.

A taverna for sale had a laconic sitting tenant with no expectation of being disturbed any time soon. Monomvasia is in Laconia.

For a touch of blue with both meanings of the word,  I realised yesterday that I really regret getting rid of all my dads old National Geographics when I cleared my old home 30 years ago. There is  something magical about  discovering a fantastic world of colour hinted at in monotone.

#1039 theoldmortuary ponders.

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So long Stemnitsa. Hello Gythio.

Both subjects far too rich to be  dispensed with in my briefer travelling ponders. Just so much wonderful stuff to ponder but no time to ponder on a road trip. Even on travelling days we like to do in excess of 10,000 steps.

For the first time in a while we have reliable wi-fi, which has enabled me to download images from my digital camera.

The digital camera is less prone to overheating so I am very glad to have had it on this trip. Which has swung from very hot to torrential rain in the blinking of an eye. My phone has overheated and failed at critical Google Map moments but so far we have hit every location or ferry appropriately.

For now I am going to share the thumbnail images of the market in Nafplion. I have yet to sort through them but they are so bright and wholesome. A Saturday morning well spent. There were one or two essential visits in mind when we planned this trip. For me Nafplion market was one of them.

And so to sleep ready to explore Gythio.

#1038 theoldmortuary ponders.

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Waking up on a rainy Monday morning in’the’ village. Not my village but a village nevertheless.

This village is the home village of one of my travelling companions, she has cousins on  every corner in this idyllic Greek mountain village. Her husband and I grew up in a small Essex village, in England 50 years ago. We live half a world apart. Me in Plymouth, England and him in Melbourne, Australia.

For us there has been an anecdote on every corner of this trip. Small inconsequences of our teenage lives are remembered and chuckled over.People who we knew well are fondly recalled. People we barely knew are fleshed out as we share our personal experience of them. We both went to an entirely normal secondary school, not an iota of an enhanced educational experience for us. And yet every day we have marvelled at the people we met and the quality of teaching we received.

A good foundation for lives well lived.

#1037 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Greece1 Comment

The day we followed a hand-drawn paper map around Stemnitsa and a little bit beyond

Breakfast to fuel adventures in the sun. Leaving Stemnitsa for a  Sunday Drive.

First stop, a monastery, where celebrations were ongoing to celebrate the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Amyalon Monastery

Next stop Dimitsana for excellent ice cream and a wander about.

Then an adventure of 10 km of hairpin bends to take us down through a ravine to some ancient ruins and a crystal clear river. So cool on a hot day. But thunder and lightning were about which made the drive back spectacular.

Forcing us to take refuge in an excellent Kafenio for early supper while we waited for the deluge to pass.

No menu just a verbal recall of what was cooking.

Fabulous food and a great wine rack.

All the while waiting for the rain to stop.

https://videopress.com/v/DzUuSGt6?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

So we could return to  Stemnitsa for more nattering in the square.

A roadtrip within a roadtrip.

#1035 theoldmortuary ponders.

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Farewell Spetses.

Hello Nafplio.

Many happy hours spent wandering streets and catching up on our steps after a 15 minute crossing to mainland Greece.

The Cats of Greece pose, well executed.

I can feel warmth towards Greek cats knowing that it is not my back yard they are relieving themselves in. Travel makes me more broadminded and tolerant!

#1034 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Greece1 Comment
Waiting for a ferry boat

If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?

Any number of swear words. I like to think I use them wisely and to make a point. But they slip out a little more often than they should, because I am a grandparent to impressionable small people.

Enough of my swear words.

The word I have used a lot today is luck and lucky.

For many more reasons than I need to go into here. Specifically because we took a ferry to a beach which looked like this four years ago

The owner made the decision to get rid of sunbeds, restrict trading to one taverna and have a well cared for public toilet.

The result for us was a quiet, peaceful beach approaching the end of the summer season.

Untroubled by mass tourism we swam and chatted on a near deserted beach. The water was crystal clear and we had a wholesome late lunch in the one remaining taverna.

Spetses you have been fabulous.

#1032 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Greece1 Comment
Self-Portrait on an Athenian Street

So far our road trip is mostly about walking the streets of Athens. 16,000 steps in 30 degree heat today. Starting with an early morning trip to an art supplies store to buy more watercolour paper but also because the owner makes his own artisanal wax pastels. His store was fabulous and his work station at the back of the store was a riot of colour.

Handmade oil pastels.

Batis Art Supplies

https://batisart.gr/

I’ve never used oil pastels but these were sorely tempting. For the sake of luggage I bought a small tube of watercolour named Olive just to celebrate its Greekness.

Getting to the store was a fabulous trip of street graffitti and a ridiculously named Vinyl and CD store.

My self-portrait was taken on a tree that had been painted blue and decorated with shards of broken mirrors.

Thank goodness for red lippy.