Athens and Peloponnese - Day 5

To make best use of the day before it got too hot we got up early and were out walking about 8.30. We were doing a walk up the Viros gorge.

To start with we were in the river bed itself, which was completely dry.

We then started to climb up the side. It was quite a difficult track as it was overgrown with thorny bushes. We saw a crab in the mud at one point. We passed a few villages and hamlets on the way.

There was a rather strange tree which had both acorns and berries.

Eventually we stopped for some lunch in Pedino by the church, where we had some company.

After that the path was a bit easier. From the top of the gorge we had great views back down to the river bed, and to our path on the other side.

We had a steep descent back down to the river bed.

Then there was a long walk back down. Looking back we had great views to the peak of Profitis Ilias, the highest peak in the Taygetus range, at 2404m.

The path went down through more little villages, passing lots of tiny chapels.

Across on the other side we could now see the caves where villagers used to hide out from invading Turks.

At the bottom we visited Old Kardamili, with its tower and city wall.

On the way home we stopped at the supermarket for supplies.

After showering and resting for a bit we went for a stroll down to the seafront and round the village and had a drink overlooking the sea.

Then we went back to the apartment for dinner, pasta with vegetables. We found that Stella had left us more cake and cookies.