Day 35 - Sunday 9 May - Nafplion to Olympia via Sparta

Mothers Day - left Nafplion about 10.15 to drive to Sparta - landscapes very different - from the shoreline around the bay from Nafplion, to fairly barren hillsides with the occasional farm as we headed towards Tripoli, to mountainous winding roads with sheer drops as we got closer to Sparta. Once we arrived in Sparta we were a bit disappointed to find the archaeological site in disrepair - a direct contrast to the Parthenon which we thought over done - from one extreme to the other, where this one is really just a pile of rocks with no explanations for anything. Only one other couple and a man with a guide book, apart from a creepy looking guy on a bike that seemed to follow us - still not sure if he was an ‘official’ or not….. Still we have seen Sparta and stood where they stood thousands of years ago…

 The ruins really were in a field just here .... no entry fee, no nothing really.....

 The view from the ruins down onto modern day Sparta - very 'sparse' feel to it even now - not very inspiring

The ruins of the Agora, we think...

 Those hills in the distance really did have snow on them - we thought for a while it might be sand, but met a guy in Athens later that told us the snow stays on the peaks until mid-summer.

 I was trying to find a tree to do a wee behind, but the creepy guy on the bike put me right off.... he was probably just doing his job protecting the site from tourists, but no badge or signs anywhere in sight.

The statue at the entrance to the sporting field in Sparta
 
Had lunch in the only restaurant we could see - the rest of Sparta really was very ‘Spartan’. Headed towards Kalamata on the south coast - straight into some of the most gorgeous scenery - mountainous and windy, but very beautiful - it reminded us of Oak Creek Canyon. Turns out there is a climbing park there - certainly some sheer rock faces to climb! This was where we saw the ‘overhangs’ of the cliffs where the road just goes under the cliff and it looks like there is nothing holding the cliff up!! Some of the most beautiful scenery we saw all holiday, but also a bit scary because the shitbox started making weird noises and Graham said it was the brakes - great - just as we needed to rely on them to get us down over the steepest mountain passes we had been on - made Italy look like a doddle!

Got a bit confused in Kalamata - thought we were lost and had to turn on the girl to try to find the way - but knowing her track record for taking us up dirt tracks, I was reluctant to trust her…. This time she was helpful and we headed towards Pirgos on our way to Olympia, along the coast rather than winding our way through the mountains again, even though it looked longer on the map.

Arrived in Olympia about 5pm - lovely hotel room with a view of the pool - had some drinks by the pool to wind down and then a short walk before dinner in the hotel restaurant.

 The view of the pool from our hotel balcony - not bad for a Best Western

 The valley view from the hotel garden

That's Olympia down there...