hellbent hikers homers home

day 3...........       We were up at 8.00. Nice sunny day in Kalamata. From the beach we were able to find Aristomenous St. which took us through the town and the local market. If you get to the little bake shops early you will get the freshest spanakopita and kuluri.  Walking through open air markets has always been one of our favourite ways to experience the culture. Inhaling the myriad of smells from fresh baking,spices and even raw fish all contribute to any market experience. National road #82 took us up and over the Tygetos Mts. The road was a concentration of switchbacks which carried us through the fire ravaged areas around Artemissia.  Complete destruction of what was once beautiful thriving olive groves captivated our attention as we skirted mountain tops and meandered around valleys.Some of the small villages were spared with the help of water bombers but the livelihood of the people was destroyed. Locals claimed the fires were intentionally set to de-stabilize the country prior to national elections.{270,000 hectares burned,4000 homes and buildings lost,76 dead,2.2 billion in damage} Karamanlis won a narrow victory over the Socialist party.  Just before Sparta was the very old Byzantine fortress of Mystras. Perched on the side of Mt. Taygetos, these ruins were a challenge to explore. Bring lots of water. Its places like this that remind me of why we are doing most of our travelling before we retire!!!!!!!!!!!At age 65 I would'nt be able to tackle these huge mountains!  The modern city of Sparti {or Sparta} was a pleasant break which allowed us to refresh our thirst and fill our bellies. Only the foundations of the ancient city remained so we chose to take pics of one another at the foot of King Leonidas. Whenever you see pictures of Sparta you will undoubtedly see this famous Spartan warrior..........................{If you are a Greek and you're reading this please send a letter to Prime Minister Karamanlis asking him to pick up the millions of plastic bottles that litter your beautiful country} . The road well travelled led us to Tripoli and Napflio where the Mycenaen ruins at Tirintha were a great lesson in how a determined people could piece together hundreds of 40 tonne rock with what seemed to be very little effort!   We had checked out this campsite at Epidavrous on the web and it was exactly as described.  Around 4.00p.m. we entered the gates of this shangrila-like setting directly across  the Saronic Gulf from Athena. After setting up the tent we picked bag fulls of oranges and figs in the neighbouring field. Sweetest i've ever tasted.  Bannana trees, date palms! ......what a tropical paradise......I gotta tell ya,this is the best way to see a country. Friendly people,fresh fruit and a crystal clear ocean at our doorstep.  what a life!!!!!!!!  We're still stuffing ourselves with Kalamata olives.......cant stop eating them.  Later were going in for a swim. Tomorrow we check out the theatres at Epidavrous. Apparently we're only a 2 minute walk away from the Sanctuary of Asclepius, God of medicine.  Asclepius is usually shown with a serpent and the licks from this spiralled snake offered a cure for whatever ailed you. for now a little r and r.......oh yaaaaaaaaaaaa  {Im looking at angie sitting in the tent eating tiramisu and slowly getting wasted cuz I think its spiked with liquor}