Monemvasia is amazing

Monemvasia, Greece

Today we have to say good-by to Gytheio. This spot has been special. The view of the water is amazing and it is such a sleepy little waterfront town now without all the tourists. The staff at the hotel we're staying in have been especially friendly. So, if you happen to be in Gytheio, be sure and check out the Gytheion Hotel.. absolutely tops! And, they are right above a SUPER ice cream/internet cafe shop. Tamara and I had a run this morning and we swam too... so little time, so many fun things to do.

Our ride this morning will be one of our longest. We will be crossing the entire peninsula and going to the village of Arhaggelos. We have about 60 K, but Yorgos says it will be relatively flat.. yeah, right. We start off and travel through miles and miles of orchards again. This time oranges and of course figs, olives, tomatoes etc. The road is more of the same... up to beautiful views, down to little villages etc, etc.

The real highlight of this day was our evening in Monemvasia. this amazing place is a small mountain of rock that was seperated from the mainland by and earthquake in 375 AD. It was founded by the Byzantines in the sixth century and shortly after it became an important port. It has a causeway that links it to the mainland. It has many ruins of the original 800 houses and four of the original 40 churches. High above, castle walls protect the upper town on the summit. There is a fortified zigzag path from the upper town leading to the summit overlooking the town. We could have wandered through these ruins for hours. They have many shops and restaraunts to explore too, but the ancient buildings where amazing, especially at sunset. This was truely one of the highlights of our trip, and I would encourage anyone to make this a must see in Greece. I'll try and put a link up in a few days.