Following in the footsteps of Venetians and Spartans - from Koroni to Ancient Sparta

We love wild camping in Greece, so it was a wrench to go on a campsite but we needed to do some washing.  In every country we have been to, launderettes are easy to find in most towns, however, in Greece they are few and far between so that means you have to seek them out on campsites.

So, we headed to Camping Koroni (N36.79950 E21.95060). We had planned to go to Koroni and had heard there wasn’t any wild camping spots to be had there, as they ban motorhomes/caravans from entering the town so it was a good time to go on a campsite. 

Arriving at the campsite there was a big sign on the entrance saying ‘closed for works'.  We had read in our ACSI camping book that it was open all year, so we were a little surprised by the sign.  Eventually, the owner came up to the reception area and said we could stop but everything was closed – no pool, no taverna/bar and no shop – only hot water for showers/washing, toilets and a washing machine.  No problem, we said we just need one night to get all our washing done and to visit Koroni.

Closed swimming pool and taverna on the campsite – it says in the ACSI camping book 'beautiful swimming pool'.  Hard to imagine looking at this.

The campsite has 86 plots and we had the whole place to ourselves!  So we picked the largest plot, hooked up the electric, mats, chairs and BBQ out and then it was off to find the washing machine.  Unlike all other washing machines we have used, it doesn’t take coins or tokens and had to be operated by the campsite owner and costs €5 a time.  So, first lot of washing in and going, he decides to tell me that it isn’t spinning well but it doesn’t matter because there is plenty of sun to get it dry.  Great! main purpose of coming on the campsite was to use the washing machine and it doesn’t work properly – he still charged us €5 though.  We emptied the washing machine and had to wring it all out by hand, true to the owner's word, it hadn’t spun.  Mel then took it over to the washing line that he rigged up whilst I loaded washing batch 2 into the machine. He put it on a nearby wall, only for the bag to fall over in the mud and leaves – so, we had to wash/rinse it all by hand not easy when it is quilt covers, sheet, towels and umpteen pairs of undies!  We were exhausted by the end of it.   So, that done and batch 2 wrung out and hung up without falling in the mud, we had turned the campsite into what looked like a Chinese laundry - we had taken over 3 plots with washing lines!  The good news was we had full sun and it was hot.

Laundry done, we headed down to Koroni - a 5 minute walk from the campsite.  It is the furthest southerly point on the first peninsula in the Peloponnese and a pretty little village.

Historic castle guarding the harbour and entrance to the Messenian Gulf.  Like the fortress at Methoni, it was the Venetian's oldest and longest held possession in the Peloponnese

Narrow street and steep steps wind their way around the tiny village

Pretty houses at the entrance to the castle

Inside it’s like one big overgrown garden, with a couple of the bastions left to explore.  Part has been given over to private houses and garden plots and a large part occupied by the nunnery of Timiou Prodhromou.

Mel at the top of the castle, overlooking the Messenian Gulf

It was then time to sit by the waterfront and enjoy a cold beer before heading back to the campsite for a BBQ.  It felt strange being on a campsite and nothing open and not a sole to talk too, we might as well be wild camping - only we were paying €17 for this privilege.  We were joined by a small family of cats 2 adults, and 3 kittens though, and every time we turned our back the kittens had climbed into the motorhome – little b's!

We got up early the next morning, gave Sonny a good clean inside and out, washing all dried and put away and headed further around the coast to Petalida (N36.958788 E21.935025).  We parked up right next to the harbour looking across to the second peninsular towards the Taygetos mountain range.  Mel got a swim in before we had a wander around the harbour and into the town.  Another one of these places that has umpteen bars and restaurants, that had lots of old men drinking their coffee in them, a couple of shops that were closed, a bakery, bank and post office and there you have it, seen in 5 minutes flat!

Petalida

We had a bit of a decision to make last night.  We wanted to travel across the Langadha Pass to visit Mystras but that would mean having to come back on ourselves to continue travelling around the coast of the second peninsular.  It's only an approximate 70 mile round trip but we eventually talked ourselves out of it, however, when morning came, we thought it would be a shame to miss it out.  So, everything stowed away we set off.  We have been doing really well with our weekly budget, as wild camping saves us a lot of money, even though we do put back into the village/town that we stay in either by eating out or buying food from the local supermarket and/or bakery and fruit and veg shop.  However, today was a big spend as we needed to fill up with fuel (not cheap at €1.48 a litre) and (LPG €0.87 a litre) and Sonny’s fridge and food cupboards were looking bare so that meant a Lidl shop. We found all 3 in Messini, just outside Kalamata - total spend €131.52!  Three days budget spent in 30 minutes!
Leaving Messini, we managed to pick up a free stretch of motorway to take us around Kalamata (famed for its large black olives).  It’s just one massive concrete city, that we had no intention of visiting.  We then picked up route 82 – the Langadha pass.  It’s a remote and wild 60km road over the Taygetos Mountain range from Kalamata to Sparti, with only a couple of mountain villages in between.

Now is the time to pick the olives in Greece, mostly used to make olive oil and we have been seeing lots of pickers in the fields among the olive trees.  They lay a large net on the floor and then bash the trees with plastic pitch forks to get as many olives and branches to fall on the netting. They then drag the fork through the branches to get any remaining olives off. They then gather up the netting and put the olives in hessian bags, which are then transported by truck or tractor to the factories/olive presses. Looks fun, but in reality I bet it's hard work. These ladies were picking them right at the start of the pass and started laughing when I took the photo.

Olive picking near Kalamata

Never a good sign! We only saw a bit of rockfall in the road though the whole of the pass.

Interesting Graffiti on the side of the road - a lot of it seems to be depicting saving the planet.

Heading into Nedhondas Gorge, around those hairpins

The route was one that Telemachus took in the ‘Odyssey’ by chariot – it took him one day, it took us about 2 hours, due to us stopping to take in the views and to take lots of photos.  It is a steep route, with a series of hairpin bends and in places sheer drops – poor Mel’s arms were aching at the end of the journey.  The Gorge of Langadha, is where the Spartans used to leave their sick or puny babies to die.  Spartan boys were rigorously trained by the state to develop physical toughness, loyalty and cunning.  Babies unlikely to make the grade were left exposed on the slopes of Mount Taygetos – they were a cruel breed!  By the time we had Climbed to a height of 1400m, the temperature had dropped from 27°C by the coast to 13°C – jumper time!  Unfortunately, the pine forests in this area suffered severe fire damage, but are slowly showing signs of coming back.

The road was pretty much deserted all the way, which was a good job as it is very narrow in places.

This is going to be a tight squeeze!

And we're through!

Rock climbers parking spot.  We didn't spot any climbers, only this old East German 4wd military converted camper parked up

More tight squeezes through the rocks

Arriving in Sparti, we parked up and had a wander around.  It is a small town but a famous history.  Ancient Sparta was a military city, where its inhabitants believed their only purpose in life was to become strong soldiers and protect their homeland with their lives.  Sparti has built up next to the ancient city and is modern town with lots of shops, restaurants and of course plenty of pavement cafés!  King Leonidas Statue sits in front of a modern stadium – when the Persians attacked Sparta and told them to lay down their weapons, the Spartans’ response, immortalised beneath Leonida’ feet was, ‘come and get them’ (Molon labe).

Behind the stadium is the Acropolis of Ancient Sparta and Ancient Theatre.  Unfortunately, it closed at 3pm and we got there 3.15pm, so we just peered between the metal fencing.

Sparti is also famous for the annual 'Spartathlon' - held since 1983, it is a gruelling 246km run from Athens to Sparti, to commemorate the messenger Pheidippides who ran the same route in 490 BC -  the course record is 20 hours and 25 minutes.  Sounds like too much hard work for us!
Leaving Sparti we headed 6kms to Mystras and parked up in the car park to the entrance. (N37.07547 E22.37357).  We got here at 4pm and although the site doesn't close until 5pm we felt an hour wouldn't do it justice.  It opens at 8.30am tomorrow, so we are camped outside in the car park overnight to make an early start to visit it in the morning. 

Sally x