The Rest of the Peloponnese

Maybe this seems obvious to some, but be warned that when trying to
get off the beaten track, it's not always as easy to get to where you
want to go. I found that out while trying to get from Nafplio to
Gefyra. While my efforts were focused I didn't end up getting there
and after taking four buses and 5 hours later - Napfplio to Tripolis
to Sparta to Gythio to Areopoli. So I ended up in Areopoli which is a
small coastal town in the south Lakonian Mani area of the Peloponnese.
The spectacular Diros Caves are the thing to see here, but due to
arriving late the first day I had to wait for another day to catch the
one bus daily to the caves. What a sight though with an underground
boat tour of the subterranean river for about 40 minutes! I wish I
could have taken more pictures, but pictures can´t even give this
place justice to its immensity and amazingness (I know it's probably
not a word).

So from the south to the north Messinian Mani where I stayed in the a
quaint little town called Kardamyli. Trekking was the flavour here,
but I didn't have any time, so it was onto Olympia the next day, which
was quite a chore but only with three buses this time.

Olympia seemed a lot smaller than I imagined, being the birthplace of
the Olympics. It was still nice to ponder there all the people and
years of competition that place had seen - and going early in the
morning I was without the hoards of tour groups swarming the place by
the time I left - although it was interesting to catch a few
interesting facts on my way past an English tour. From Olympia to
Athens just for the night, then off to Madrid for the next phase of my
journey, but Spain and Portugal will have to wait for another post...