5th part Greece-Laconia and Mani

We have arrived on the 3rd 'finger' of the Peloponnese: Laconia wants to be conquered.

In the port of Elaea, we find our first spot. The next morning, Gaby and Fred leave us. They are drawn further to a lonely beach. Paul and us like the little village and decide to stay a few more days. We take a walk through this 'ghost village'. Everything here is focused on tourism, and the village is currently completely deserted. All houses are vacation homes and therefore empty in winter. However, we still like it, and during a walk on the beach, we discover many old house ruins half submerged in the water. The sea swallows everything, bit by bit.

After two days, we continue driving in bright sunshine. Unfortunately, many of the beaches we visit are underwater. It has been raining a lot the past nights. Good for nature...not so good for us. Paul gets stuck at some point and has no chance of getting out on his own. Since we are on firm ground (phew), we use our Knut to pull him out. Lucky us :)

In Agio Apostoli, we stop at the harbor and go to a fast-food restaurant. We all crave burgers and fries (yum yum). The chef (a really chubby man) is sitting at the computer playing music. When he realizes that we are nodding along to the music, he eventually turns up the volume and is delighted when we give him a thumbs up. Disco fast-food!! It could be worse :)

Then, on our drive, we come across an adventurous road. A gravel road leads directly along the sea. Sometimes the water reaches the road (gulp). There are large puddles to cross. Close your eyes, press the gas pedal, and go. Luckily, we all make it (with full speed). Eventually, we find a great gravel parking lot right by the sea. In front of us: rocks and a small sandy bay (of course in turquoise, grinning).

Kilian hangs our hammock between the trees. Swinging with a view of the sea, he enjoys the afternoon. Our little Lucy really wants to join him in the hammock. She coolly lies down on his stomach and enjoys swinging. What a cool fur nose!! We stroll along the rocky coastline with Paul. At the top of the cliff sits a beautiful little white chapel on the slope. A typical well-known image from Greece: white chapel and blue sky. We find it like a postcard. The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, and the sun shines with immense power from the sky. Spring has definitely arrived in southern Peloponnese. It smells of flowers, and the birds are going all out. We go down to the rocky coast. Big waves crash against the rocks. We take great photos. The spray splashes high into the air directly in front of our faces. What a great spectacle.

In the evening, a Greek man comes by. We meet Niko. We have a nice conversation with him. He has a great old VW T2 bus that he is currently working on. Eventually, he says goodbye and shows up again an hour later with a huge bottle of homemade white wine in front of our bus (oh God, I fear the worst). A fun evening ensues. The sweet Greek wine tastes delicious, and Niko tells us a lot about himself and his country. Late at night, he goes home...and us? Of course, we go to bed first - and yes!!! we still haven't learned anything...the wine gives us a hard time the next morning. Especially our heads (ouch ouch)!! The only thing that helps is a long walk along the beautiful rocky coastline. After every turn, there are new spectacular views. Rocks, stones, and in between, well hidden, small turquoise sand bays keep appearing. Laconia is truly amazing. One quickly forgets about aching heads. Our furry noses also think it's amazing and climb over the rocks like mountain goats... hunting mice and birds among the thyme that grows here, and even going into the sea for a swim. In the evenings, they fall down as if dead because they're so exhausted.

We have dinner with our friend and travel companion Paul from England every day, and the almost daily topic is the 'Brexit' in England. For Paul, it's a true catastrophe. From the end of March, his carefree traveling time is over. He will only be allowed to travel in EU countries for 3 months and then must return to England (or other non-EU countries) for 3 months. Only now are we slowly realizing the true extent of Brexit. We hear about it in the media, but if you are not directly affected, you don't really think about it. Poor Paul... he is devastated. After giving up everything in England, he wanted to travel around for the next few years. He definitely needs a new life plan. We hope he finds an acceptable solution.

We enjoy the warm days and balmy nights. Sit in the evening by the 'Eucalyptus' bonfire (it burns like kindling), chat into the night, and admire the breathtaking starry sky. Paul and Kilian go swimming. The thermometer shows 21 degrees. Every noon, the 85-year-old Swiss man Werner comes by. 20 years ago, he rode his bike from Switzerland through the Balkans to the Peloponnese - and stayed here in Neapoli :) He enjoys the warm weather here. He runs 10 km every day - at 85 years old - Respect!!

A few days later, we continue to Monemvasia. This medieval town, built on a rocky island, wants to be conquered. But for today, we are content with spending the night at the harbor on the mainland. The sea throws huge waves against the quay wall and into the small bay and promenade. The houses, cafes, and restaurants are all built close to the water. We take many pictures. The promenade is slightly flooded. If we had known what awaits us the next day....!!

We are woken up the next morning by loud noise. Huge waves come in and sometimes splash over the quay wall. The boats sway on the water. We can't believe our eyes - and when we look towards the town - we are even more amazed. Monster waves come into the small bay. The beach promenade is completely flooded. Slowly, we become aware of the extent!! And when we find out that this is only the beginning, we start to feel a bit uneasy (gulp). The coast guard is on duty. They are excited and busy running around. Boats are secured. People come down from the village. There is great commotion. The noise of the waves is deafening. Sand and stones are thrown ashore. Terraces fill up. The water keeps flowing into the streets. The first cafes on the promenade are cleared. The waves grow bigger and bigger. At some point, we hurriedly run back to our buses. The quay wall is no longer an obstacle. The waves simply wash over it. Our campers already have 'wet feet'. The harbor master calls: quickly, get away with the cars. The water is coming. So, we get in the car and move a little higher out of the harbor. We park a bit higher up on the road. Our desire for sensations is too great. What a natural spectacle. When the water slowly starts to approach the road from above, we decide to finally drive up to the upper town. Our buses are safely on high ground. We walk down to the town again, have a coffee in a cafe that is still open, and together with many Greeks, we somewhat bewilderedly observe what is happening here. When it gets dark, we go back to the buses to sleep. We have a restless night ahead. Lightning and thunder for hours, heavy rain pounding loudly on our roof, the wind shaking us - and in the background, we hear the sea roaring far away. We are curious about what awaits us tomorrow. In the evening, we have visitors. A colorful old Mercedes bus with flowers on it drives onto the parking lot. Well, how great is that, we are excited...come on in :) We meet 'Adventurous Big Family'. Mom Verena and dad Toni with Anne, Lena, Juli, Madita, the little Kalle, and dog Eddie!!! 2 adults - 5 children - and 1 dog WOW. And they all live in this bus together for months - respect respect!! I immediately go down to the city the next morning and open my eyes wide. Tons of stones were thrown into the harbor by the waves. The Greeks begin cleaning up with heavy machinery. Bars and cafes are flooded. Sand and stones are everywhere on the streets. Fishing boats have sunk. The official motorhome parking lot is completely underwater and covered in huge stones. (Thankfully, we were not standing there). The little lighthouse on the quay wall has collapsed together with a piece of a huge rock. Unbelievable with what force the water has entered the land here. Our first camp spot in the harbor is covered with huge stones. Our second spot up on the road is covered with huge garbage cans that it threw meters away. Also here, huge stones and plastic garbage everywhere. Divers try to lift sunken fishing boats with air cushions in the harbor basin. The whole village is present. But 90% are just standing around looking and only a few start calmly cleaning up. The Greeks definitely have a lot of composure. Luckily, only material damage has occurred. We watch the busy hustle and bustle for a long time and then decide to sit in a bar in the harbor that has survived - have a beer - and continue watching the action. The waves are getting bigger again. Some are still splashing over the quay wall. Thunder is already rumbling out at sea. We are curious if it will continue.

In the evening, a few young Germans with a camper van join us in the parking lot. We meet Jana and Mark with the 'Project Justus'. The two have also been on the road for many months and had almost the same route as us. They were still in Ukraine (where we actually wanted to go too - we keep asking ourselves why we didn't). Then the Swiss join (but they don't feel like having a conversation). Anyway, our emergency parking lot is full of buses, people, and dogs - we like it - there are always news and experiences to exchange.

In the morning (the annoying wind is still blowing), we feel the urge to go out. Paul, Kilian, and I want to walk across the dam and up to the small island. The old Monemvasia can be found here. So, into the campers and onto the dam. I want to walk to take photos of the crossing. The wind almost blows me away, and big waves crash against the dam. I get a proper shower of spray - but for great photos, I willingly endure it, grinning. Then we stand in front of the old city wall - basically the entrance to old Monemvasia - and wow: we have landed in the Middle Ages. Narrow stone-paved footpaths, beautiful stone houses, stairs everywhere you look, a Byzantine chapel - all crowned by a Franconian fortress high up. The old houses here were almost falling apart in the 1950s, but a few clever Greek people bought everything up, built restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops, and gradually restored all the houses. Truly a dream to look at. We climb all the way up the mountain, passing many ruins along the way (most of them church ruins). The wind almost blows us away at times. Once at the top, we enjoy the spectacular view. On one side, we see 'New Monemvasia' on the mainland where our buses are - and on the other side, we see the truly spectacular old town of Monemvasia below us. In summer, thousands of tourists seem to flock here. We are actually completely alone in the old town. Can you believe it??!! Sightseeing is fun like this: We stroll through the narrow alleys and enjoy the medieval atmosphere. This trip was definitely worth it. With our minds (and cameras) full of impressions, we leave the island and return to our 'wagon circle'.

Unfortunately, it storms the rest of the day, and we are once again trapped in the bus. After the extremely summery temperatures last week, the bad weather is annoying us a lot right now. It has been storming and raining for four days now. We decide to all stay together in Monemvasia for a few more days. 'Adventurous Big Family' says goodbye first. They are going north today. Some go, and others come. In the evening, a young Frenchwoman arrives at our spot. We meet Lora and her wonderful dog Tschubaa. Lora is traveling alone with her dog and has also converted her camper van herself (more respect!). The chemistry is right here too, and we are very happy to welcome her into our small group.

Kilian and I stroll through the harbor with the dogs. Horrified, we see how much plastic waste is now lying around after the big storm. The harbor is full of it, and so are the flooded streets. A nice Greek man has caught something in his net and is trying to pull it out. We curiously get closer, and he proudly shows us his catch. Five big octopuses are visible. He immediately fillets them and gives us a big portion. Wow. Tonight, we will have spaghetti with tomato sauce with fresh octopus. He even explains a recipe to us. Isn't that great?! Back with the others, a huge beautiful brown-striped giant suddenly joins us. He simply lies down in Mark and Jana's bus as if it were his own and takes a nap there. A gentle, beautiful giant. He also doesn't leave all day. Since he is very thin, they feed him.

In the evening, we all decide to go out. With good food and everything that goes with it. We quickly find a small restaurant - and yes, can you believe it?? - the chef is the fisherman with the octopus! We are the only guests. He is almost overwhelmed with joy and immediately lists all his dishes. The evening starts cozy with good food. Then the first ouzo comes... then the second... the music gets louder (the chef plays DJ), and half an hour later, tables and chairs are quickly moved aside, and the bar turns into a disco. Everyone rushes to the dance floor, and the chef is overjoyed with us. We all dance to old rock classics. The ouzo flows abundantly. In between, the chef has to leave with his scooter and buy more ouzo from the competition, grinning. At some point, we decide that it's time for the first Sirtaki. So, we put on Greek music and off we go!! But how? No one really knows. Outside on the street, the Greeks curiously look through the window. The loud music and laughter are probably audible throughout the street. A nice Greek sees our Sirtaki dilemma and comes in laughing. He gives us a brief introduction to Greek folk dance. The mood gets higher and higher, and the music gets faster and faster. We give it our all, and in the meantime, half the village stands in front of the window and looks in, laughing and curious. At two o'clock in the morning, we say goodbye. What a great and fun evening. When we return to the buses, we see that the gentle giant is actually waiting for us. He wags his tail and stands in front of Mark and Jana's bus, as if it were natural, and even comes with us when we all have one last nightcap in Paul's big camper van.

I probably don't need to mention how we all felt the next morning, right? But the sun is shining, the thermometer shows 20 degrees, so we quickly pack up and drive to the beach. The huge dog with Mark and Jana refuses to get in the bus. Standing in front of it like a stubborn donkey, she doesn't want to leave. She likes it here so much because she was allowed to roam freely and chase birds and mice to exhaustion. But nothing helps...onto the arm...and into the car, dear Lucy...SORRY.

On the way to the beach, we drive through a 'ghost' -mani village in the mountains. Many twisted stone houses stand there in typical Mani style. We park and stroll through the empty narrow streets. Some houses are open, and we can peek inside. Some still have beds, tables, and chairs inside. No idea why everything is abandoned here. We suspect that there simply weren't enough opportunities to earn money in the middle of nowhere. We dream of a community here in this great village (one can dream, hehe).

Back on the 'Dinosaur Egg' beach, we all settle in first. We borrow stone paint from the children of the big family (yay), and of course, the child in us comes out immediately. All day long, we paint the beautiful snow-white stones. In the evening, we gather firewood for the evening campfire with stick bread. We prepare the fire, and then it's go, go, go. A camper van arrives first. A nice Frenchman with a dog (of course) gets out. We meet Joan with (the completely crazy) dog Vota. He picked him up on the street in Portugal. Joan is on his way to Thailand with his van (envy envy). Then, the next camper van arrives with French people and a food trailer attached. We meet Emelie and Nadir. When the fire is burning, another bus arrives. And by then, we are completely speechless. We meet Marc and Lucy from?? Yeah, believe it or not - from South Korea!! - Isn't that insane?? The two are YouTube stars and make a living by posting their journey on the internet. In South Korea, that is still something completely exotic, to travel like we all do. Accordingly, they have many fans who follow their journey. Not a bad way to make money. We later sit together at the fire. Many, many nice people from many, many countries. What a great night around the fire with a spectacular view of the stars and the full moon included. Later at night, an Italian young family with two children and, of course, a dog joins us. Our group is growing, and we become more 'multicultural' :)

The Frenchwoman Emelie tells us that she is a professional harp player and has her harp (2 meters tall!!) with her. She promises us a morning harp concert on the beach. Wow!! We are speechless... there are actually people who take their huge harp with them on their journey. But we are happy about it.

The next morning, the time has come. After breakfast, we all meet by the water. Emelie has set up her huge harp and starts playing. It gives us goosebumps to hear these beautiful sounds. In the background, the sea is rushing and shining turquoise. If that's not 'living the good life'....it's Monday morning :)

A day couldn't start any better, we think!! Later, another camper van arrives at our fantastic beach. We meet the Romanians Alex and Gabriela. The chemistry is right here too, and we are happy that we are becoming more and more people. At noon, we pool our remaining food supplies, and the Frenchman Nadir cooks a delicious meal for us in his food truck. A huge table is set up on the beach, and we all sit together comfortably enjoying the delicious food. The South Korean Marc records everything with his video camera, and we are all live on the internet, with over 5000 South Korean fans watching us (thankfully, we only found out about all of this after the meal, otherwise we probably wouldn't have been so relaxed, hehe).

With a heavy heart, we leave 'our' little bay the next morning. We need supplies and water and want to return to Kalamata because we also urgently need a washing machine. So, we say goodbye to everyone...in three days we will see almost everyone again...because the rest is coming to Kalamata Marina.

So, off we go to Kalamata in bright sunshine and 21 degrees. Since we last drove this stretch a few weeks ago, the nature was nowhere near as advanced as it is now. Everything is blooming and green. The almond trees shine in brilliant white. The green meadows are filled with colorful flowers. The small sea bays shimmer crystal-clear in the sun. Even in the small villages and towns, life is awakening. Restaurant owners are preparing their terraces. There is busy activity everywhere. In May, the season begins, and thousands of tourists invade the Peloponnese. We are so lucky to be experiencing this spring awakening (and without many tourists) right now. It is truly a dream to see the Peloponnese so colorful and green. We are overjoyed :)