36. Gythio

36. Tag: Today we went swimming in the sea right after getting up for the first time. The water felt colder than in Kalamata, but there was hardly any wind and the sun was already strong. That was a great start to the day! We take it easy and laze around at the comfortable Meltemi campsite.

Only around 3 pm do we drive into the city and at first we are shocked by the many people on the street. But today is Good Friday in Greece (Easter is a week later for the Orthodox), and people are enjoying their day off in the numerous gastronomic establishments along the harbor promenade.

We are lucky with finding a parking space and soon immerse ourselves in the relaxed hustle and bustle. A few detours into side streets confirm our fears that there might not be much worth seeing behind the harbor promenade. We are most fascinated by the modern and decommissioned tugboats lying in the harbor. Gythio was once the port of the ancient Spartans.

Before we continue driving, we make a short detour to a shipwreck lying on the beach, the Dimitrios. Not exactly beautiful, this heap of rust, but somehow there is a special atmosphere there that you can almost physically feel.

After a few kilometers and a shopping trip to Lidl, we stay overnight in a parking lot at the university in Sparta.