Kalo Nero - Palouki

Sunday, 11.06.2023

We get up early and drive to the farmers market in Kopanaki. Apparently, this is the largest market in the area. There is a wide variety of delicious fruits and vegetables, herbs (smells amazing), olive oil, honey, flowers, but unfortunately also many stalls with cheap clothes and imitations. I find this quite unfortunate as it makes the whole thing seem cheap, and I have noticed this on other markets as well. In the middle of the market, in front of a butcher shop, there is a display case with two roasted pigs. The smell is irresistible and a man is busy cutting the roasted pigs into manageable portions. He uses a gigantic knife, almost like an axe, and brings it down with great speed from a considerable height. His fingers are only about 1 cm away from the spot where the knife hits. I can hardly watch. Of course, we buy a portion and after stocking up on fruits, vegetables, and fresh bread, we treat ourselves to a second breakfast: warm roasted pig on fresh, warm bread. So delicious!

Afterwards, we drive to Kyparissia to visit the Old (Water) Mill. It is the last remaining of ten water mills that used to exist in this region. Built in 1850, it has been used over time as a store, tavern, and even as headquarters for rebels during World War II. It was restored a few years ago and now grinds grain again. It also serves as a small museum where you can see equipment, tools, and other memorabilia related to the mill's history. There is also a café and a shop where you can buy local products. The staff is incredibly friendly, they explain everything in detail, we get a private demonstration of the water mill, and even a tasting of Tsipouro. After enjoying a coffee in the beautiful garden, we make our way to the castle of Kyparissia. The navigation system suggests going down to the city and then driving to the castle from there. On the way, we come across a signpost indicating a shorter route, so Martin decides to take this road, which turns out to be quite challenging for a 7-meter long and 3-meter high camper van. The road becomes very rough and narrow, with sharp curves and some potholes. The branches of the trees scrape against the van, and just before the end of the road, we encounter a car that has to reverse a long way because we cannot pass each other. Finally, we make it and find a parking space in front of the castle, only to discover that it is closed today. According to the travel guide, there should be a small but nice old town below the castle. So we set off and walk (once again in the scorching midday heat) steeply downhill below the castle, but we don't find anything small or nice. We decide to go to the harbor, which was highly recommended, and on the way there, shortly after leaving the castle parking lot, we actually drive through a small nice street with many taverns (unfortunately all still closed), so this must be the aforementioned old town... When we arrive at the harbor, we are not sure if we found the right one, but after looking at the map, we realize that there is only one harbor. It looks very deserted and somewhat rundown, with litter lying around, some boats in the water, and nothing going on. Even the promised sea turtles, which are supposed to swim in the harbor basin, are nowhere to be seen. As a result, we decide to go to the city center. The way there is quite uphill, but we find a square with many cafés, so we have a drink first and then finally find a part of the city that we quite like. There is a big construction site at an intersection, where workers at quite a height seem to be working on the telephone line. Martin is very impressed... We walk back down to the harbor where our camper van is parked, and I go back to the harbor basin and there I actually see it - a huge sea turtle drifting along. I manage to take a short video before the battery dies. We stand by the harbor basin for a while and in total we see seven turtles. Unfortunately, they are quite far away, you can only briefly see the brown shell below the water's surface, and occasionally a head comes out of the water to breathe. But we are very impressed by the size of the animals.

We continue towards Elea, where there is a parking space under trees where you can camp freely, and it is supposed to be very original and unspoiled. According to recent reviews in relevant apps, the ratings have not been exclusively positive anymore. Apparently, random people were selected and sentenced to 30 days of probation for wild camping at the end of April. Furthermore, there are supposed to be a lot of feces and toilet paper in the bushes. We approach the parking space from the north (as there is a tavern nearby), driving along a dusty road past many quaint trees. All the available spaces are already occupied, and the trees that are not occupied are too low for us... Eventually, there are not so many trees anymore, but more like a scruffy steppe with occasional trees, and unfortunately, there is no view of the sea, just a dune in front of it. We had imagined it differently... So, we decide to continue and eventually find a spot in Palouki at a small campsite. Here we have a great sandy beach almost to ourselves! In the evening, we set up our Omnia, and Martin wants to make "oven" potatoes with the remaining roasted pig. It tastes really good, but the potatoes take about 1 1/2 hours... Later, we take a walk outside the campsite. Next to it, there is a small harbor that is quite nicely laid out. Along the road to the harbor, there is a small kiosk where you can buy drinks and other things, and it is quite busy there, but the harbor seems to be the absolute meeting spot in the area. All the youngsters (mostly male) are there, each trying to outdo the others with the volume of their cars. The road to the harbor looks like a race track. Down by the harbor, there is a slightly outdated snack van, and there is also quite a lot going on there. Even at half past nine in the evening, the Greeks still come here with their little children to have something to eat... We decide to try that ourselves in the next few days...