Middle-aged flash packers

We got up late today as we knew the weather was going to be iffy so there was no point rushing out. Roi was around and invited us to have a Greek coffee with her.

Roi is the sort of person you want as a friend. She’s thoughtful, kind and funny. Her reviews on booking.com are glowing and it’s easy to see why: she would make everyone feel very welcome.

For lunch we drove to Pylos. This is where Roi lives. It’s very pretty and has a more “real life” feel than Gialova.

Steve’s desire for a gyros was thwarted yet again. Ever since the monster gyros he ate in Nafplio, he has hankered after another one. The gyros shop in Gialova is closed and this time he couldn’t be bothered to hunt around for one. Big mistake because after settling ourselves in a restaurant, he was tormented by people walking by stuffing their faces with gyros. Meanwhile, I stuffed mine with pancakes. A weird lunch I know, but utterly delicious. I’ve missed my sweet stuff.

We wandered around trying to find the entrance into Pylos castle, only to find it was closed. Not a problem though as personally I’ve seen enough castles this holiday to last quite a while.

Next we drove into the hills, past the aqueduct and onto the the village of Kynigou. The views over the bay on the way were stunning but the village itself was nothing special.

Next, we made our way to Petrochori. Roi had told us this was a great place to watch the sunset. It’s glorious. Several little beaches lead on to a big crescent of deserted beach, backed by sand dunes. I’m sure in high season and without Covid it would be chock-a-block but as it was, we pretty much had it to ourselves. Beautiful.

Dark storm clouds followed us all day, but somehow, other than the odd rumble of thunder and a few raindrops, we managed to avoid a soaking.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Gialova and make our way to Galaxidi via Olympia. We are going to Galaxidi because we can visit Delfoi from there which I’m keen to see.

Olympia seems to be one of those places everyone says you must visit (the birthplace of the Olympic Games) yet no-one says its fabulous. They say things like “you need to use your imagination “. Being a philistine, it sounds a bit crap to me but as we can easily drive past it, I suppose we’d better have a look.

I will give you an honest assessment of Olympia’s charms , or lack of them, tomorrow.

Meanwhile here’s some photos of our very pleasant day today.