A wondrous medieval labyrinth of laneways (Monemvasia)

 

7th June 2020 (Monemvasia)

Woke to sunshine and lessening wind, tied side to on the fisherman’s quay at Monemvasia. Chez, waking earlier than me had discovered an issue with the so called ‘man head’ ..yes that one. I got up and made my way across the cabin, a warning cry of ‘Don’t go in there!’ and a note on the door handle with the single word ‘NO’ and picture of a shocked face, gave me sufficient indication that this was not going to be the best of mornings for me. 

Dressed in a hastily wrapped sarong, I started working through the diagnostics of what could have gone wrong. At one point curiosity did get the better of me, and lifting the lid, was faced by something that would have had Martin reaching for his camera. After a few failed attempts to fix the problem, I eventually managed to get it going again - best guess is the intake pipe had sucked in a plastic bag stopping the flow, and once I’d cleared that the whole thing needed to be re-primed. 

If you’re sick of this entry already, bear with me, it’s most certainly a day of two halves!

After finishing my Jabsco toilet adventure, I washed up and had a lovely brekkie of yogurt, museli, fruit and honey - a mixture that Chez has now close to perfected.

Our plan today is to stroll over and explore the ancient walled city on the imposing rock that dominates the skyline. We have a long weekend holiday here in Greece, lots of cafes now open with mainly locals enjoying the harbourside atmosphere. We make our way across the small town, over the causeway and up the gentle incline to the fortress’ single gate entrance. Just prior to going through, a goldfinch flew across our path - always a treat for me. What we discovered on passing through the ancient doors, was a wondrous medieval labyrinth of laneways, with amazing smells coming from every doorway, be that a smokey waft of seafood cooking over charcoal, or exotic perfumes or some familiar Mediterranean herbs. We wandered in awe of just how lovely it was - and despite the long weekend, the narrow streets were close to empty. Each corner brought fresh vistas and more gasps from us both at just how beautiful the place is.

We made our way slowly up through the time worn shiny cobbled paths to the upper town, and found after not seeing anyone for 10mins that we had the whole place to ourselves. After resting in some well received shade, we looked out onto the town below. The view from higher up was spectacular; the cliffs blending with the terracotta patchwork of roofs against the almost impossible azure blue of the sea. Both felt quite honoured to be lucky enough to see this in all its glory, without the inevitable throng of tourists who will no doubt arrive by the coach load once the threat of Covid fades. Slowly and carefully made our descent down the sometimes treacherously steep and shiny winding pathway to once again marvel at the lower town and get some well earned refreshment. This we did at a nice balcony restaurant overlooking the town square. Refreshed after a lunch of selected appetisers we made our weary way back to Serentiy Now.