I believe this weekend was a long weekend for most of the world. It was the first long weekend of summer 2007.
Yes... unofficially and against the will of the weather which wants to draw back us at the winter time, Greece lives in summer time.

So... I celebrated this summer start with a travel with my cabrio at the south Greece again. I believe most of my friends know how much I love to travel and drive in beautiful places around Greece .

Saturday morning and I wasn't sure to where exactly I wanted to travel. Vrasidas, my MG TF, was ready to travel and I had prepared my small suitcase and of course... my music CD's, my travel books, maps and my camera.

I drove more than 800 kilometers in 2 days. I visited many places. I enjoyed doing something new in every town I passed from and I was lucky to discover something new at every place.

I have chosen to present you today the place I decided to spend my Saturday night and my Sunday morning.
Georgina, one of my best 360 friends at our morning chat asked me to see at my blog Gythio, a small town at the South Greece, the capital of Mani. Gythio as she told me is a place which brings her sweet memories.

So let's start my travel from Gythio ...

Something that only Greeks could do... I traveled without a plan... without having any reservation of a room in a hotel to spend the night. That makes the trip an adventure but I like adventures...

11:00 p.m. in a a cafe close to Tripolis where I stopped for a while for a small brake and a cup of coffee I checked my map. I was really tired after the climb at the Palamidi in Nafplio (in my next blog you will take all information you need about it) and I had to find a place to sleep.

Well... Sparta was a nice place to stop and I thought that the hotels at the city were a good choice. So... ready let's drive placing as destination Sparta ...

But it was night, I drove too fast and almost midnight I was close to Sparta and I did not wanted to stop there. Checking again my map I found a good idea to spend my night in Gythio. Sleeping beside the sea and having my breakfast at the seaside cafe it is always an attractive option for me.

So... I decided to continue driving and after 30 minutes I arrived in Gythio and what I found... a town with candles... the most romantic atmosphere I could ever imagined but... not what I needed that particular moment...

The adventure starts with candles... The electricity was absent because of the damage at one of the area electrical power transformers and only a few taverns with generators helped me to find my orientation at the dark and discover a parking place at the small harbor. I asked the owner of the harbor's Periptero (those small shops which operate in small kiosks and sell everything, a treasure that you could find only in Greece ) where to find a hotel. Yes... the people who operate those small shops know everything for the area and they could help you with any kind of information you will need.

I walked around the harbor asking at each hotel for room. No luck... Long weekend... not so easy to find a free room. Someone told me to check at the local police station and for my good luck with the help of the officer who was on duty at the night I found the room at a hotel at the nearby area. It was a very small simple room at the hotel Kranai but with a magnificent view from its window.

I woke up next morning with the wonderful sounds of the small harbor and the smell of the sea. That is what I consider as a paradise... I am an islander and when I have the opportunity to be closer to the sea I feel happy.

I opened the tall wooden window of my room at the traditional island architecture's hotel and I looked outside the morning beauty of the Gythion's harbor. The small fish boats and a run of fishes played at the surface of the sea just down my window. So peaceful scene! I stayed there until the run of fishes disappeared at the depth of the sea water. Time for my breakfast and to explore the small town...

A little island called " Kranai " and connected with the mainlaind by a short dam, protects the port of Gythio town from the open sea. It is a beautiful place with pine-trees and an ideal view-point to overlook the gulf towards the Parnon mountain range in the east and Taygetos in the north-west. As it is reported by Homer, the island was the first refuge of Helen and Paris on their journey to Troy. According to the myth, Paris forgot his helmet on the islet as he was leaving - hence its name, since in Greek a helmet is called "kranos".

An interesting site on Kranai is the restored Tzannetakis Tower, a Maniot fortress-residence belonging to the Tzannetakis-Grigorakis families. It was donated to the state and currently houses the History and Ethnology Museum of Mani. Also worth visiting are the chapel of Agios Petros and the octagonal lighthouse of 22 m height, built in 1873 of tenarian marble.

There are many beaches around of Gythio and the largest one is Selenitsa beach . In the afternoon, usually a perfect wind for wind-surfing will rise, and you can also hire a board and take lessons there. Selenitsa and Mavrovouni beach are two of the favorite places for the "caretta-caretta" sea turtles to lay their eggs in the sand. The nests are surveyed and protected of the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece called " Archelon ".

I hope that my photos have transferred some of the beauty of this place. I enjoyed the visit in Gythio and I have kept the phone number of the small hotel as I am certain that I will plan another trip there. I recommend Gythio to all my friends who plan to visit South Greece.
Gythio is one of the places which could offer peace of mind.