Monemvasia - The Gibraltar of Greece

After a long day touring Santorini followed by the captain's "formal" dinner, I was a bit pooped - so I made it an early evening. Our next port was Monemvasia, which no one had really heard anything about. I do not think I was alone in assuming it would be just another tourist stop full of souvenir shops. As such, I decided to linger in my bunk a little later than usual on this final day of our cruise.

Monemvasia - the Gibraltor of Greece

When I emerged, I was shocked to see this behemoth of a rock sticking out of the Aegean Sea. It was huge. About a kilometer away was a small port with what appeared to be some waterfront restaurants and shops.

After a few cups of coffee, we headed ashore to see what there was to see and to get our last authentic Greek meal. After perusing a few down-on-their-luck shops stocked with end-of-the-season remnants, we decided to head back to the waterfront and find a restaurant with wifi. We were greeted by an excited and enthusiastic restaurant owner who ushered us to a table on the water. After a few questions we all settled on some choices that would allow everyone to have a little taste of a lot of things.

Glenn, Lanny, Jay, John

There was fresh pita, tzaziki spread, olives, tomatoes, saganaki (fried Greek cheese), fresh anchovies, sausages, and grilled squid. Once again, I was in heaven. The sausages were greasy, the anchovies sweet and fresh, the tomatoes juicy, the tzatziki smooth and tangy, the olives salty, and the squid was perfectly charred with a sweet tender flavor. Woof!

The spread

Fresh Anchovies Marinated in Olive Oil and Vinegar

Grilled Squid

To the rock and walled city

After feeding, John decided to head back to the ship. Jay, Lanny, and I had another beer and relaxed by the water chatting about the trip, life, and the long trip home. After we settled the bill, we decided to see what was on that big rock across the cause way. We hopped the bus and rode up the hill to the entrance of the walled city.

We were told that the streets of the walled city were too narrow to allow cars, much less buses, so we were dropped off at the tunnel entrance to the city.

Entrance to the walled city

OMG - what a delight. Had we known this jewel was tucked behind those crumbling walls, we would not have spend our morning poking around the port city.

The walled city was a warren of narrow streets, homes, shops, cafes, restaurants, chapels, and boutique hotels. Some renovated, others seemingly crumbling back into the rock.

Unlike the other islands we had visited, the walled city architecture is in the Byzantine style. The buildings, streets, and the city walls appeared to be constructed from the surrounding stone. Every corner and side street was like a post card. It was breathtaking.

 I am so happy we took a chance and spent the Euro for bus fare to have a look at this corner of Greece. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to walk back down to the port to catch the tender back to the ship.


Along the way, we passed this lovely swimming "hole." It was all I could do not to strip down and have one last dip before we returned to Athens, the airport, and then back home.

 

Cool and refreshing

The walled city from the harbor