First visit to Stoupa

May 2004, my first holiday in Mani, an area of the Peloponnese recommended by my mum who had explored the (then remote) region years before with my father on a battered old moped. She wanted to go back so I booked a last-minute First Choice package. Landing at Kalamata on Mayday morning we collected our hire car and set off,  meandering a bit aimlessly, through Kalamata in the general direction of Areopoli (the only signpost we could find). The beachfront in Kalamata was shabby, pre-season-quiet but thankfully car-free. We were tired and mapless (though totally happy to be in Greece) and as we swung left at the Messinian Bay Hotel. Winding upwards into the mountains, shafts of sunlight began to peer over the tall Taygetos peaks. I looked down, across the lush olive clad terraces and across the calm turquoise bay of Kalamata and demanded "STOOOOP!" Pulling over (scarily close to the edge of the road) we got out to take in the view - it literally took my breath away. Below us the green was dotted with red-roofed village houses and out across the bay the distant hills of Messinia looked as if they'd been painted onto canvas in a series of hazy silhouettes. I still get a surge of happiness every time I pass that viewpoint; it's when I feel I'm almost home!
We arrived in Stoupa and located the Kosta apartments, our home for the week; a two storey apartment with very slippery polished wood stairs and no heating. Although the days were warm and sunny the evenings were really cold and we had to turn on the cooker ring to try to take the edge off the chill. We spent that May week swimming and relaxing at Foneas beach and exploring the local area, Kardamili, Agios Nikolaos, Thalames, Langada, Areopoli.

Vathia

Foneas beach

Agios Nikolaos

One of those days we set off early to drive around the Mani Coastline. Driving south past Byzantine churches and pretty vilages, the road took us between dry stone walls that reminded us of the Yorkshire Dales. The foothills of the mountains were clad in yellow Euphorbia and the roadsides covered with colourful wild flowers. As we approached Oitylo we drove through an early morning cloud that shrouded the bay and a ruined tower house jutted earily through the mist, black and jagged, as if floating on air. We passed Areopoli (stopping for a quick browse in the bookshop) and headed for Gerolimenas. We stopped for coffee, explored the once thriving port and got ourselves adopted by a stray hunting dog who tried his best to join us in the car for our ride on to Vathia. Vathia, stood deserted and majestic on it's acropolis, a perfectly positioned look out post, camouflaged in it's barren surroundings. I wandered around wondering what life must have been like for the feudal former inhabitants of this isolated village. Leaving Vathia we climbed high into the mountains, through Lagia, then downwards, way down on the eastern side of the peninsular following the road (and a few slow-moving campervans) through Nifi, Flomohori and Kotronas. It was a hairy scary ride but absolutely breathtaking. The landscape was wonderfully varied; parts were lush and verdant in contrast with the harsh, barren terrain high up in the mountains. We stopped for a swim and some relaxation on a deserted, white-pebble beach, Halikea, in the tiny village of Vata. The taverna on beach served us with mouthwateringly fresh squid and salad before we set off back toward Stoupa. Climbing up the steep road through the village of Loukadika we drove through the imposing mountain-scape headed for Areopoli having completed a circular route of exploration and wonder!