Ilaeira Mountain Resort Sparta

... I had been worried about changing everything mid-trip like this. <br><br> The front cogs are much bigger than my last, so that means that it&#8217;s harder to pedal. Worst day possible for this change as this was the day we tackled the start of the big mountains. I felt like I was back in Ireland at the start of the trip - before my muscles had developed. I haven&#8217;t pushed my bike since the first day in ...

... cycle gloves, etc., etc. But I only wanted what was necessary. I took the one guy over to my bike and showed him the problem with my grip shift. He asked &#8216;you want fix?&#8217;, and I nodded. Then I went in to tell Brian and ask him what else was absolutely necessary. When he told me, I almost reconsidered, but I&#8217;ve decided not to fight him about this anymore. Then when he does all his replacements and the ...

... out to the ocean for hours. <br><br>Through the course of the week with Thea Kristina we have gone to the beach a few times, out for drinks and the clubs a few times, to the outdoor bazaar (panagiri) both during the day and another time at night, I have seen and experienced Tripoli and have grown to love spending time here. <br><br>For a few days, my Theo Steve and Thea Sofia picked me up to take me to Sparta ...

... itself awake as we were there - but we knew our way around from previous visits and achieved our two objectives safely and swiftly. It was pleasing to feel a bit at home in the old place!<br><br>We then headed west into the hills again. We had a briefly scary excursion into the reserved area of the mighty electrical power station which dominates the landscape to the west of the city, but managed to turn and beat a hasty retreat in time ...

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and drove up to Palamidi Castle up above Nafplion. You can also get to it by climbing 999 steps. This Venetian fortress is made up of several separate self contained bastions. We spent a good couple of hours here and didn't see all of it.<br><br>We then drove about 45 minutes to the archaeological site of Mycenae. We explored the site and ...

... and stalagmites in all colors including blue, green, orange, and red. It was quite impressive, and the boat ride goes for about 45 minutes.<br><br>Another day we drove to see the abandoned town of Mistra which is built into the side of a mountain near the town of Sparta. The area is much greener and more fertile than the rest of the Mani peninsula. At its peak under Venetian rule in the 1600s, Mistra was a large city of nearly 25,000. The town is ...

... the entire flotilla went in a fleet of three taxis to Monemvasia, the Greek Gibraltar. The lower town is all cute shops and sights, and then it is up a slippery steep staircase to the ruins of the upper town, the precipitously located Agia Sofia and the citadel 300m at the top. Then we made like proper holidaymakers and had lunch out! Back down to 'Mistral', one of PH's new Dufour yachts with a bathroom each (!) and her main feature, a solar panel ...

... rocks standing alone like stalagmites (as all 9 monasteries do). Next was the Moni Agiou Nikolaou Anapafsa where we saw more frescoes painted on the walls and ceiling of the church. The paintings are all still in good condition with rich colours after hundreds of years. By the time we left the monastery it was pouring with rain and you couldn't see the rocks at all so we headed back to the hotel to wait for it to clear.

... t. It's like the seven dwarves. The stunning thing about Olympia -- wait till 5 and it's a ghost town. Once the tours are done oohing and ahing, the place is deserted. The next morning, I was on to Sparta to check out the old town of Mystra. It was in Kalamata (you might've heard of it, it's home to olives) where I met Lee and Anne, who have basically been the only people I've had a legitimate friendship with since leaving Ios aside from the Stoners and Casey, the ...

... with incredible vistas but the size of it alone is awe-inspiring. You enter through the famous Gate of the Lions (yes, I had G take a picture of me standing beneath them), already surrounded by colossal stones and you climb up, past the graves and the houses and the workshops, up to the palace of the king. Only a few walls remain and you can tell where the columns once stood. Keep climbing over the highest point and go down on the other side, where more former buildings ...