The first thing you see when you are driving to the coast is Monemvasia, an imposing  almost-island.  It makes one think of Gibraltar, because it, too, is called “The Rock.” Monemvasia has both an upper and a lower town. Our group took a quick shuttle bus ride to the lower town. Angelos had told us that the cobblestone roads were very slippery, and he was right. In fact, he told me that using  walking sticks was an excellent idea for me.

The Rock’s history was Byzantine, Ottoman, and Venetian. Settlers in the lower town moved upwards to escape pirates, creating the upper town. We couldn’t imagine how the workers carried building materials up the high, steep hill to the top, and we learned that the heavy work was done by donkeys. I was captivated by the colors of the sea, blue, blue green,  and aquamarine.

On the shuttle bus to the lower town we saw the ship with the Olympic torch setting sail for Marsielles. Yes, the water really is that blue.

The main gate was built by the Byzantines. We walked through the main street to the Mosque Square.The mosque is now the home of a small archaeological museum. The symbols of the town are its canon and well.

Some of our group members opted to continue to the Upper Town. Later they told us that the view was magnificent. Nick and I chose to return to the mainland. We stopped for lunch at a place at which we were the only English speakers. We had been told that the local men carry “worry beads,” but this was that the first time we saw them. We shared a salad of lettuce with slices of potato, ham, apple, and orange, topped with croutons, raisins and black sesame seeds. This was a Wow!, as was the pistachio gelato  topped with chunks of almonds that we shared for dessert.

We decided to walk back to our hotel. The majority of our steps for the day occurred during this walk. We had been going uphill for so long that I asked a local woman how much further away our hotel was,  and she said  that we had 300 steps to go. We both wanted a nap after that.

In the late afternoon, there was a cooking demonstration  in our hotel by Rana, the wife of our hotelier. Rana asked for volunteers to help prepare the food, and there were more volunteers than there were courses. I was fortunate enough to be chosen. What fun it was! We made tzatziki, chick pea patties, moussaka, and baklava. Everything we prepared became part of our dinner, including  some things we did not prepare: Greek salad, spaghetti with shrimp, pork over rice, and roasted vegetables. Another Wow!

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