Crete to the Peloponnesus

Jul 3, 2015 101 0 0

Kalamata, Greece

It has been nearly two months since we’ve posted a blog, which is a good indication that we have been having an excellent cruising season. Our last entry was from Chania Crete, where we left on June 26th to cross yet another windy corner of the Aegean. Once again we waited for a calm, clear weather window and left early. But then once again, we had heard the stories of calm forecasts turning into nightmarish crossings. So when the wind began to come up, we prepared ourselves. Ah, but instead of drama, it turned into a dream sail with 20+ knots on the beam and mild seas.

During our sail, we received word that the Greek banks would be closing for several days to stem the flow of withdrawals amid rumors that Greece might be leaving the European Union. For weeks we had watched the news about the pending doom regarding Greece’s financial debt. The general comments from the local were that “they (meaning the EU lenders) are bluffing.” So while we were concerned, we weren’t too worried. We have been in Greece during the past three years and they have been dealing with these same issues the entire time.

But this did seem more serious. Banks closing and ATM withdrawals would be limited to 60 Euros per day; that was it. In a cash economy, Greek residents were told (by the government) how little of their hard-earned money they could have. Given that our funds are in an international bank, we were allowed to withdraw our usual daily limits. Good news for us.

We tried not to let the banking news impact our beautiful sail, so we made a plan to spend the weekend relaxing at anchor and then head to Kalamata to beef up our cash stash before the ATMs ran out of money.

Kalamata is the largest city on the southern Peloponnesus of Greece, best known for the Kalamata olive. We arrived the afternoon of the first day of bank closures and were surprised to find quiet neighborhoods and no queues at ATMs. We had read the news about long lines and angry demonstrations in other cities, but it seemed that it was life as usual in Kalamata. As evening came on the town square filled with locals coming out to enjoy the night.

We spent several days touring the area around Kalamata and each day the banks were closed, the ATM lines grew. But we didn’t see rage or frustration, what we saw were friendly people waiting their turn and helping others who had difficulty. It was clear that many of these people had never used an ATM machine before. Some plodded through very carefully, sometimes starting over two and three times before getting their money. Others asked for assistance from the people in line, yelling over their shoulder in Greek, we assumed saying “what now?” An older woman sat in a chair until her turn came, as she could not stand for the 30+ minutes required. When our turn came, we felt guilty that we could get up to 900 Euros from the machine while the Greeks could get so much less. But our conscience was eased in knowing that all of our withdrawals would be spent in Greece.

We could include a photo of long lines at ATM machines that you saw on the news, but we chose, instead, to post this image that we captured of a rainbow as we sat fat, flush and happy on Berkeley East. Perhaps it is an indication of better times ahead for Greece. We hope so.

A day trip from Kalamata saw us driving along the windy coast roads to Dyros and the cave of Vlychada. Discovered in 1958 the cave covers 1.5 miles of water passages through an intricate network of low passages, large galleries, unique shaped stalactites and stalagmites with amazing colors.

From the Caves we wound through the mountains to the Byzantine ruins of of Mystras. The fortified town overlooks the city of Sparta and the plains surrounding it. Built into the hill, we climbed up the crumbling streets to see the incredible churches and their frescos.