A Sunday morning back to the spring of 2016, we decided to join -along with a friendly couple- some other volunteers in an afforestation that took place on Mt Taygetos. There is a particular area, somewhere half way on the road between Kalamata and Sparti, that suffered from summer fires in recent years. Surprisingly, the number of volunteers was way bigger than the expected one, so the whole procedure ended well before noon. Any ideas for the rest of the day?
Mystras Castle Town
The old road to Sparta is a piece of art for outdoor lovers. It passes through gorges, comes across with two rock climbing sites, through (I am not kidding!) a rock and runs along the thick forest. Before its ending -six kilometers in fact- there stands a castle town called Mystras.
Built on the foothills of Mt Taygetos, it has a panoramic view of both Evrotas valley and the Lakonikos Gulf. No one wonders why William Villehardouin II picked that spot to build that castle during the 12th century AD. Byzantine families of Kantakouzenos and Palaiologos brought Mystras to the peak of its glory in the following two centuries, that sadly, were the last years of the empire itself.
Why do I make all this travel back in history? Well, to get you in the mood. Stroll around the alleys and see amongst others, Palaces of the Mystras Despots, Monasteries of Our Lady Pantanassa (the Queen of all) and of Our Lady Peribleptos, churches of Our Lady Hodegetria and of Hagia Sophia, Small Palace and family houses of Phrangopoulos, and Laskaris. Every single step will take you back in time; you will meet knights, crusaders, lords and emperors in every single corner.
It helped of course the fact that among us there was a professional tour guide. Telia provided us with a bunch of useful information about everything and her mellifluous narrative style travelled us in time.
On the way back
Although there are enough places for decent dining, we preferred to take the road back and have a stop in Artemisia, to all time classic Koupitsa tavern.