Kardamyli is a small village on the upper west side of the Mani Peninsula. It is one of the oldest Greek cities, receiving mention by Homer in the Iliad. Road access to the village (and to most of the Mani Peninsula) has been available only since 1950-70, so most villages here are relatively unspoiled by tourism—and apparently they aim to keep it that way, accepting tourists but staying true to their roots. It shows.
We spent a morning getting breakfast at a taverna and then taking a stroll up the hill to Old Kardamyli, a fortified site that is partially open to wanderers and part of which has become a museum and requires a small fee. Well worth the walk and the 2 euro fee.
We explored the Kardamyli harbor and town, did some shopping, and drove to the neighboring village of Stoupa for a late lunch. Stoupa has embraced tourism to an extent that most Mani villages have not, due largely to its sand (as opposed to pebble) beaches.
The next stop was to be the mountain village of Kastania which is home to several Byzantine churches and other antiquities. What we didn’t know is that we arrived at the beginning of the Chestnut Festival, and the normally quiet village was clogged with buses and people. We left quickly and headed back down the mountains toward Kardamyli, encountering some fantastic views of Kardamyli, Stoupa, and the Mani coastline in the process, along with some interesting and off the beaten track mountain towns. We took a swim at the beach near or hotel. It was glorious, and pleasantly warm in the it-feels-okay-until-the-water-reaches-your-crotch sense of warm, but once you immerse yourself the restorative powers kick in and all is well.
Sunsets have restorative powers as well.
