Monemvasia- a 6th century fortress

Not much can beat coffee on the balcony or cockpit of a boat watching the sun rise over the sea and listening to the birds, waves and church bells if you happen to be close. 🥰 On this early, calm morning, I watched a lone sailboat leave the dock and wondered where she was off to...
We were land bound so we set off to climb to the top of the island mountain through 3 sections of the Byzantine fortress: lower level a warren of shops, pensions, restaurants, churches and the lighthouse where Bob checked his compass with the one painted on the ground to ensure its veracity😉🤣 ; mid-level with remains of houses and more churches, and at the top, more "piles of rocks" (Bob's description)😅
The trip was challenging with gravel, rocks, stone stairs and a grassy field to cross and the wind💨 Wow! I thought I might get blown off! We stopped on our way down and sat under a gnarly olive tree to eat some fruit then made our way down, sometimes sitting on the rocks to get a sure footing. Our excursion to the top was over 7 kms! Back at our hotel, we sat on the beach but declined a swim as it was still windy, although it did not deter a young man from swimming and drying off in the sun and wind!
We drove back over the bridge (which once upon a time had 14 arches, 2 drawbridges and towers at either end) to have dinner in the lower town. Too windy to sit out but lovely just the same.Read more