*Note the photos aren’t so hot because of all the back lighting in the cave*
We were getting antsy for a boat wash, battery top up, and a chance to do some touring of the many sites around the Peloponnise, so were thrilled when we were able to get a spot in the marina for a few nights.
Kalamata is a city of around 70,000 people with another 20,000 commuting in for work days. It was full of kinda ugly apartment buildings, and there was a lot of traffic and general “bustle” going on. It was a good spot for refilling the larder, getting a few things at the Chandlery, and booking a car for the touring around.
The marina staff recommended a local fellow “Thanasis”, and rang him for me. He spoke excellent English and was an enthusiastic history buff. One thing I asked about was AC in the car. He said it might be possible, and would check in with his mechanic to see if it could be fixed. Later that day he stopped by the boat and introduced himself, and said that the part for the air conditioner was to be delivered tomorrow (Saturday), and could we push the tour until Sunday? “Sure!”
We continued with boat scrubbing and laundry on Saturday, while a gusty North wind pushed the boat around on the dock, until the starboard mooring chain gave way and we had a clunk against the concrete. I squeezed a fender ball in while Todd ran the engines to keep us pulled off. A quick radio call to the office and “John” arrived to see what needed to be done. Fortunately he was the diver, and 20 minutes later he had laid a new chain and got the mooring line connected. We still ran an extra line through the chain and back to a winch as our boat was a bit big for the space…Just as well we weren’t out touring around that day or the damage would have been substantial (concrete being very unforgiving to fiberglass!)
The North wind also significantly increased the temperatures so it was 99 deg F inside the salon (37.2 C), and every 30 minutes we sprayed off on the dock. We were a bit woolly the next day when Thanasis collected us promptly at 7.30 am, and off we went to Diros Cave. It was just over a 2 hr drive and we stopped to coffee up the driver at a lovely village on the way. The Mani peninsular was ruggedly beautiful and sparsely populated.
Once at the Caves, there was about a 40 minute wait in order to have the boat tour. The other option was to walk through a short section at the far end where the boat tour ended, but we had heard the float through was a more interesting experience. The boat men had a short stout club/paddle that they used to navigate the tunnels. They all seemed somewhat surley and possibly in need of another coffee, but our guide did a masterful job. (Later we heard that a lot of the shallow punts tip over when excited tourists move around too much, so that would explain the attitude!)
It was a wonderfully cool float through the labyrinth of tunnels, with stalagtite, stalagnites and stalagmites in shades of cream, and red. A very otherwordly experience and worth the wait.
Next stop Sparta!
