EXPLORING  GREECE  IN  180  DAYS    HOME Greece  DIARY       PARKING   LAST WEEK 2013 WEEK # 51 NEXT WEEK     Kondyli Beach - Gytheio      This week starts with a light drizzle and clouds. After two great days on Kondyli Beach, we continued on Monday to the small fishing village of Tolo. In high season, an extreme tourist village. A 1500 m. long street, an equally long beach and many side streets. Hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, taverns and souvenir shops side by side. In summer full of life, now it’s spooky deserted. Only in the fishing port there’s going on some business. We did not have time to visit Karathoni Beach which is said to be more beautiful than Kondyli, we do not have the weather with us today. We can’t see it all!    KGB would go back to the campground Posidon in Iria but we continued to Nafplio and took the highway to Tripoli and then to Sparti which is a very nice city despite all the car traffic. We found a nice night parking next to the athletics- and fotbollstadion. It's a bit chilly here because of the height, but we really enjoy us and in the evening we take a long walk in the beautifully lit city, sucking in the pleasant Christmas atmosphere. The following morning we visit the Ancient Sparta, which we for different reasons forgot when we were here last time. Leonidas at Thermopylae    In the afternoon we travel in the direction of Gytheio to Valtaki Beach parking at the restaurant Glyfada, to stay overnight. Here is also the rusty old ship, "Dimitrios" that stranded the 23rd Dec. 1981. The coaster was built as "Klintholm", 1950 in Frederikshavn and sailed many years under Danish flag before it became Greek. The story of the stranding is found here.          We tested Camping Gythion Bay for three days and were pleased with the location, the beach and the facilities but the Wifi is a disaster. I am constantly "thrown out” of the network, which usually is slower than a snail. Despite my remarks, the manager didn’t understand the need of it and was probably a bit surprised when we checked out. Stina was quite mad at me, "Is it so damned important?" I replied: "YES! I don’t pay for something that doesn’t work!” So now we’re "on the road again", one day before Christmas Eve and standing on a nice spot along the beach in Paralia Kokkinias . Here the Wind SIM-card works good with 3G maxspeed.    Earlier this day we went to Skala to fill the fridge, freeze and other supplies at Carrefour and Lidl. At Lidls parking lot, we saw a beautiful stray dog, he was waiting for certain people who bought him a dogfood package, directly from the shop. He was looking very healthy and strong but avoided physical contact. It looked like he had some "timetable" and knew who and when was coming, to give him a meal. A real opportunist survivor?     It is now Sunday night and to save the domestic peace and make Stina happy again, we’ll drive back to Gytheion on Monday morning and try our luck at Mani Beach Camping. It is cheaper, located next to Gythion Bay, lying at the same beach, but a Wifi that works, I have tested it before. Only a dozen or so guests, quiet and peaceful. Here we will celebrate Christmas!     LAST WEEK © 2013-2014 Amstel.se NEXT WEEK   Patras Click for weather forecast Pirgos Click for weather forecast Kalamata Click for weather forecast Korinthos Click for weather forecast