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Acrotainaro Mani: Paths and Settlements

– What a place! exclaimed my friend Michael every now and then. A stone! I wonder how they have lived for so many centuries, how people still live.
As our car continued south, his admiration grew greater, turning to awe. The German friend was not lacking in travel experiences; he had wandered through almost every country in Europe. Moreover, a part of his summer holidays was every year devoted to several days of hiking and climbing in the Alps. But this Mani landscape, rocky and dry, harsh, hostile and rugged, a veritable furnace under the sun, was a complete departure from his hitherto experience.

Text: Θεόφιλος Μπασγιουράκης
Photos: Άννα Καλαϊτζή
Acrotainaro Mani: Paths and Settlements
Categories: Activities
Destinations: Laconia, PELOPONNESE

What a place! exclaimed my friend Michael every now and then. Black stone! I wonder how they have lived for so many centuries, how people still live.

As our car continued south, his admiration grew greater, turning to awe. The German friend was not lacking in travel experiences; he had wandered in almost every country in Europe. Moreover, a part of his summer holidays was every year devoted to several days of hiking and climbing in the Alps. But this Mani landscape, rocky and dry, harsh, hostile and rugged, a veritable furnace under the sun, was a complete departure from his hitherto experience.

It was the early ’80s. Even in summer Mani was calm, with very few people and cars. In Vatheia we were amazed. The austere, almost deserted town with its tower houses looked like a scene straight out of the pages of the Middle Ages. Somewhere there we ended our first tour of Mani, an approach too short, too superficial, too touristic. But even so, it still managed to charge us with strong emotions and a great desire to return.

In the years that followed I returned to Mani, sometimes to Gythio or Kardamyli and sometimes to admire the Cave of Diros. But always with very limited time and permanently in a car. So I had no chance to get to know the peculiarities of the terrain on foot, to get closer to the Mani land.

A few months ago I came across the book “The paths of Mesa Mani”, written with great passion by the hiker and mountaineer Antonis Kalogirou. We read the author’s hiking experiences in the Mani territory. We followed his routes, some short and some long, marked with great clarity on the map. A map at a scale of 1:25,000, extremely informative and with plenty of detail, particularly useful for walkers and hikers. Suddenly we felt an irresistible nostalgia for Mani, an irresistible desire to breathe the air of the Aegean from the southernmost tip of mainland Greece, the cliffs of the legendary cape of Tainaros.

 

GEROLMENAS. HOTEL “ΚΥRΙΜΑΙ”

 

A glance at the map stops at Gerolimenas, at the southern edge of Mesa Mani, just above Tainaro. This is our destination, our base for Mani. From wherever one goes there, from Sparta or Kalamata, the kilometres from Thessaloniki are many, more than 800 km. A long journey, a true happiness for a car fanatic.

We arrive at night. The hotel “KIRIMAI”, which has been included in the “Historic Hotels of Europe”, welcomes us with its fireplaces lit. Early February. Although we are at the southernmost tip of Greece, the nights are still cold. Here, however, in the large dining room, the atmosphere is warm and made even warmer by the warm welcome of Captain Nikolas Kirimi and his son Aris.

The room is amazing. With its thick walls, chipped stone and wood, it exudes the aura of another era. Not by chance, since this very room was the place where in 1875 the general trading business of Michalis Katsimantis, a merchant from Syros, and Theodoros Kirimi, a merchant and Mayor of Mesa Mani, was housed.

– This distant ancestor of mine was very productive, says Captain Nicholas with a laugh, after having 13 children. But he was also a demonic trader. Taking advantage of his strong social position, he managed in a short time to grow his business a lot and export Mani’s products all over the Mediterranean. Among these products were thousands of live quails in Marseilles, since the area was – and still is – a staging post for quails during their annual migration to Africa. So Gerolimenas developed into a large commercial port with a customs office, a police station, eight shops by 1960, two dressmaking schools, cafés and taverns. During the years of the dictatorship, the asphalt road network and the electricity supply of the place were completed. But this road connection, which simplified land transport, reduced the commercial importance of the sea. Today Gerolimenas has only tourist infrastructure.

– And how did the name Kirimae come about? we ask Ares.

– Oh, it has historical origins too. First of all, the Kirima were a class of Byzantine officials. But our surname, “Kirimis”, has Byzantine roots. It comes from the fusion of the religious words “Our Lord”. But let me show you around the rest of the common areas of the ground floor.

We’re going to the reception area. It is the former treasury of the commercial enterprise with its impressive arch and the old safe, impregnable in volume and weight at the time. Right next door was the old wood store, now a magnificent room housing archives, brochures, hundreds of books and old photographs discovered during the restoration of the building. It is a wealth of material that takes us back in our minds to times of great glory, mainly commercial, in 19th century Greece.

The evening closes with a delicious dinner based on fresh grouper and local vegetables, created by two young chefs of the Baxevani team. It is a true experience to find every day at “Kirima” a changing and perfectly healthy menu based on traditional raw materials, local products and many wild greens, which are used in the best way by the talented graduates of Yannis Baxevanis’ cooking school. We accompany the delicate flavours with excellent white wine of Monemvasia.

After the overall fatigue of the day, we climb the successive levels of stone steps and arrive high up at our retreat, a stunning room, towering a few dozen metres above the sea. The dark waters are not clearly visible, but the foam of the waves and their muffled roar as they break against the rocks of the shore stand out.

 

IN THE LAND OF THE ACROTAINARO

 

Morning with bright Maniantiko light, clear atmosphere and zero humidity. Although parked by the sea, the car is dry.

We wake up in a good mood, we see clearly around us what the night was hiding from us: the amazing stone complex of Hotel KIRIMAI with its imposing tower, the swimming pool and the small pier, the vastness of the Aegean Sea and the giant Cape Grosso. It is a solid rock with huge dimensions, at least 2 kilometres long and over 100 metres high! In the morning light we admire this sturdy geological creation of nature, which protects the bay of Gerolimenas from the western winds with its vertical sides.

Athena Tarsoulis wrote about this famous rock in her tours: “Further up cuts the line of the sea before us, like a huge behemoth, Cape Grosso, which the sailors, trembling at its burrings and wild cries, and for fear of breaking ships on its rocks, say how they must pass: from Cape Matapa forty miles away, and from Cape Grosso forty and another forty miles.”

And Fotis Kontoglou adds about Cape Grosso: “Near Tainaro, terrible in appearance, like iron, made of grey marble, 200 metres high, a league long, cut straight as with a knife and above it like a table, nowhere can a man touch it. All the time the wind is stirring the sea around it, add to that the angry streams that run like a river along its sides and you will understand how much fear you will feel, if your ship should happen to suffer in its ruthless waters.”

This morning, however, the waters at Cape Grosso are calm and the rocky giant looks kind and friendly. First of all we meet in the breakfast room Captain Nicola, cheerful and lively. We drink with him the first coffee of the day, “land coffee” and not “boat coffee” as he drank it for 40 years on the seas of the world. From the open window he has his eyes fixed on the sea.

– Do you miss the sea, Captain Nicholas? I dare ask the question.

He turns around and looks at me.

– Yeah, damn it, I haven’t had enough in 40 years.

He pauses for a moment and then says:

– But it’s beautiful here on land too. I am proud of my sons, Alexander and Aris, and of what we have built in the place of my ancestors.

We start to get to know the country of Akrotinaeros. It is the sharp end of the Mesa Mani, which, like the tip of a spear, protrudes from the narrow neck of land formed between Porto Kagio and Marmari.

Winter Mani with spring weather. Primroses, daisies and anemones, countless weeds. Most of them pass our eyes indifferently, but they are the ones that the locals so expertly collect and use in their diet. Now and then, at strategic points they loom up, some ruined and others whole, seeming ready at the first call to resume the war.

At this hour of the morning the street has little life. Not a tourist, the locals are counting on their fingers. Even Bathia is silent. Here in its southern extremities, Mesa Mani seems to live its own hibernation. We reach the narrow neck of land and take the left fork for Achilleio.

It is a small and beautiful settlement that dominates the bay of Porto Kagio. The houses are old large mansions and newer houses, with the characteristic brilliant masonry of Mani. We do not meet any people. Here is also the fortress of Mani, built by the Turks in 1570. We find the sign with the indication “THE CASTLE OF MANESE, EAST PORT, TO THE SOURCE”. We descend down an old and shady cobbled path and in two minutes we arrive in front of a lifelike water spring, running on two carved stone troughs. The water is wonderful; it is the most pleasant surprise for the traveller in this arid region of Mani.

Plane trees, olive trees, carob trees, dense bushes, even banana trees. A little lower down, the sea surface glistens. A beautiful place, which would be even more beautiful if it were kept cleaner. We continue along the trail for 10 minutes. We end up at the small pebble beach of Kalamos, which served as a port of call for the fortress of Porto Cayo.

We return to the main road network and continue south towards the peninsula of Acrotainaros. Its beginning is a narrow tongue of land about 700 meters wide, inserted between the bay of Porto Kayo to the east (ancient name Psamathous) and Porto Marinari to the west (ancient name Achilleion).

We head first to Porto Cayo, which is said to have taken its name from the French Port aux Cailles, meaning Port of the Quails. It is a bay extremely sheltered from almost all weather conditions. According to P. G. Georgopoulos, Director of the newspaper “LACONIKI”.

As we descend towards the small settlement in the cove of the bay, the waters are completely calm, the shallow bottom is outlined in every detail. A few houses, a few seaside tavernas and rooms to let. Apart from a couple of foreigners overseeing a lodge, we meet no one else. The place hardly comes alive in winter. And it’s so nice at this time of year!

We start from the beach on the short route to the chapel of Agios Nikolaos and the electric spark at the cape. We pass the marble memorial and continue just above the sea on a narrow, sweet path with low shrubs, primroses and irises. With a relaxed pace we reach the chapel in 8 minutes. Built in 1858 the chapel of Agios Nikolaos is undone by its plastered walls and barely picturesque interior. The hitherto gentle path suddenly transforms after the chapel and becomes inhospitable, strewn with sharp rocks that require non-slip shoes and close attention. For the short distance to the sparkle at the entrance to the bay it takes 4 minutes.

We leave Porto Cayo with our thoughts on carefree summer moments, tsipouraki and fish in a tavern. On the main road again. This time we go downhill west towards Marmari. It is a small picturesque settlement, built almost entirely on a rocky hill. It stands over two sandy and friendly bays, Old Sand and New Sand.

The hillsides around the village are barren and bare. The soil, however, remains in place, with no signs of landslides or erosion. The explanation is obvious. It is due to the successive terraces with their protective dry stone walls, built stone by stone over the centuries by the old Maniates, stubborn cultivators of the little fertile land available to them. A picture, moreover, very typical of many barren areas of mainland and island Greece. Today, not only are the terraces left grassless, but the still fertile land is constantly being abandoned or largely cultivated by foreigners.

Nice houses are found in Marmari. Of the old ones, some are dilapidated and others uninhabited. There are also many new ones with stone masonry, trying – in vain – to imitate the excellent art of the old ones. In the alleys we find the tiny church of Agios Gavrilis with old frescoes, which despite the ravages of time are still preserved.

From the small parking area in the centre of the settlement, a path starts in a northeastern direction. It passes through a few olive trees and continues with steps, which are barely visible in the thick grass. Then it climbs up the bare ridges above the village with increasingly panoramic views. It is the path that once connected Marmari with Porto Kagio and the famous Gregorakakis Tower.

– Did you use this path?We ask a nice lady, the only person we meet in the village at this time.

– Of course, that was our way, Mrs. Garyphalia Lau replies.

– And how long did it take you to Porto Cayo?

– Ah, in those years we didn’t walk, we flew. By the time we got through talking, we were already in Porto Cayo.

Although we would like to fly, we have to settle for the traditional way of travelling, on foot. For a leisurely 20 minutes, we enjoy the spectacular route from Marmari to the tarmac. There we do not consider it appropriate to descend towards Porto Kagio but head for the Grigorakaki Tower.

Very close to the asphalt road is the church of Agia Triada Kalana. Next to the church and in a north-northwest direction, a narrow, easy path begins, among many bushes, wild flowers and grasses. Down low we can see the circular outline of Porto Cayo bay. A hill in front of us obscures the view of the tower, but we continue along the distinct path. In 10 minutes we reach the hilltop with the village cemetery and the characteristic square buildings with family ossuaries. From there, slope slightly west and climb slightly uphill. The ground is overgrown with low shrubs. But their branches are not green and have no leaves. They are jet black from the summer fire, that cursed fire, which was not only confined to the vast pine forests, olive groves and houses, but whose insatiable hunger led it to the vegetation-poor lands of Mani. The Mani land, however, imitating in its endurance and stubbornness its Maniates, resisted effectively and recovered rapidly after the disaster. The ground is once again lush green, decorated here and there with colourful tufts of wild flowers, born out of the blackness. We walk among them with as much care as possible, not wanting to step on a single one.

From the top of the hill we can see the Tower a little lower down. In a total of 20 minutes from the church we are in front of it. Its position in the centre of the neck of the hill is strategic, ensuring unobstructed views both to Porto Cayo bay to the east and to the open sea to the west. The Grigorakakis Tower with its auxiliary buildings is imposing, one of the most impressive structures of Mani.

We complete our tour today with a visit to the small settlement of Palyros. It is built around a hill with an altitude of 130-150 meters.

We could describe it as an architectural jewel of Mani. Narrow cobbled streets pass in front of many towers and imposing mansions with engraved dates of the 19th century, such as 1883 or 1884. The architecture is exquisite, the masonry with carved stone that highlights all the art of the old masters and reflects all the nobility and the owner’s taste. With such great architectural tradition, most new construction has been positively influenced by such great architectural tradition. Some details of course in the assembly and carving of the stone make the difference between the new masonry and the old obvious. Palyros is the cradle of the Kassis family, from which writers and artists descend. It is noteworthy that a Folklore Museum is being built in Paliros by Michalis Kassis.

 

TANARO

Despite the continuous sunshine during the day, the temperature at night drops significantly. Conditions are ideal at KYRIMAI for a lit fireplace, red wine and chatting about Cape Tanaro and the sea.

The next morning the weather is spring-like again, our best ally for hiking on the paths of Akrotainaros. Without stopping we head to our destination, the rudimentary settlement of Kokkinogeia, the southernmost in the country, with rooms to let and a taverna. At this time of the morning there is no soul. Only a bicycle leaning against a stone, which makes the feeling of loneliness even more intense. But this spot of Mani, so desolate and remote, has been a famous place since antiquity, constantly mentioned from Homer’s Hymn to Apollo to the Anglo-Italian naval battle of Taenaros in 1942. For the Laconians it was a sacred place, since it was the birthplace of Taenaris Poseidon. The remains of the sanctuary of Poseidon are still preserved under the later building of the Asomata’s chapel, whose masonry consists mainly of ancient building materials.

The temple of Poseidon was also the religious centre of the Eleuthero-Lacons. Near it was the sacred grotto, the chasm of Poseidon, which was believed to be the Gate of Hades. From this entrance it is said that Hercules entered the kingdom of Hades and captured his terrible guardian, Cerberus, thus accomplishing his twelfth and last feat. From information from Plutarch it seems that the reputation of Taenaros was to some extent due to the existence of a famous “Psychopompion”. It is also believed that there was an oracle in Taenaro. According to the geographer Scylaka, the sanctuary of Taenaros was equal to the sanctuary of Delphi: ‘In Tainaros, the sanctuary of Poseidon was equal to that of Delphi’. The function of the Oracle continued until the Roman era, as the mosaic floors found in the adjacent excavations attest.

The Spartans’ respect for the sanctuary of Taenaros was occasionally exploited by those persecuted for serious offences, who took refuge in the sanctuary as supplicants. Once, however, the Spartans forcibly detained and killed the Elites who had taken refuge in the sanctuary as supplicants. This sacrilegious act, the “Tainarion Agos”, as it has gone down in history, provoked the wrath of Poseidon who, with an earthquake, demolished the city of Sparta from its foundations (in 464 BC). The memory of this calamity persisted even 600 years later, as Pausanias, who visited Taenaro, mentions in his writings.

Apart from the historical and archaeological importance of the area, it is also of great interest for hiking, since the path that leads to the southernmost tip of mainland Greece, to the lighthouse of Tainaros, starts from here. Unfortunately, there is no information sign with the details of the route, nor any signposting, at least at the beginning. We believe, that the local authorities should be made aware of this, in order to highlight the hiking potential of their region in the best way. Hiking tourism is becoming increasingly popular, and indeed at all times of the year, for large numbers of walkers and nature lovers.

So we start our course initially in a westerly direction. We descend for a few tens of meters to the sea level. Dry stones. A tiny creek with an opening of only 10 meters. A rocky coast, completely inhospitable. In a few minutes we pass in front of an excavation site with reddish soil, remains of house walls and a mosaic floor with greyish tesserae. It is a wonderful piece of work with only a few signs of wear and tear from the passage of time. Next door is another section of mosaic that has been largely destroyed.

We cross the archaeological site and continue on a distinct path. We are already bypassing the second creek, completely inhospitable. To our right are the rugged hills. With a gentle slope the path continues parallel to the rocky coastline. The water is clear in tones of dark blue and turquoise. Across to the SE, the long bulk of Kythera is clearly visible, and further back, the tiny Antikythera.

It is a pleasant and smooth path. The sun and the cool sea breeze create ideal conditions for walking. There is no reason to rush. In half an hour we reach the end of the uphill and straight ahead we see the tip of the cape with the lighthouse. Some ships are passing offshore. The surface of the sea is the colour of silver. We take the final straight line to the lighthouse. The path crosses a rough slope of grey limestone. Among them are wildflowers, thymes and thorns. But also countless burnt bushes. Their delicate blackened trunks are a sad dissonance in this spring outburst of nature. An image similar to yesterday’s route to the Gregorakaki Tower. Impossible to understand how and especially why the fire reached this wilderness.

In an hour, at a leisurely pace and with several stops for photographs, we arrive at the lighthouse. The massive structure is 16 metres high and stands 25 metres above sea level. It was built in 1882 by the French and began operating in 1887; its stone walls are externally plastered, while the corner stones, cornice, cornice, parapet of the building and the arched windows and entrance are marble and prominent. It was renovated in 1930 but ceased to function during the occupation. It was renovated a second time in 1950 and until 1984 it housed three lighthouse keepers. Since then it has ceased to be manned after an automatic lighting system with a range of 22 nautical miles was installed and operated by solar power. At a distance of 62 miles south-west of the lighthouse, the greatest depth in the Mediterranean was measured at 4 850 metres.

Relaxing in the sun and the western breeze, gazing at the vastness of the sea. Behind us to the northwest, the cape Cape Grosso, in the bay of Gerolimenas, juts out from the land like a huge stone blade.

– Is it necessary to leave here?I ask Anna.

The question is of course rhetorical, I know very well that the uphill to Agriokampi is waiting for us soon. Following the valuable hiking notes of Antonis Kalogirou, we manage to locate, at a distance of 470 meters after the lighthouse, the beginning of the invisible path that climbs up the rocks with a 300° (W-NW) course. Unfortunately, the signposting is non-existent. Without clear information, an orientation device or map, or even terrain experience, an unsuspecting hiker risks not noticing the detour.

We follow the ridge with a slightly uphill path. Low to the east, the panoramic view of Kokkinogeia and the bays at the sanctuary of Poseidon is revealed. The vast sea stretches to the west. There’s a reef offshore. Around it the waves foam. As we climb, the maister gets stronger and colder. To avoid it, we move to the east of the ridge. In 20 minutes the first part of the climb is over. All around us are primroses and flowering daffodils but also hundreds of cartridges scattered everywhere.

For about half an hour we traverse the steep but not difficult slope in a NW direction. Arriving at the top of the hill, the abandoned settlement of Agriokampi appears in front of us. Houses with good masonry, dilapidated or uninhabited, hedges with dry stone walls, yards with ruins, grassy threshing floors, prickly pear trees everywhere, an excellent water cistern with water and walls lined with hydraulic currant, a place beautiful, idyllic but without the slightest human presence. The only life on this magnificent plateau comes from a few dozen carefree cows with their newborn cubs. A little further up there is a second tiny settlement, Mianes, in better condition than Agriokambi, since one house is inhabited.

Following Kalogeros’ instructions, we cross Agriokampi to the west and in a few minutes we can see the cemetery of the settlement with the family ossuaries and the chapel of Agioi Theodoroi on the opposite slope. There is no particular path; we just follow the flat sections on the successive terraces. A subtle fragrance hangs in the atmosphere. It comes from the innumerable native hummingbirds that in early February are in the prime of their flowering. The chapel of Agioi Theodoroi is built with clay masonry and thick masonry. The exterior is dry stone while the interior is made of mortar. It is simple, with an earthen floor and a vaulted roof. Externally the roof is covered in one part with slates and the rest with grass, where yellow wild flowers have grown. We sit outside the chapel for a while. In the afternoon light, Cape Tainaro and the lighthouse offer us a wonderful view.

On the way back we decide to shorten the route of Kalogeros. We pass by the impressive reservoir and after a few minutes we turn left and descend vertically towards Kokkinogeia. We soon regret it, as the slope is steep and the terrain is very rough, with uneven stones, thorns and tall grass hiding traps. It is, however, a powerful experience that reveals to us in the most realistic way the ruggedness of Mani.

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Issue 62
Μάρτιος 2008
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