1st of April, 2022.
After having a nice breakfast with my lovely Italian family host, I am ready to go and try to visit the castle. To try because you have to pay 2€ for a ticket. So I will just ask if I can go for free.
The lady at the entrance of the castle, Georgia, is lovely!She is truly surprised with my journey and she allows me to visit the ruins of castle without a ticket. We chat a little bit before I get in and I leave all my stuff at her cabin, taking only my camera and my water with me.
The ruins of the Methoni Castle are amazing! And the whole area is huge! It takes me around 2 hours to visit the whole site. From each corner you go, there is a gorgeous view and a place for a great shot. I can’t imagine how massive this place used to be back in the days when it was still whole. There are so many rooms and passages, up and down, from here to there, which is really entertaining and cool!
At the South of the castle it is located its most famous part: the Bourtzi of Methoni. It is a Sea Fort which was used for different purposes through the centuries: fort, prison, lighthouse and even a shelter. The peculiar bridge which connects the Bourtzi to the castle, in unison with the elegant shapes of the monument, compose a delightful view. Also from the Bourtzi you can have a very nice view of the castle. Take a moment or two here to relax and enjoy the peace and the sound of the waves.
I could stay much longer than 2 around around here. It is lovely! But I must carry on with my journey. I have some days to spare until my due date to leave Schengen Area, so I will let things flow and see how it work out.
Back to the entrance, me and Georgia chat a bit more while having some delicious cookies. She even gives me a banana! How sweet of her! I show her my blog and later that day she would write me a sweet comment.
When I am leaving the castle I see my dear Italian friend working on the garden. When she sees me she walks towards me. We talk about what is the best way to get out of town and I take that way.
When I stop by tiny gas station, in the end of the town, who is the first person to stop for me and offer to take me to Pylos? My other Italian friend, of course! I love this family! He was just coming back from somewhere but insisted on driving me to Pylos. We talk a bit more about their adventures in travelling.
In Pylos, I am staying by the central square because it just happens to be the best place to stay. After here it is a lot of ups and downs and almost everybody leaving town will pass by here.
In some minutes, a man offers to take me down to an intersection, a point where most of people from here are going, because it leads to another town. It is also the entrance to a Golf club. There is a security guard and we chat a little.
It doesn’t take long to Daniel pick me up. He is from Wales and is driving to Kalamata to pick up a friend from the Airport. We really understand each other and agree in so many topics. He drops me off in a very good intersection outside of town.
I take some photos and then eat some lunch. The remains of bread, olives and feta cheese. While I am still eating, a police car passes and makes a sign I must go back to another place, meaning I cannot hitchhike in here. I knew it! It kind of looks like highway here. I tell the officer I will finishing eating and then a go.
It is not so close to the roundabout where I know I can stay. Probably about half an hour walking. Luckily a lovely elderly man stops for me right after I start walking and drops me off at the roundabout.
In here I have to wait for quite a long time. Why nobody is stopping? Many cars passing by, I have “Athens” written on my sign, it is a good shot.
It supposed to be a simple move, I mean getting from here to Athens or further. But from now on everything starts to go down and I end up having a very difficult day and night.
