Temple of Olympia
Pictures of Greece
Areopolis
Areopolis is a town in the Mani, a rather hilly area of Greece south of Gythion. The name 'Areopolis' means 'town (polis) of Ares', so we were careful not to offend the god of War while we were there. Near to the town lie the famous Caves of Dilos, so it was only natural that we would wander the few kilometres down the hill to visit them. The caves lie in a small bay quite literally over the crest of a hill from the town.
Almost all of the cave area is flooded, so it is only possible to see the marvellous stalactite formations by boat. The boats themselves were small punt-like vessels, and were steered by an advanced technical procedure, known as 'pushing away from the rocks with your hands'. Fortunately, each boat came complete with a helmsman, which allowed us to enjoy the ride.
On our way back from the caves, something unusual happened. It rained. Apparently, this is a common occurrence in this part of Greece. As you can hopefully see from this picture, this did not unduly concern anybody.
The following day, after the rain had departed, we wandered down to the nearby beach (in the opposite direction to the caves). Perhaps calling it a beach was a little optimistic, but by this time I think people were just grateful for the opportunity to swim.
On the way back from the beach, I paused a moment to take this picture, which is of a flower. How sweet.
