Out of the foggy Temple area we drive, down the steep hill, thanking our lucky stars that we were early enough to snag a parking spot at the top of the hill as we watch tons of people huffing and puffing their way up the hill to the temple (shrouded in fog I might add!). We turn left on the main road, heading north toward Piraeas when we spot these cool abandoned buildings, including a church. Stop! Go back!
We make a u-turn a bit down the road and head back to the abandoned village. Ed parks the car up a little gravel road and we get out to explore. This is one of those cool finds – just something on the side of the road that piques your interest – and it turns out to be awesome. There are houses, in ruins now, and a church all standing proudly along a gravel road looking out toward the coastline.
Its all totally picturesque, and we can’t figure out for the life of us how this little village could be abandoned. Why, in a tourist area, would this place be in ruins? We know the Greek economy is in trouble, but, wouldn’t you think that a village across from the Temple of Poseidon would survive? It’s oddly defying logic – at least our logic.
As we drive out of Souniou though, we notice a number of abandoned and destroyed buildings – hotels, houses, etc. Incredibly strange to us in this gorgeous environment.
We press north, following the coastal road, which opens up onto increasingly more sea beautiful coves and fishing spots among the boulders.
We reach the town of Anavyssos a little before noon, which is not good timing. This town has a ton of restaurants, including one – Akrogiali which we’ve read about and want to try. But it is way too early for lunch – particularly for the Greeks – so we push on to the next town in search of a little cafe we had researched on the other side of the road from the water. We arrive there early as well. They aren’t open yet, and as a matter of fact are getting their gas delivery as we drive up. Checking the menu, we decide that Akrogiali will probably be better for us, so we reverse our course and head back into Anavyssos.
Timing is perfect, and we arrive just after noon. We are the first diners, and have our choice of tables at the window, looking out at sea. Perfect. We get to watch the fog roll in –and out – of the islands off the coast all through lunch.
And lunch is wonderful. It’s the typical European sea side restaurant – we are sitting on the side of the water, the restaurant itself is across the street and the waiters run over there for the food. They even have a hawker out in the middle of the street, directly drivers where to park. Nice. The food too is perfectly Greek, large quantities, wonderfully prepared. We start with baked feta, then Ed has Octopus (of course), I have souvlaki (of course) and we finish it all off with the complimentary dessert of that oh so over the top sugary sweet honey nut cake with sliced apples dusted with cinnamon and orange slices.
Food overdose. Thank heavens Luminae (our dining room) has an overabundance of raw seafood (think sushi, sashimi and Poke type dishes) – because there is no way we are eating full meals tonight. That’s for sure.
Fully sated, we hit the road and head back to Piraeus, noticing along the way that my family genealogy must be wrong. Either that or there is a branch of our family we don’t know. Because everywhere we look, the Alexander name appears.
Pretty funny! Ancestry.com didn’t mention a Greek connection…hmmmm…
The Google Girl sends us along the coastal road, but then turns us inland through these little town streets, up into neighborhoods, on a short cut that apparently saves us time. Definitely the scenic route as we keep saying to each other – this can’t be right. Well, Google Girl comes through, and we end up on the main road cutting off a few kilometers and minutes by avoiding a circular route around a peninsula.
Car returned, we walk off a little of our lunch on the trek back to the pier. Once settled back aboard, we slide into our normal routine and prepare for our last port of call – Katakalon.
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