Andrew and Nikki go overseas: Kardamyli on the Mani Peninsula

This delightful coastal town on the Mani Peninsula, on the southwest coast of the Peloponnese, was the home of the British travel writer and polymath, Leigh Patrick Fermor. We first came across him when we read Between Woods and Water, one of the trilogy of travel writings from his youth when at age 18 he walked across the continent from Belgium to Constantinople. I very much wanted to see his house at Kalamitsi beach but unfortunately it is closed for renovations by the Benaki Museum of Athens. The best we could do was to go there, peer over the thick stone fencing around the property, and take photos of the beach at Kalamitsi. I am given to understand that the house is intended as a writer's retreat and may never open to the public again. This is very sad. We spoke to an English couple who had seen it last May just before it was closed. All the furnishings and personal possessions were there.

The Fermor house is in the middle of the pencil pines covered with plastic. One can just see a tip. The house is beautifully situated with a commanding view of the ocean.

What little one can see of Fermor's house from the beach end.

Two middle aged women paddling at the beach where Fermor would have bathed on a daily basis I imagine.

Kardamyli is a beautiful little place. This is the beach next one along from Kalamitsi.

We had a beer and the guys could not resist a serving of chips each. But look at the view behind us. I think this is the most beautiful location, of all, that we have came across on this trip.

Then us again at dinner. These photos are not to illustrate our eating habits but to try to capture the beauty of the scenery amidst which we have these wonderful repasts.