28 March
2025 – The Attica Peninsula
Miles
driven today = 44
Total Miles
to date = 2,394
Another
day, another Temple!
Before leaving the
Athens area we thought we would give ourselves a little tour of the Attica
Peninsula, an area which is apparently little explored by non-Athenians.
I’m not at all sure why it’s not better known
because the stretches of coastline we have seen today have been absolutely
stunning.
We made our
way initially to Cape Sounio, at the most Southerly tip of the peninsula and
managed to squeeze ourselves into the only gap big enough to accommodate us in
the visitor centre car park.
In the 5
th
Century BC the Athenians built a fortress on the Cape which they used to
protect their shipping lanes towards Athens.
Sections of the surrounding wall are still visible today.
As you approach
the top of the hill the impressive Temple of Poseidon comes into view.
The Temple
was built on the foundations of an even older structure and construction was
completed in 440 BC .
It measures
31m x 13.5m and is built entirely of marble produced from local quarries.
Lord Byron
visited the Cape in 1810 and was deeply impressed by the silent solitude of the
place.
He even scrawled his name in one
of the pillars.
We didn’t spot his signature
but we did see others dated from the 1880s.
We took
ourselves off for a walk along a path below the Temple.
This area is a partially excavated settlement
within the fortress walls.
And, as
always, there were lots of Spring flowers to enjoy.
On an
adjacent hilltop you can make out the foundations of another temple.
In this case dedicated to Athena.
We drove on
along the shoreline hugging road heading back along the east coast towards Athens
and stopped off for lunch on a large beach near Anavyssos.
It was nice enough but it was rather exposed
and we didn’t feel particularly comfortable about spending the night there.
So we drove
on just a couple of kilometres further and found ourselves a much nicer
stopover next to a shallow lagoon.
I’m almost
embarrassed to post this picture.
We had
a few spots of rain last night and the van is now coated in fine Saharan dust
to go with all the other accumulated road grime.
The lump of rock in the background is almost
an island, connected by little more than a sand bar, so we had a wander across.
This is the
view looking back with the van parked in the centre of the picture.
Of course
there is a chapel even though the only other building on the rock is a small
yacht club.
There is a
path which circumnavigates so we followed it for a while but it started getting
a bit craggy and we were only in sandals so discretion ruled and we turned
back.
Look at that water though.
I was really starting to wish I’d brought my
snorkeling gear.
So beers
and a snooze on the beach became the order of the afternoon for a while.
Although we
did manage to take ourselves off for another little stroll later.
And
discovered a few quiet coves.
Time for a
paddle before teatime.
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