3 April
2025 – Southern Pelion
Miles
driven today = 41
Total Miles
to date = 2,738
The rain
wasn’t quite done with us yet and was tapping away on the roof again before we
got up this morning but other than a few very fine spots of drizzle it’s
remained dry for the rest of the day so we took ourselves off for a drive all
the way down to the Southern tip of the Pelion Peninsula.
First stop
was Affisos.
We got a few “what the hell
are they doing here” looks from the locals when we arrived as it’s another
village which still appears to be in hibernation and a long way from welcoming the
tourists who apparently throng here in the Summer.
The village
has a cute little square with mature trees and a stream running through the
middle, which was enhanced by the recent rainfall.
Affisos’
main claim to fame is that according to legend it was the embarkation point for
Jason and his Argonauts as they set off on their quest to find the Golden
Fleece.
We left the
coast and headed uphill on the circular 34 road which joins the east and west
coasts of the peninsula. Our Swiss neighbour,
Doris, showed us a guidebook last night which refers to it as the “Green Route”
due to the exceptionally verdant landscape here.
We made a
brief stop at Afetes to take some photos looking back towards the coast over
the rooftops before taking a right turn towards the deep South.
Next stop
was Argalasti, which is the primary settlement and municipal centre for the
South Pelion, despite having a population of less than 1,500 souls.
The Belfry
for the Holy Apostles Church is nowhere near as old as it looks.
It was built in 1913.
We walked around some of the back streets and we found some
buildings which are clearly much older including this old well.
Heading back down to the coast, we parked up for a short
while on the seafront at Chorto.
I spotted a couple of trout under the footbridge which
appears to be in danger of collapse at one end.
At Milina we pulled up near the Church and made ourselves
sandwiches for lunch.
We then took a short stroll to the harbour as one of the
fishing boats chugged in with its catch.
After Milina the peninsula becomes even more sparsely
populated and for the most part the road hugs the coastline.
They had some serious flooding here a couple
of years ago and in a number of places half the road had been washed away into
the adjacent gully and was still awaiting repair.
The most Southerly tip of the Pelion curls around on itself
like an upside down scorpion’s tail.
We
climbed to the hilltop village of Trikeri, which has only been accessible by
road since 1974.
Then we snaked our way back down the hill to the end of the
road at Agia Kiriaki.
We are in a car park with great views overlooking the town
on one side.
And looking out across the Pagasetic Gulf on the other.
Directly below the car park is a large boatyard, which
presumably provides employment for anybody in the village who isn’t involved in
the tourist trade.
But beyond that Agia Kiriaki is a wonderfully engaging
little place stretched out around a broad bay.
Many of the houses are decked out in the quintessentially Greek
blue and white colour scheme.
A couple of the tavernas appeared to be doing a healthy
trade, which surprised us somewhat what with all the other seaside places we
visited today having been all but deserted.
We were sorely tempted to join them but we already had a
piece of salmon defrosting in the van for tonight’s tea so we retreated to our
lofty perch where we have been joined by a French couple in their Hymer
Campervan.
Their English is almost as
terrible as our French but we managed to exchange pleasantries and ascertain
they come from Lyon.
They seemed rather
surprised to see a Brit van so far away from home.
I guess, much like Italy last year, there
aren’t vast numbers of us round these parts.
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