The other Greece

The other Greece

Go west to Peloponnese to see another side of Greece - sans the crowd

by Mark Malby
travel@mediacorp.com.sg

Residents of Greece these days may well be fingering their komboloi, those Greek "worry beads" so often seen in their hands. With headlines shrilling about debt and default, job losses and harsh cutbacks, it's definitely no Elysian field.

Of course, no one likes to see a nation foundering, but sometimes one country's cloud can be a traveller's silver lining. There's probably no better time to visit Greece than right now. With a depressed euro and fierce competition for tourist dollars, it's not so much a question of when to go, but where.

Ask your friends about Greece and they'll likely trundle out the usual postcard line-up. The white villages of Santorini, Crete's sunshine, Athens' Acropolis, and parties on Mykonos. These are all well and fine - until you consider all the other tourists with the same brilliant thought of visiting Greece too.

So if you'd rather sidestep the madding crowd, like I did, consider another side of Greece - one that's just as interesting but a little more off the beaten path. Look west, to Peloponnese.

Compared with the stereotypes of Greece, this large peninsula south-west of Athens is a world apart. Pine forests and green valleys, ruined castles and jaggedly scenic coastlines. Here the road signs sport legendary names - Mycenae, Argos, Olympia and Sparta - and you can gaze at dawn across the red roof-tiles of a Venetian town or the world heritage beauty of Mystras.

This quality of "otherness" has marked Peloponnese since ancient times, when its main city, Sparta, battled with Athens for control of the region. It also claims the mythical birthplace of Zeus, head of the gods. And the fertile, green hills of Arcadia are where Pan and his retinue of nymphs and dryads frolicked, said to be the inspiration for C S Lewis' Narnia.

For today's traveller, bent more on the real-world pleasures of what to see and do, here are a few of the highlights.



Nafplio

Nafplio has been a wealthy centre of commerce since the 1600s, when it was part of the Venetian empire. Even today, it is the most bustling and interesting town in Peloponnese - it's hardly a surprise to learn that it served as modern Greece's first capital. There's nothing quite like the view of Nafplio's red rooftops to feel like you're in Italy or Renaissance Europe.

Excellent bakeries, alfresco restaurants, and quirky winding streets make it easy to spend a few leisurely days just drinking in the atmosphere. Nafplio also plays host to artisans and culture, like shadow puppet stories, or the National Komboloi museum, with its historic survey of these Greek curiosities, curated by the ever-passionate Aris Evangelinos who has written extensively on the subject.

The town's most prominent feature is the fortress of Palamidi, which overlooks it from a high perch. If you're in shape, climb the 999 steps to the top. It looks spectacular at night, too. The Greeks really know how to light up their monuments.



Mycenae

The ruins of Mycenae rest on the slopes Mount Euboea, with a pastoral view of hills and olive groves. This is where European civilisation was founded, say historians, long before the more familiar picture of Athenian Greece. This once far-reaching empire also launched the Trojan war, all for the love of a beautiful woman. But in its jumble of stones and collapsed walls today, interspersed with wildflowers, not much of that eminent past remains. It's a humbling experience.



Arcadia

Arcadia has become a byword for the utopian ideal of harmony with nature. Sitting in the mountainous centre of Peloponnese, its natural delights range from the ski resorts of Kalavytra to hillsides dotted with grazing sheep. Driving these winding mountain roads holds a beauty unto itself. Explore the subterranean fairyland of the Dirou caves, or ride the antique rack-and-pinion train along the steep Vourakos gorge. You can almost hear the pan-pipes of yore drifting across the hills.

As in the past, Peloponnese offers a different side of Greece, insulated from the world's storms. There may be no better time to see it. Peloponnese is, to paraphrase Aristotle, "a whole much greater than the sum of its parts."



Tips!


Getting there

Athens is the usual starting point for most travellers, and served by many airlines. Don't be fooled by the map - Peloponnese is not as far as you think. It's just a few hours by car or train. Self-drive gives you the freedom to go where and when you like. Sites like Mycenae are difficult to reach otherwise.

One way to avoid Athens' congested roadways is taking the train to Corinth and hiring a car there. Be aware that rail routes only circle Peloponnese via its major towns, skipping the interior altogether. Another option is to stay in Tolon in the north, which organises bus tours across Peloponnese.

Stay

In Greece, atmospheric hotels are preferable to generic high-rise luxury. (Indeed, you're hard pressed to find a Hyatt or Hilton anywhere outside Athens or Thessaloniki.) Peloponnese offers comfort in old world style - from the elegance of the Aetoma Hotel in Nafplio to the mountain ski lodges of Kalavytra.

For the budget or spontaneous traveller, there is no shortage of comfortable pensions and B&Bs, with rates ranging from ?18 ($32.30) upwards.

A comprehensive list of boutique options can be found at www.superbgreece.com/Peloponnese/hotels.htm



Lifted from TODAY, Travel - Thursday, 06-May-2010
The other Greece
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Gearing through Greece

Image by Titanas via Flickr

Mark Malby embarks on a self-drive Odyssey through the land of Antiquity

traveller@newstoday.com.sg

ACCORDING to legend, it took Odysseus 10 years to wind his way back home to Greece after the Trojan war. Modern vacations, alas, offer us no such luxury of time. With a limited hoard of annual leave, it's best to pack as much as possible into that one- or two-week holiday.

Which is why a self-drive vacation offers so many advantages. You can set your own agenda and see all the places you want, for as long or as little as you like. There's no tour-guide behind the wheel.

Greece is particularly well-suited to the self-drive vacation. Striking scenery, reasonable rates - typically 25 euros ($51.50) to 90 euros per day - and a highway system that's big enough to take you there, but small enough to remain personal. No Autobahn or LA freeway gridlock here. Once you're out of Athens, the roads can be mercifully clear.

As for where to go, Greece offers a plenitude of possibilities - north, south, east or west. Here are some highlights:

Lemons above Napflio

Athens

Most journeys to Greece begin and end in Athens. It's worth spending a few days here as there's much to see, though driving through its congested streets can be burdensome. Public transit is sufficient to get around and see the sights, especially if you're staying somewhere central like the Plaka (a short walk from the Acropolis, the subway, and the best al fresco dining this side of the Adriatic). Save your car rental for when you leave the capital or arrive at your next destination.

Cycladic Islands

These postcard-perfect islands of white-and-blue Greece are what you invariably find on travel posters and in winter dreams. Scattering south into the blue Aegean toward Crete, each island has its own distinct character. The stylish Venetian architecture of Syros seems a world apart from Mykonos' narrow, whitewashed streets, or Santorini's picturesque villages that sit like snow atop a rugged brown island.

Renting a car on these gives you the freedom to explore parts you'd never see as a foot-bound (or bus-bound) tourist: Remote beaches, hilltop wineries and ruins that don't even appear in the guidebooks. There's nothing quite like standing beside your car in the cool wind at the island's peak, watching the villages and blue sea and loose geometry of farmland far below.

Rolling hills of Arcadia

Peloponnese

The green hills of Arcadia have long been synonymous with an idyllic paradise, and it's not hard to see why. Driving past groves of olive trees, ruined castles and grazing sheep, you almost expect the sound of pan-pipes to come lilting down from the hills.

With towns whose names resonate with history - Mycenae, Argos, Sparta and Corinth - each roadsign marks a door to the past. Having a car lets you bypass infrequent bus services and explore the sites at your leisure. Peloponnese also offers ski hills, wineries, great food and scenic coastlines - or picturesque towns such as Nafplio, with its offshore fort and brooding castle.

Admittedly, telling your friends "I drove to Sparta yesterday" has a cool ring to it, even 2,000 years down the road.

Thessaloniki & the North

For a side of Greece that's a world apart from tumbledown white villages, olive groves, and ruined antiquities, head north. Rugged pine forests, narrow switchback mountain roads, and a rocky coastline beckon. Thessaloniki is a surprisingly modern, cosmopolitan city whose citizens dress the part and seem to spend the better part of the day in high-profile cafes. The mountains and wilderness up here would not look out of place in Canada, and feel decidedly more Balkan than Bacchanalian.

For a holiday, there's nothing quite like the freedom of being on the open road, setting your own pace and blissfully escaping the tyranny of tours. Greece, as a destination offers numerous worlds to explore. If you get as far as Alexandroupolis in the far north-east, then you're already at the gates of Turkey, with Istanbul only hours away. But that's another Odyssey altogether.

Fira village

WEEKLONG GETAWAY

Greece is no mere weekend trip. Even a week or two won't let you won't cover all of it. Choose your region: a leisurely amble through picturesque island chains, the green hills of Peloponnese, or else the rugged north coast. Spring and autumn 'off seasons' make for the best, unhampered driving, letting you avoid summer crowds and winter snowfalls.

Stay: Greece has its big-name hotels, but smaller motels and B&Bs are more atmospheric. Book ahead during peak season, especially summer. Rates on Santorini range from an affordable 25 euros for an off-season B&B to a staggering 550 euros for a 17th century cave villa.

Do: Self-driving through Greece offers you the freedom to explore at your leisure. See storied ruins straight from the history books. Dine on hearty local fare. Taste the cosmpolitan café life - or discos - of Athens, Thessoloniki, and the islands. Ride boats on the blue Aegean or a donkey through olive groves. And don't forget your camera.

Donkey in Greece

Go

Where: Greece

Currency: $1 is 0.49 euros

Big Mac, cost: 3.31 euros ($5.65)*

Getting there: Athens is 10 hours from Singapore. There are few direct flights, though Singapore Airlines does offer an undiscounted fare of $1,900, before taxes.

Mainland centres like Nafplio or Thessaloniki can be reached from Athens, though it's a long stretch. For island driving, it's best to rent cars on arrival.

* Source: McDonald's, The Economist Weeklong

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From TODAY, Living – Weekend, 29/30-Aug-2009

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