PeloPonnese
THE
M
ANI
PeloPonnese
SHOPPING
PeloPonnese
LAKONIAN MANI
vegetable stew, piglet with plum sauce and
aubergines baked with potatoes.Bukka Home Bar COCKTAIL BAr
A creeper-clad cafe by day, come evening
this joint morphs into a sultry cocktail bar.
Slip into the vaulted cavern and sip on a
smoky margarita or a pornstar martini.7 Shopping
Invincible Mani BOOKS
(%27330 53670; Plateia Athanaton) Has an ex-
cellent selection of hiking maps and books
on the region.8 Information
The town is split into two parts: the new upper
town, around Plateia Athanaton, and the old
lower town, around Plateia 17 Martiou. The two
are linked by a ‘main’ lane.
National Bank of Greece (Petrobey Mavromi-
hali) The only bank in town; has an ATM. In the
upper town.
Post office (Petrobey Mavromihali; h7. 3 0 a m -
2pm Mon-fri) At the northern edge of the upper
town.8 Getting There & Away
The bus station (%27330 51229; Plateia Athan-
aton) is situated in the middle of a vast car park
at the town’s northern end.Buses to Gythio (€2.60, 30 minutes, four
daily) proceed to Athens (€27).
Buses to Itilo (€1.60, 20 minutes, two daily
except Sunday) run via Limeni. Other destina-
tions include Gerolimenas (€3.40, 45 minutes,
three daily), the Diros Caves (€1.60, 15 minutes,
departs 10.15am and returns 12.45pm), Lagia
(€3.70, 40 minutes, one daily) and Vathia
(€4.20, one hour, daily in summer).Diros Caves Σπήλαιο Διρού
The extraordinary Diros caves (% 27330
52222; http://www.diroscave.gr; adult/concession €12/7;
h8.30am-5.30pm), inhabited for thousands
of years from Neolithic times and systemat-
ically explored from 1949, lie 11km south of
Areopoli, and are signposted near the village
of Pyrgos Dirou.
The entrance to the caves is on the beach.
Guides speak Greek, so if you’re with non-
Greeks you’ll be treated to a half-hour’s si-
lent, eerie glide by boat through the cave’s
many passages, giving you time to admire the
beautiful stalagmites and stalactites, many
of the latter as fine as gossamer threads. You
then walk the remaining 300m on foot.
Abandoned as human habitation in 4 BC
after an earthquake, the caves weren’t redis-
covered until around 1895. Then in 1949 the
local husband and wife speleology team of
Yiannis and Anna Petrocheilou began to sys-
tematically explore the caves, now estimated
to be around 14km long. Underwater explo-
ration continues to this day.Pyrgos Dirou to Gerolimenas
Πύργος Διρού προς Γερολιμένας
Journeying south down Mani’s west coast
from Pyrgos Dirou to Gerolimenas, the
barren mountain landscape is broken only
by semi-deserted settlements with mighty
towers. A left turn-off 3km south of Pyrgos
Dirou heads up through the picturesque
villages of Drialos, Vamvaka, Briki and
Mina, which have fine examples of Maniot
stonework, before depositing you back on
the main road, 3km north of Kita. A right
turn 9km south of Pyrgos Dirou leads down
to the Bay of Mezapos, sheltered to the east
by the frying-pan-shaped Tigani peninsula.
The ruins on the peninsula are those of the
Castle of Maina, built by the Frankish lead-
er Guillaume de Villehardouin in 1248 and
subsequently adapted by the Byzantines.
Kita, 13km south of Pyrgos Dirou, has
the lion’s share of the west coast’s war tow-
ers and fortified houses. It was the settingLIMENI ΛΙΜΕΝΙThe tiny village of Limeni, 3km north of
Areopoli on the southern flank of aqua-
marine Limeni Bay, is well worth a stop
for two culinary heavyweights.
Teloneio (%27330 52702; http://www.
teloneio-limeni.gr; mains €9-18; hlunch
& dinner; Wv) This colourful seafront
restaurant and bar serves imaginative
fare, such as roasted kritharaki (rice-
shaped pasta) with crayfish, stuffed
zucchini flowers, and grilled talagani
cheese with prickly-pear marmalade.
The presentation is on par with the
flavours.
Takis (%27330 51327; fish per kg €50-65;
hlunch & dinner Apr-Oct) In a beautiful
seafront location, Takis lures in diners
with simply yet beautifully prepared
fresh fish. The results are consistently
good, according to modest Takis, ‘be-
cause I love what I do’.