Reflections: Mani Peninsula - Part 1

"As a passerby you need three days to see Mani, 
as a visitor you need three months, 
but to see her soul you need three lifetimes. 

One for her sea, one for her mountains and one for her people" 



We are enjoying village life in Stoupa on the Mani Peninsula! The village is settled in a rugged landscape with an imposing backdrop of rocky mountains that fall away onto the beach and into the sea. The village is separated from the main road and so is accessed via a winding narrow roads that passes by houses, school, church, hotels, apartments and then onto the beach. The beach front is home to an array of restaurants, cafes with the occasional shop providing a brief respite from the sun. The food offerings are wide ranging, catering to the foreign tourist palate. The shops are a diversion providing access to summer clothing, sun hats and glasses and of course souvenirs. The shops are certainly in the minority as no one comes to shop Stoupa. They come to sun bake! 

The locals are friendly and responsive to Melbournians. They know we are the third largest Greek city and know our suburbs and the family or friends  who have left Greece to replant their lives and traditions there. Some have hard luck stories of their parents being refused entry after the War because they were communists. They have stories of the past living a short distance from the village and having to travel by donkey to shop and school. Their grandmothers and mothers washed clothes by the rocky shoreline taking advantage of the cold springs that erupt in the sea. No one knows the source of the springs but they are surely the work of gods!

The beach is a sea of banana (μπανάνα) lounges all associated with a taverna and cafe that ply their trade of Greek salads, Mythos beers, coffees and ice creams for the sun worshippers. If you don’t  buy you won’t bake on a captive banana lounge. It’s a simple state of economic affairs that drives the local economy. It is an accepted part of making Stoupa viable. Such is life in a small village that needs to cater for diversity. The banana lounges are occupied by a range of body types but all have the same objective…a tan! Taking up their place in the sun from early morning to late evening are bodies from across Europe and around the world. We come across people from Poland, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden and America. They are only distinguishable by their accents; their suntanned skins look much the same. They bake assiduously and know nothing of ‘slip slop and slap’. It’s take it while you can. 

Travelling out of Stoupa is not complicated! You travel north to Kalamata or south to the Mani Peninsula and then take tracks to far off places. Narrow roads wind their way through gorges and along cliff faces and then climb over the top of the mountains only interrupted by small villages with their ancient stones and churches. The vegetation at times is lush and broken by the strewn stones and rocky out crops and the cacti. The stone fences protect the olive trees from the cars or vice versa  but are showing their stone age. House building is intermittent and comes in isolated pockets high up the mount a with amazing views. Men sit under beach umbrellas cracking the boulders for construction whilst a large mechanical digger lifts the boulders out of the ground. No need to bring the rocks to the house. 

Cars veer left or right to avoid other cars and the perilous cliffs. It’s a daunting but also exciting experience. You can spot the local as opposed to rental cars by their speed, agility to pass on double lines and their closeness to passing cars. Shrines dot the side of roads maybe to protect or threaten drivers and villages are named after Saints no doubt for added protection. It’s a rocky landscape  with bare mountain tops punctuated with groves of olives. They no doubt oil the economy though tourists provide the wheels. 

Our favourite villages do not have beaches. We settle in under trees where the sea meets the rocks and the esplanade. Up against the water’s edge to read Travels with Epicurus’, and “Zorba the Greek’! When in Greece do what …. The silence is only interrupted by exclamations or a précis of what just happened followed by some intense and meaningful conversation. We relax at the local taverna sometimes in silence allowing the sound of the waves and the taste of the humus, kalamata olives and Mythos beer to wash over us. We hear from the owner about the high cost of tomatoes and feta. He’s not complaining just living in the here and now. The villages mostly have no beaches but ladders do provide entry to the water after scrambling over the the craggy outcrops. We’re here for 4 weeks so have been staking out nearby villages with their distinctive tavernas and cafes. It’s away to get to know the local owners and establish some rapport. 

Our Mani exchange home is high up on the mountain and overlooks olive groves, peers up mountains and looks out to sea and sunsets. It is reached along a very narrow and bumpy  ‘goat’ road. The houses scattered around us are all Mani styled constructions from the local stone, simple, small with similar views across the olive groves, mountains and sea. Our neighbours are British who have established a home away from home for over 20 years. They have seen many changes but still find Stoupa and the locals they have got to know appealing and now part of their lives. There is wildlife including many roaming cats and wild boars are seen from time to time. Birds are heard but seldom seen and no doubt other animals spend time fossicking amongst the olive groves and in the heavily bushed areas. Dogs come out at night to bark and warn off other animals and roosters crow warning of the impending dawn.  

And a new day to explore Mani!