The view from our Hotel room..pity about the power lines
Part of the Venetian Cathedral with the Castle Walls of Methoni.. cop the fancy dress!!Methoni is at the southwestern tip of the Messinian Peninsula and is dominated by its impressive fortress stretching into the sea. Evidence of past visitors includes the remnants of a Venetian cathedral and a Turkish bath within the castle walls.
Methoni old fortress and monastry down by the water
Another view of the Castle and Monastry
and yet another one..it was just so gorgeous
The beach at Kalamata at 8pm! The Greeks seem to stay on the beach all day and half the night..mind you with those temperatures who would blame them.
Methoni old fortress and part of old walled town on the estuary 
and more of the estuary
View from the Monastry
Koroni Castle ..The little port of Koróni, 42km/26mi southwest of Kalamáta on the west side of the Gulf of Messenia, is particularly noted for its castle. It occupies the site of ancient Asine, but in late antiquity it was re-settled by the inhabitants of Korone (25km/16mi north; now called Petalídi) and took over the name of that town.
Koroni is further around the Peninsual closer to the southern tip. It has a small fishing harbour, and a castle which towers over the whole town. The castle dates back to the 12th century and a time when the Venetians were ruling the country. We walked up to the castle which stands on huge fortification walls overlooking Koroni on the one side and Saga beach on the other where we stopped for lunch... not very good service as it was difficult to get served.. we moved to a different restaurant much to the dismay of the Waiter. Nestled in the old castle walls we found the monastery of Moni Timiou Prodromou. which had THE most marvellous view.
The old Venetian town of Koroni has delightful little hide-aways and narrow winding streets leading up to the castle at the top of the hill."
Koroni stands on the coast some 43 km southwest of Kalamata, the capital of Messinia, and is known as one of the 'eyes of Venice' as it looks down on the shipping lanes between the Adriatic and Crete.
This impressive fortified town with its stepped streets stands at the foot of a Venetian castle whose walls now shelter the enormous Timiou Prodromou convent. There is a tranquil spot beyond the castle where you can take in the lovely views over the Messinian Gulf to the Taygetos mountains.
The first blue roofed church we saw upon arrival in Greece..of course we saw thousands after this..but the first is always special.
Coraleen and I at our sunset dinner in Koroni.. beautiful sunset.. and if we had have stepped backwards we would have been in very deep water.Overlooked by an imposing, rocktop castle, Koroni has an ageless feel, with blue-painted fish tavernas flanking the waterfront and bright fishing boats bobbing in the bay. Honey-stone walls partially encircle the town, whilst within the steep lanes, flower-bedecked whitewashed cottages create a fairytale scene.
Sunset at Koroni.. our camera didnt do it justice
Swimming hole near Karmidylli.. absolutely clear blue water, fishes swimming around and so beautiful.
Koroni Monastry with the view in the background...
Coraleen outside the Methoni walled town..
Coraleen and I at Pilos..on the way around the Messini Peninsula admiring the view down below to the beautiful Agean Sea.
Me with Molly in the background..waiting for us to return from our picture taking walk. This little place was so picturesque, quiet with beautiful views of the mountains in the background. This 'wharf' went right out into the sea with boats on either side..and people swimming all around.
After staying in Olympia an extra day as a 'nice' Greek man wanted to take us out for a typical Greek Dinner and then cancelled at the last minute.. we werent happy. However the upside was he was very knowledgable about Greece and her islands.. where the ferries leave from and go to and which islands have the cheapest facilities etc.
We travelled down the Island and around the Peninsula stopping at Methoni and Koroni which were absolutely beautiful. The bottom part of this 'island' has nothing on the top.. its just amazing. Crystal clear waters and lovely sandy beaches.
Even the ruins are lovely.. I thought I was over them after leaving Sicily but these ones are firstly free!! always a bonus given the cost of everything in Euro and although unkempt they are somehow beautiful. The old Benedictine Monastry at Koroni looks out over the sea and with the white dome of the top of the Monastry against the backdrop of the crystal clear Agean Sea.. well you can only imagine.
Another stop, Methoni, the ruins of an old walled city were on a small 'peninsula' again with the backdrop of the blue azure of the Agean sea.. I could go on forever but unless you were there to see it yourself you couldnt appreciate the beauty of it.
After a full driving day we stopped at a cheapish hotel Euro40 (Coraleen has said she will pay 30 and I am to pay the balance which is about the cost of camping.. and we are both happy with that) and spent a few hours on the beach.. well from 4.30 until about 7 when we got changed and went into town (town being the operative word) for dinner. I had anchovies in olive oil and garlic.. they were absolutely divine. I also had eggplant.. cooked as in Tempura. They were both starters and 5 and 3 Euro respectively and a 1/4 litre of local red wine was another 1.50Euro. And to top it off we were right on the water.. actually if we had moved the chair too far back we would have fallen in!! The sun was setting behind us and the distant mountains had a gorgeous pink hue lighting up the whole sky.
The view of the other side was pretty but not quite so with a diluted milky like haze softening the sharp peaks of another mountain range.
In essence its just beautiful.. and romantic.. pity I am here with Coraleen lol
