A short bus ride from our hotel brought us to a little village and a valley that leads down to the sea.
Just after we set off we came across a small monastery that no longer served the monks but is still maintained by the village. We opeined the gate and an elderly lady greeted us chatted to Jonathan. She opened the church so we could all look inside at the icons and decoration.
We continued down the valley, sometimes climbing as well as in general descending. There was plenty of shade and although it was hot I didn’t feel so exhausted as yesterday.
However when we stopped for a coffee at a village taverna I was glad of the rest and the chance to sit down in very shady surroundings.
The wide valley changed in the second half of the walk to a gorge and now the walking became slower as we had to clamber over boulders. This didn’t matter at first but then fighting the rocks became tedious. To see Marcos and Jonathan descend made me aware of how age has caught up with me. They are lithe. I am awkward.
Eventually we arrived at the seaside. Myriam had met us shortly before the end of the gorge with some refreshingly cold water. We ate at a small taverna on the beach. I elected to return to the hotel by car, as did Maggi and Matt after a swim in the sea.
While swimming a fish bit my leg. I shouted and the felt embarrassed. Perhaps I imagined the nip on my leg. Suddenly another attack and I jumped again and headed for the shore. As I came out of the sea the blood dripped down my leg. Nothing serious but very disturbing and put me off going back into the sea.
Myriam drove us back too the hotel where Maggi and I had a swim in the pretty pool. In the evening Maggi and I wandered into the town for a drink before we met up with the others for our evening meal. We all went down by the seaside to a little family taverna called El Greco. It sits at the very end of the beach and is the only place that remains open during the winter season.
As usual we over ordered but the food and service maintained the standard we had come to expect. Jamie had a large smile on his face when the raki arrived at the end of the meal.