View into the Gulf of Corinth
We are en route from our first base at Delphi to a new location at Kalavtra in the Northern Peloponnese. On the way, we are stopping for lunch at Galaxidi and pretty fishing village on the shore of the Gulf of Corinth, which is an large inlet of the Ionian Sea, closed at the eastern end until the Corinth Canal was opened in the 19th century. We will cross the Gulf at one of its narrowest points over the Rio-Antirrio Bridge.
Galaxidi is effectively located in an inlet off a larger inlet and it is almost surrounded by mountains.
At the end of the harbour there are moorings fro small boats and a pleasing collection of small fish restaurants. After our stroll round we had an excellent lunch at one in the far corner. Swallows nested under the awning and kept us amused when conversation faltered.
We walked along the quayside away from the restaurant and soon passed this fine but dilapidated house with its lovely Corinthian pilasters.
Near the end of the quay we headed up a steep road passing a number of substantial houses.
At the top is the newish church of St Nicholas, built on the site of the Church of Saint John of Jerusalem, built by the Hospitallers in 1404. It is not clear why the old church had to be replaced.
We turned left here and ambled along the high road, parallel to the harbour. Another church presented itself on the right. It had an unusual design and a very plan facade.
The end of the nave presumably had three small chapels.
After this the road gradually descended towards the harbour. I was taken by a ruined house in a very different architectural style from the others. It look like it would make a fine renovation project!
After lunch it was back into the minibuses to head towards the Rio-Antirrio Bridge to cross into the Peloponnese. This large peninsular was known as the Morea in medieval times. I have often wondered if the word "Peloponnese" means anything, but I can find only descriptions.
The Rio-Antirrio Bridge is named for the two localities it connects, but apparently its official name is the Charilaos Trikoupis bridge, after the 19th century Prime Minister who came up with the idea of building a bridge here. At 1.8 miles it is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges. It opened in 2004.
Photography was a challenge as there was nowhere to park, without making a time-consuming detour (the butterflies were waiting!), so the following pictures were taken through the closed windows of the minibus. The first gives a sense, albeit rather hazy, of the style and scale of the bridge with its four great pylons.
As we approached the bridge this rather dramatic image presented itself ...
... and this was the fantastic view once we were actually on it.
Conditions: warm and sunny.
Ratings: Galixidi 3 stars, Bridge 5 stars.
It was overall a very interesting and varied day as we had some good spotting in a disused quarry on the way to Galaxidi and stopped at a marvelous woodland site before we reached Kalavytra.
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