I must go down to the sea again.......

The sea from Monemvasia, the tip of the Pelopponese

Here in rural Greece we live in a mountain village in the middle of the peninsula that is the Peloponnese but we are only an hour to an hour and a half from the sea and any number of beach spots.  It is usually sunny. here but the weather can vary ten degrees from the village to the sea.   So when I am feeling a little wintry: cold and moody,  then I recall the words of the poem.......

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

and off we go.

the harbour at Gythio, the southern Peloponnese

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

The beach at Skoura, south of Kalamata

I must go down to the 
seas again, for the call of the running tide       
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

 

the southern tip of the Mani

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

a protected f ishing harbour on the eastern shores

MikroLimano harbour, Athens

new town Monemvasia from the rock

and the only complaint I have is that the Greeks are not mindful of litter. They gaily jettison food wrappers, plastic bottles and odd bits of paper out of their car windows onto the sides of the scenic roads that edge the sea. And just try to get out of your car in a parking area close to the water without stepping on some disgusting morsel of garbage, or a wheelbarrow full of renovation debris. The beaches and water seem to be fine but I wonder if the approaches to them will be cleaned up before tourist season comes.




Then again the government just might have a few more pressing issues than keeping the land green. On the other hand they should be trying to keep the tourist dollar, not throw it away.

off the southern tip of the Peleponnese