 Methana island | The houses of the city extend along the beach and climbing up the hill. At the quay lie the tourist shops, seafood tavernas and confectionery shops with their famous almond cakes, milk pies and kourambiedes. Charming Nisaki (little island), joined with Methana through a narrow strip of land, constitutes the anchorage of the city. Nisaki is the Methaneans promenade for their strolls, with rich vegetation, flowers and stone-paved alleys all the way to the cafeteria that overlooks the beach on the other side of the narrow strip. Methana is the starting point for two roads. The one leads to the fishing village of Vathi, a growing vacation spot with rooms for rent and fresh fish. The other road ends at Kammeni Hora, probably the most beautiful area of the island. On arrival we meet little white-washed houses and vine leaves and amongst them large red-black volcano stones are scattered, bearing witness to the disaster caused by the eruption of the crater which lies immediately above the village. If you want to climb to the crater of the peninsula (417 m) it would be wise if you choose a cool hour during the day and do not forget to provide yourself with water. If you have a boat you can discover small bays all along the coastline of Kammeni Chora, perfect for swimming and fishing. Going towards the opposite direction of the harbour road we reach the beautiful beach of Limniona, and after passing Kipseli and Agious Theodorous, small villages with old houses, we head towards Kounoupitsa. On our way we meet the stone Church of Agia Varvara, whose remains according to the local legendare preserved in the cellar of the church. It is also said that if you put a coin on her icon while making a wish and it doesn't fall down, your wish will come true. Our trip reaches its end at the coastal settlement of Agios Nikolaos with its spas of the name... | | | | Methana History | According to archaeological studies, life existed on Methana since the Prehistoric period. This little peninsula had from time to time constituted a naval base for the Ptolemaeans of Egypt against the Macedonian forts on Spetses and Hydra. According to the French geologist Fouch the last eruption of the volcano on Methana occurred in 273 BC, changing the morphology of the gulf. This eruption is described in Pafsania's Korinthiaka. The volcanic peninsula of I Methana extends into the Saronic Gulf a short distance from Poros and connects with the Peloponnese through a narrow isthmus. Methana spas, famous since antiquity, receive hundreds of visitors every year, mainly Greeks. The springs bubble up along Methana's south-eastern shores where the health resorts are situated. The sulphur of the springs spreads its characteristic smell in the air, giving the name of Vromolimni (stinking lake) to this area... |
|
