Everyone in Team Basil had a terrific night’s sleep, with only the gentle lapping of waves to disturb our dreams. We admitted to each other that we were quite pleased that two other campers had turned up to share our beach, because although it is special to be all alone in a fantastic location, like last night, having a few other campers for company does add a slight sense of security, real or imagined.
Our spot meant the the dogs had a great run on the beach before breakfast and after we had eaten I even got a chair out and sat on the beach for half an hour. I suppose we could have done that all day, but we were running short of supplies and I still have a lingering mind set of moving on so we can “do things” and “see things”. It is perhaps a sign that I have not slowed down sufficiently yet.
The Mani had no supermarkets marked on SatNav, so we set course for the nearest LIDL saying we would stop earlier if we found an alternative. I have read in other people’s blogs that LIDL became their favourite shop and I am beginning to see why. LIDL seem to be the only chain to be present in every country and as you will know from home a certain familiarity with a shop makes the buying process so much easier. LIDL does vary from country to country, but they in each they have much in common.
We did not see a single alternative on our way to LIDL, so we eventually pulled in by the familiar blue, red and yellow sign, only to be immediately accosted by two young girls knocking on our windows begging. We managed to get rid of them, but when we got out into the car park we saw that there was essentially a whole family begging. I think they were Roma gypsies, but I don’t know for sure. They were much better dressed and cleaner than those we had encountered a couple of weeks ago and were not quite so persistent. Once we had finished our shop two of the older girls followed our trolley. Once Melek and Mabel emerged from Basil they backed off: they were obviously not fond of dogs. We gave them the trolley to take back and so they gained €1, but it is an unusual experience for us to see such open begging in Europe.
Basil’s new resting spot at Camping Meltemi
We back tracked a few miles to our home for the next few nights: Camping Meltemi at Gythion (36.7291050, 22.553827 – €17 ACSI. Few things open on site, but great wifi). The site has great wifi and is right next to a huge sandy beach. Unfortunately the weather has deteriorated again slightly. We’ve had a few spots of rain, but we have seen that only just north of Greece there have been large snowfalls, so I suppose we are lucky.
Beach at Camping Meltemi
Camping Meltemi is not within walking distance of a town, but I expect we will stay here two or three nights to gird our loins for our visit to Sparta and Mystras. The spartans would expect nothing less.
Beach at Camping Meltemi