We made it to Pyrgos in 20 minutes but were held over for one hour until 4pm. The bus was 15 minutes late. By that time it was trying to rain. Alright, it poured cats and dogs! Thank god we were on the bus! We arrived in Kalamata and of course the last bus to Itilo had left an hour an 15 minutes earlier. The next bus was at 5:15am the next day. What kind of schedule is that? Another couple going to Neoitilo offered to share a cab with us for 5000 drachmas each. We agreed without hesitation. The cab ride was one and a half hours long and the roads were very winding. Although tiring, it took us through gorgeous Greek countryside, hills, mountains and olive groves for miles. The cab driver informed himself with some locals and let us off at a beautiful traditional Maniot tower. The yard came complement with a gorgeous pool, beautifully lit for the evening, while the room had a double and a single bed, a stone balcony, a bathroom, a shower, a toilet, and even a kitchenette. Plainly decorated but with framed children's art. Very original! We got changed and headed out in search of food. Itilo is a very small and dark place at night. Bats and cats seemed to be the only living things, until we stumbled across a run down snack bar. Local hangout for men. With great difficulty we ordered pork souvlaki which was nasty. Our dinner companion was an extremely hungry cat (he behaved more like a dog, jumping up on us and his paws on the table begging for food!) . Later on three other cats showed up looking just as hungry. While pigeons were Italy's most lethal weapons, cats seemed to be Greece's. I'm sure the locals were laughing at us stupid tourists out in the dark without a car, ordering pork souvlaki at 10pm and getting harassed by crazy cats! Since there was not much else to do, we went back to the tower and to bed for a good night sleep. There was a lot of lightning in the distance. We prayed for good weather the next day!
Day 19 - Wednesday September 17
We woke up around 9am to a cool and cloudy Greek day. We decided to leave early for Areopoli since there was nothing to do in Itilo. (I mean NOTHING!!! Nowhere to buy food, get money, it's basically a little Greek village on the seashore!) We had a nice surprise before we left, the owner brought us breakfast (I guess it was included!). Nice cakes (lemon and sesame cookies) and coffee. He also told us that the next bus to Areopoli was at 2pm. We decided to walk down to Itilo beach. Nice little walk that turned out to be 3 ½ hours all the way to Areopoli which happened to be at the top of the other side of the cliff!!! On the way, we saw some beautiful landscapes and countryside, almost got charged by a bull, I witnessed Mona going for a pipi on the side of the road (she almost got caught by a car passing by!!!). Lots of sweat, tired feet, sore shoulders and legs (I carried Mona's bag for a while because it was cutting the circulation in her shoulders).
We made it to Pyrgos in 20 minutes but were held over for one hour until 4pm. The bus was 15 minutes late. By that time it was trying to rain. Alright, it poured cats and dogs! Thank god we were on the bus! We arrived in Kalamata and of course the last bus to Itilo had left an hour an 15 minutes earlier. The next bus was at 5:15am the next day. What kind of schedule is that? Another couple going to Neoitilo offered to share a cab with us for 5000 drachmas each. We agreed without hesitation. The cab ride was one and a half hours long and the roads were very winding. Although tiring, it took us through gorgeous Greek countryside, hills, mountains and olive groves for miles. The cab driver informed himself with some locals and let us off at a beautiful traditional Maniot tower. The yard came complement with a gorgeous pool, beautifully lit for the evening, while the room had a double and a single bed, a stone balcony, a bathroom, a shower, a toilet, and even a kitchenette. Plainly decorated but with framed children's art. Very original! We got changed and headed out in search of food. Itilo is a very small and dark place at night. Bats and cats seemed to be the only living things, until we stumbled across a run down snack bar. Local hangout for men. 
With great difficulty we ordered pork souvlaki which was nasty. Our dinner companion was an extremely hungry cat (he behaved more like a dog, jumping up on us and his paws on the table begging for food!) . Later on three other cats showed up looking just as hungry. While pigeons were Italy's most lethal weapons, cats seemed to be Greece's. I'm sure the locals were laughing at us stupid tourists out in the dark without a car, ordering pork souvlaki at 10pm and getting harassed by crazy cats! Since there was not much else to do, we went back to the tower and to bed for a good night sleep. There was a lot of lightning in the distance. We prayed for good weather the next day!
We woke up around 9am to a cool and cloudy Greek day. We decided to leave early for Areopoli since there was nothing to do in Itilo. (I mean NOTHING!!! Nowhere to buy food, get money, it's basically a little Greek village on the seashore!) We had a nice surprise before we left, the owner brought us breakfast (I guess it was included!). Nice cakes (lemon and sesame cookies) and coffee. He also told us that the next bus to Areopoli was at 2pm. We decided to walk down to Itilo beach. Nice little walk that turned out to be 3 ½ hours all the way to Areopoli which happened to be at the top of the other side of the cliff!!! On the way, we saw some beautiful landscapes and countryside, almost got charged by a bull, I witnessed Mona going for a pipi on the side of the road (she almost got caught by a car passing by!!!). Lots of sweat, tired feet, sore shoulders and legs (I carried Mona's bag for a while because it was cutting the circulation in her shoulders).