We left Elafonisos after a fifth night which we spent in town. Nice meal, right on the harbour side, turtles made an appearance again, followed by an England win in the World Cup. Happy days all round.

Next destination was Monemvasia, another town, similar to Mystras fortified in the Byzantine era but added to over the years by Venetians, Ottomans etc. In the same style as Mystras the castle takes the high ground with an upper and lower town sitting below.

Now we've visited some sites and seen some things on this trip but this is now the new number one for me and H. The town sits on the seaward side of a huge rock monolith reached by a causeway from the mainland. There is no evidence of the existence of the town from the mainland. We walked to the town entering at the gate to the upper town and from there up to the castle and an amazing church sat at the top of the rock. The upper town is a ruin and very similar to Mystras, the church has been restored. It's when you descend to the lower town that the magic really hits you. This is still occupied, the majority of buildings have been restored and there are no vehicles just a maze of narrow alleyways as it would have been. The whole thing is surrounded by a city wall and clings to the side of the rock.

It truly is spectacular and has now become my favourite historical place visited so far. Amazing.

We decided to stay at Monemvasia for the night, easier said than done as there are no campsites. I asked at a local taverna and a suitable spot to park up for the night was suggested. A couple of other motorhomes were at the same place so we thought we were set for the night. Within half an hour the local Bobby rocked up to move everyone on. This was obviously a nightly activity as he was armed with a map and duly directed us to the harbour area just outside the town, no hassle. Prior to this we'd had a walk round and there were a couple of car parks that were possibilities but didn't feel right. After parking up at the police approved location we walked into town, sat down for a beer and then watched as the policeman herded motorhomes from the various car parks to the harbour parking area. In total there were about 15 motorhomes parked when he'd rounded them all up. Why some simple signs weren't installed at each of the 'illegal' sites directing people to the 'legal' site I've no idea. It was good entertainment but you would have thought the policeman would have been much happier having a quiet ouzo than playing one man and his dog with motorhomes all evening!