This morning we took the little shuttle bus from Gyfra across the causeway to the Lower Town of Monemvasia. It's a pedestrian only little island community. Ioanna led us on a circuitous route around and through the Lower Town which has elements of Byzantine, Venetian, Frankish and Turkish architecture as all those nationalities ruled this important little island at some point between the 1200's and 1700's.

After a brief rest, I went with part of our group, to climb to the abandoned Upper Town while Tina and others remained below. It's a steep 800+ foot switch back climb. There are mostly ruins in the Upper Town on top of the rock ; the only intact structure is the 12th century Agia Sophia Byzantine church. Inside, we met a young woman who climbs to this high place several times a week to spend long hours restoring the frescoes of the church. As I watched her working, sitting high on her scaffold, it reminded me very much of Gabriel Allon, the protagonist in the Daniel Silva novels I've been reading on vacations.
(He's a world renowned art restorer working in Venice, who also happens to be an assassin for the Israeli Secret Service.)

Took the shuttle back to Gyfra and had a nice lunch of chicken Gyros. They put french fries in the gyros here in Greece which I don't believe they do in America.

After lunch, I got my big chance to swim in the Aegean. We found a small part of the shore line where there was a beach of small pebbles , making entry easier. It was cool and refreshing. The water is so crystal clear, it's very hard to tell how deep it is below you as you swim.

Before dinner, we had a cooking demonstration using 5 of our tour members as apprentice cooks. They prepared tzatziki, chick pea patties, moussaka and baklava. Then we proceeded to a buffet dinner where these dishes and about 6 more items were offered. We're stuffed needless to say!

Walked - 3.4 miles