Thursday 14 June: Gythio to Mystras (30+ miles)

We are on the road by 9am and make our way north west away from the coast towards Sparta. It is quite a main road so we see more lorries and traffic today. The land becomes more fertile with olive groves, cypress trees and cultivated fields as we pass by on the east side of the Tygetos mountain range that we had seen from the other side in Kardimyli last week. It looks very high and arid. At 2407m it is snow covered from November to May. Sparta itself is busy and hot. We have a whiz around the Archeological Museum and see some mosaics and a statue of a Spartan warrior before heading to Mystras. It takes us a while to find our hotel and then we have a relaxing light lunch before cycling up more hills to ancient Mystras in the early evening. We climb up to the castle at 633m with spectacular views of Sparta below and Laconia beyond. Byzantine Churches dot the hillside beneath us. Confusion with our guidebook means that we manage to "miss quite a bit of Mystras" by cycling down to the lower entrance too early. We do not have the energy to walk or cycle back up. Still we have enjoyed the views and got the general idea. A non Byzantine beer before supper. We eat delicious fresh Rainbow Trout in a nearby village frequented by locals visiting the fresh water spring to fill up their water bottles.