June | 2025 | Cuffysark Adventures

The last time we came along this coast we were in a bit of a hurry so didn’t get a chance to take in the area. We arrived in Pylos which is set is a very sheltered bay. We ended up staying here for nearly two weeks as we were waiting for our next lot of visitors, Graham and Lesley. We picked them up in Pylos and Colin and Maggie on Serafina arrived too and some friends we met on the Black Sea Rally, Bogden and Petra. A few pre-dinner drinks on Cuffysark and off we went for dinner. The sunset was fabulous from the restaurant.

We anchored at the other end of the bay and on the other side of the mound ashore was a horseshoe bay, which was a bit difficult to take a boat into but we could walk there. It was a 40 mins walk along a path and then we had to walk over the sand dunes which wasn’t easy particularly as the sand was so hot.

It was Euro 2024 so we set up our TV that basically only comes out for sporting events to watch the various games. Sadly it wasn’t to be England’s year, again.

Our next stop was Methoni, there is an imposing castle, built by the Venetians in the 13^th century, which sits at the entrance to the cape. There is a stone bridge with 14 arches connecting the castle to the shore. A stone paved stretch over a small bridge takes you to the fortified islet of Bourtizi, built in 1500, which was used as a prison and a place of execution the under the Ottoman occupation.

Our final stop with the Graham and Lesley was Kalamata where we booked into the marina. We were a little way out of town which had lots of shops, bars and restaurants. To get there you have to walk through the Railways Park which has exhibits of old motorcycles and railway wagons.

From Kalamata we hoped along the coast calling in at a number of different spots along the way. We met our next visitors, Dave and Deb, in Porto Heli, which is a really well protected bay. We’ve sat some strong winds out here on recent visits. We’d gone up to Koilada along from Porto Heli the week before and they were advertising a festival with live music. We called in and were told no problem get them on the night. Well, yes you’ve guessed it, wasn’t as simple as that and no tickets available. Anyway making the best of things we found a restaurant, we could hear the music ok as it was so loud.

The island of Spetses is very nearby but it’s not great for anchorages so off we went on a busman’s holiday and took one of the tripper boats across. We had to take a taxi to get to the port first. Spetses is a very small island but very popular. It is chic and trendy, full of quaint shops and boutiques and lots of restaurants. We had a leisurely walk around, obviously to build up a thirst and hunger and then had a leisurely lunch before taking the trip boat back. Wasn’t so easy to get a taxi back the other end but Ian jumped in front of a car driving off and jumped in and we were off back to the boat. It was a very long walk otherwise.

We then decided to leave the mainland and head to one of the islands, Serifos. Serifos is a small island but was quite a popular stop for charter boats. It would be quiet first thing and then the boat would start arriving and before you knew it the anchorage was really busy. We stayed here for a week as there were strong winds. We managed to pick up one of the two mooring buoys available. The town had various bars and restaurants with the Chora sitting on the hillside. It was quite a long walk up there and it was hot so we took the bus up and walked down. There were quite a number of churches on the route, amazing for such a small place. The pathway was marked and we had to look out for where it started again across the other side of the road.

There are windmills here too and I didn’t appreciate that people were living in them until I opened the door on one. There was some great wall art too.