Methana – a true gem

A day trip to Methana is by far one of our favourite activities and places to discover while staying at Live-Bio. It is only a 30 min drive from us and is a true hidden gem of the area. Last week we decided to invite our guests who were staying with us at the time – Katrina, Damien, Kate, Patrick, Hanna, Hielke – and discover this magical place together.

Methana would have been an island actually if it wasn’t for a narrow corridor connecting it to the mainland. Taking a car or a scooter is probably the best option as it gives you freedom to explore the whole area. As you enter the main town, you quickly discover (well, let’s say your nose does) one of the unique things Methana has to offer: hot springs rich with volcanic origin sulfur (there are about 25 of them in the region).The thermal baths and spa are definitely one of the highlights. Volcanic springs are known for their therapeutic qualities. The inhabitants of the town can tell you a few stories of people who could barely walk and after a week or two of therapy they felt rejuvenated and were in much better shape. We decided to skip the treatments this time and explore the other side of the peninsula where the famous volcano was located.

Rich with sulfur sea waters of Methana

Methana – thermal baths

Hiking the volcano

The volcano of Methana is one of 32 volcanos located on the peninsula. A big number of them are submarine though. Last eruption took place in one of them in 1700. The main land volcano is presiding over the village of Kameni Chora, cute little place with just a few houses, a restaurant and… an ancient like theatre! We met the person who built it – Theodoris – who is one of the very few residents of the village. Theodoris is a very talented man. Apart from building in stone and wood, he also harvests olive trees to produce delicious, organic olive oil, makes wine from grapes growing on his property and keeps bees to make his own honey. We love it!

The hike to the top of the volcano is not very difficult. It is actually a very pleasant walk with plenty opportunities to take photos of breathtaking views of the Aegean and green pine trees growing everywhere. This time of the year you can also find beautiful, pink flowers (Cyclamen) growing wild pretty much anywhere you look. When you reach the top it feels a little bit like being on the Moon – all these rocks! The volcano does not have a proper crater (at least it’s not accessible) but rather a cave. Its last eruption took place in 250 BC so quite a long time ago, but it is still active and could revive, in theory, any time. Let me tell you, there is something both magical and scary about being inside the volcano. You can almost feel its energy and when you close your eyes, you can imagine all the stories that is has witnessed over the past thousands of years.

Theatre built by Theodoris in Kameni Chora, Methana

Hiking the volcano of Methana

Nature on Methana

Nature on Methana

Hiking the volcano of Methana

Plenty photographic opportunities!

Day trip to Methana

Inside the volcano

Let’s practice some yoga on the volcano 🙂

Hanna demonstrating her yoga skills

Katrina and her yoga session on Methana 🙂

Hanna connecting with nature…

This was our attempt to make a James Bond scene. Just for fun 🙂

Lunch in a fishing village of Vathi

Conquering the volcano made us a bit hungry. We decided to drive to a fishing village right next door – Vathi. Mmmm fresh fish and seafood straight from the sea. Yum! Vathi has maybe three tavernas in total. We chose the one closest to the cute little marina, right by the sea. It was an excellent choice!  After having satisfied our hunger, the boys decided to jump into the sea for a refreshing swim while the girls practiced a bit of yoga. As the sun started to set, we took to the road again.

Awesome people, awesome day!

Vathi fishing village

Boys having fun 🙂

Refreshing swim anyone?

Girls practicing yoga 🙂

Girls practicing yoga 🙂

Girls practicing yoga 🙂

Girls practicing yoga 🙂

The way back from Methana

On our way back we decided to take a different route, just so we could see the other side of the peninsula. Curvy road took us through a few, tiny villages with gardens full of pomme granate and lemon trees. We stopped at a lonely church on the side of the road to take some photos (one of them is the featured image of this blog post actually), so much fun!

We got back to Live-Bio at about 7pm, picked up one more coffee at our favourite La Frianderie coffee shop and got ready to go out for dinner. It was a perfect day out and we will definitely keep it on top of our list of things to do in our area!

Live-Bio family growing 🙂