Two days, two special places: we spend the night all alone next to the ancient city wall of Messene and spend Saturday among theatre, stadium and colonnades. Then it’s along narrow roads to the “middle finger” of the Peloponnese and Vatheia, where tourists photograph not just the village but the Mammothon too…

Vatheia with its tower houses

On the drive from the ferry the belt starts making odd noises, and the diagnosis is not what we hoped for: the bracket of the second alternator has broken. While the spare parts travel from Germany, we move our office to Elia Beach, first convince a snake that a tyre tread is no good hiding place, and have a breakfast van dropping by every morning…

A snake we have to talk out of staying before departure