By Cathy H. Burroughs, Travel Writer,
Adventure & Travel Blogger

Greece’s rugged and primordial Peloponnese has a turbulent history and equally turbulent landscape and seascape prime for the adventurous traveler. With its monolithic rocky peaks, Greece’s equivalent to France’s epic Pyrenees, the area is memorable for its harrowing roads, notoriously thrilling hairpin turns and ancient villages’s traditional stone tower houses, rampant with soft sage-colored olive groves. The region is also celebrated for its extensive shorelines of exquisite both rocky and sandy beaches, one with a giant boulder; obscure Byzantine churches and array of truly reasonable and true Greek tavernas. All this is bordered by a dark expanse of sweeping bays and obsidian glassine expanse of ocean that covers the Aegean, Mediterranean and Ionian Seas. It is an extraordinarily breathtakingly beautiful place – perhaps among the most beautiful on this earth.

The Mani Penninsula, the southern finger of mainland Greece, encompasses many medieval villages (rent a car and explore by all means). Two most visited are the delightful coastal village resorts, lesser-known to the average tourist, of Kardamili (mentioned in Homer’s Iliad, known for its summertime international jazz festival, featured in the film Before Midnight, and principal former home to celebrated swashbuckling travel writer the late Patrick Leigh Fermore), and Stoupa, once sleepy and forgotten, now known for its sheer beachside charm and sea frontage enchantment.

Many say this area provides the more intrepid traveler, and, now, many undaunted families, a really authentic and one of the most memorable holiday dream experiences than even many of the better known or more frequented Grecian islands.

One of the best ways to capture the essence of this magical Peloponnese outpost is of course by sea. And there is no better guide and resource to experience your Mani sea adventure than with the Kardamili-based, top rated, all five star Mani Cruises owned by Christos Papanestros with his wife the exceptional Sofia, geologist oceanographer, of her many talents and capabilities including her top notch home baked delicacies and Kardamili Boat Rentals in concert with his uber friendly partner Ariel Castillo from Miami via the Dominican Republic.

The husband and wife met romantically underwater as Christos was her scuba diving instructor. Christos has had a boat since age seven with 15 years of scuba and snorkeling expert instruction and 35 years as a licensed scuba diver.

With their versatile, manageable, colorful and hardy fleet of five affordable boats, easy for anyone to handle, they are available for cruising with no license necessary. Both half or full day rentals are available, providing snorkeling for families and kids and scuba diving expert instruction.

Mani Cruises’s captain Christos is a quintessentially heroic seafarer who hails from Athens and Rhodes, with 40 years sea experience, and, is also known for serving up a primo cup of espresso. He makes sure it is perfectly brewed on deck after your morning tour of cruising, snorkeling or scuba diving.

Christos himself can usher you on a compelling boat adventure via Mani Cruises on the clear aqua waters of the Messian Mani as we were fortunate to do recently: Against the backdrop of the area’s magnificent beaches, history-infused villages and mythically-inspired stories we spent an exhilarating day on the deck of the Maya named for the couple’s darling dog. 

The Italian company Cranchi has been manufacturing this beautiful polyester boat for 150 years. It has a 300 hp Volvo diesel engine, can go 45 knots or 85 kilometers an hour. It is eight meters long and can accommodate up to six passengers.

Launching from Kardamilli’s archaic former Custom’s House we had the blustery winds against the massive Mani sky, bouncing on the Aegean waves, as we explored caves with secret underwater tunnels and rooms, a friendly bat cave sanctuary; mysterious currents; private islands; the formidable egg at the Agios Dimitrious harbor evoking the birthplace of the great heroine Helen of Troy, legendary daughter of Leda the Swan and Zeus, and mother to the twins Castor and Pollux. Apparently according to the tale, the twins from two different fathers were hatched from this egg.

We listened agog as Christos shared nautical encounters with dolphins and a whale larger than his 8 meter vessel and of the area’s epic massive rock formations resulting from the intense tectonics at the junctures between the European and African plates that overtime shattered the carbonate formations of the region.

Our captain and navigator has impressive training and safety credentials as a diving, snorkeling and first aid instructor with diplomas in ship management, rescue and firefighting. The boats are equipped with radar, GPS and the main cruiser has a powerful 300 hp penta diesel engine. The smaller motor boats (orange, black, green, yellow and blue) dingys are fetching and easy to handle and each renter is provided with a GPS itinerary for a do-it-yourself supreme tour of this exceptional region. Christos can fly a drone and document your trip with underwater photography as well.

For more info about instruction, to charter a cruise or book your own boat for one day or a half day, contact mani.cruises@gmail.com, call +306981144210, check out their Facebook pages, go to www.mani.cruises or www.katdamiliboatrentals.com.

Cathy Burroughs is an international travel writer who has spent two months immersion in Greece’s phenomenal Peloponnese region. Her coverage of the Greek Theater Festival was featured in an international supplement of The New York Times. Her travel and culture articles are published widely. Check out her blog www.journeypod.com.