PELION: Pics at foot of article.  Click on pics to enlarge.

The Pelion peninsula is unlike any place I have previously visited in Greece.  Remote, sparsely populated and with a landscape of extraordinary beauty; it has rolling olive groves on he western aspect, and lush, tumbling – almost Alpine – forests on the eastern side.

I based myself in the tiny fishing hamlet of Horton [Xorto], situated about two-thirds of the way own the western flank, on the Pagasitic Gulf.  Oh, my!  How stunningly beautiful!  With a permanent population of about nine, it is as traditional as it gets!  Just a couple of houses along a short waterfront, five tavernas, one hotel (designed, I reckon, by one of Stalin's architects!), a grand bridge over a small canal and a tiny jetty.  No cafe-bar!  The Flisvos tavern, right on the water's edge sort of doubles as kafeneion.  And that is it!  Horton is not  a resort!

Evenings are best spent having a sundowner drink (including a platter of their yummy tzatziki) at the Flisvos tav before moving on to one of the other tavs, ALL of which are great!  The Flisvos is great too, and their calamari is to die for, but the service – bless! – is so painfully slow that you would need to extend your visit by a week whilst you wait for the food to arrive...but, when it does....yum! I especially liked the tav at the edge of the hamlet; right on the beach.  And a good spot to watch the glorious sunset. (Why do people go on and on about the Santorini sunset?  I have seen it, and, yes, it is great, but when you have a mo, check out the sunset from Myrties on Kalymnos, and this one over the Pagasitic Gulf!). And for that matter, a sunset over the African savannah is pretty cool too, not to mention one or two I have witnessed over the Fens! (Enough already with this sunset business, now!)

Now, just ten minutes outside of the hamlet along the road to Milina, at Olive Bay, is the second best beach cafe-bar in Greece.  Seriously! It gets my Cafe Centrale Silver Medal Award.  It is run by the affable Mike and his brother Tony. Two über-cool guys!  The bar cascades through the olive trees right down to the beach, which is, in reality, a rather cosy cove.  It is great to sit at the bar after a dip and take your time over a frappe whilst listening to the mellow sounds of smooth jazz. The music is piped amongst the trees and over the cove. Sublime!  Needless to say that I spent many hours snorkelling and sipping frappes at Olive Bay. There is live entertainment at the weekend.  And that is the ONLY nightlife in Horton!  By the way, they serve great cocktails.  My chum, Andy, concocted a new one there.  He named it a Rum slut!  Don't ask!

About a twenty minute walk along the road from Horton brings you to Milina; which I loved.  It is a "resort", albeit a tiny one.  And pretty remote, too.  It has the usual array of tavs and cafe-bars as well as a trad kafeneion, which serves super calamari.

Anywhere in Pelion is a good base for touring the peninsula.  The super-friendly and untiringly helpful George and Eleni at Milina Holidays [www.milina-holidays.com] will organise tours for you.  I went on a fabulous all-day coach tour of the peninsula visiting Melies, Tsagaranda (famous for its 1000-year old plane tree), Ag Ioannis, Damouchari ( where part of Mamma Mia was filmed), Xania, and then the awesome Makranitsa, which hugs the mountainside above Volos.  A great day out and I would thoroughly recommend it, rather than hiring a car.  The roads are steep, narrow and bendy and will deflect your concentration if you are driving.  Let the coach driver do the work, and the guide was fantastic.  Friendly, helpful and highly knowledgeable.

I would suggest staying on the Pagasitic Gulf side of the peninsula.  Horton was fabulously sleepy.  Milina was a bit more lively and Affissos has a good vibe.  And picturesque, too.

As always, the locals were unfailingly welcoming and friendly.

The Pelion....................GO!!

PICTURE GALLERY BELOW.  Click on pictures to enlarge.