Nafplio - Myloi - Kolosourtis - Kato Assea - Derveni

At last Easter came, a fact that constituted a good chance to actualize some trips. We decided to pass these celebration days in Mesinia (Peloponnesus) and especially in the area of Gouves (Avramiou), a place, which we had used in the past to spend the night.
The route Athens – Gouves is about 260km., if you follow the national road of Athens – Tripoli and the tunnel of Artemisio. Some of us, until 1990 approximately, where forced to follow the route through Argos and Kolosourti as we wanted to reach Tripoli. After the construction of Artemisio tunnel, this destination was abandoned. After 16 years, either the curiosity, or the memories made us follow that route. We started about 1.00pm. with the rest Greeks, which they abandoned the capital with the chance of Easter holiday. The traffic was terrible until the node of Tripoli in Korinthos and a little better until the node of Sterna.
The old national road to Tripoli and Kalamata starts from the isthmus of Korinthos and follows the route parallel to the line of the train. That was the reason that we didn’t follow the old national road from Korinthos, as the many uneven ways of train’s line made the destination very tiring.We preferred to pay the toll for 1,30 euro and left the new national road at the node of Sterna and followed the signs to Argos. As we passed through the city of Argos, we followed the course to Nafplio, with the fantastic weather that made us stop for coffee.
As we reached Nafplio, went to the old city, so we found the cafe, which exist at the pier with the view of the known Bourtzi. Due to the vacation days, there were many people. We drank our coffee enjoying the marvelous view of the Argolic Gulf. If you find yourself at the city don’t miss to visit the old city and the well maintained castle. You can visit Bourtzi by boat that actualizes the trip for 4 euro/per person.
We left the beautiful Nafplio and followed the road to N.Kios and Myloi. The village of Myloi, after the construction of the new national road, declined. Until then, all the travelers stopped at the many taverns that existed, which made the village known for its delicious souvlaki. Nowadays there are a few taverns as odds and ends of the old days. We stopped to take some photos of the railway station that didn’t remind anything of its glory days.
We left Myloi with peculiar emotions. We continued passing by the restaurant of “Ardamis”, known to everyone that used this road. To tell the truth, we expected to be closed, but it operated keeping many things the same as it was 15 years ago. Afterwards we found the first uphill turns of the “Kolosourti”. I don’t know if it’s the name of the mountain or the name of the area, but it is very accurate! For the first 5 – 10km. there are only turns… but the landscape, the smell, the colors of the flowers and loneliness of the road excited us. We stopped to take photos. Afterwards the road was straightforward so we had a more pleasant journey.
Before we got at the node of Achladokabos, we passed from the highest point of the route 800m. There was at the old days the restaurant “Polivolio”. Today you can only see the abandoned buildings… From that point the road was much better . We went on until we found a small tableland just before the village of Agioritika. We stopped one more time…
The road became narrow after the village Steno! But the destination until Tripoli was not more than 10 km., where we found the road to Tripoli – Megalopoli. It was almost afternoon and decided to stop to the village of Kato Assea (17km. from Tripoli) at the tavern “Platanos”. As the weather was great, we sat under the shadow of the big plane at the tavern. The only topic of the discussion was the route of the "Kolosourti"…
After an hour, we left following the course, making a stop at the monument of the resistance against the German occupation. From there you can enjoy the view and see Megalopoli with the electricity factory and the permanent cloud, which exists above the city! The new national road will be completed and that point in a few years will be just a memory…
Just before we reach the limits between Messinia – Arkadia, we entered at the detour of Paradisia (because of the landslide of the national road Megalopoli – Kalamata). We might load with some more turns but the landscape was marvellous. After the small village of Derveni, we made our last stop at the spring that exists there to freshen as the water is drinkable (…at least we believe so!!!)
Conclusively, we want to say that, this destination really worth! In case that you have time and plan to visit Tripoli, Sparti or Kalamata, we suggest to follow the route of Kolosourti and with that chance see also Nafplio. Above that you can see how the scenery can change and the progress of a place, from the construction of a new road…