Day 176 – EU – Greece [Kalamata to Stoupa]

16/08/20

40.8km

  From Kalamata (Greece) to Stoupa (Greece)

Europe

Beautiful run between the Taygetus mountain range and the sea and its many bays & beaches

I left at 6am with a clear view of what the day had in store for me: 22km of uphill on the side of the majestic Taygetus mountain range. Followed by 19km of downhill towards the sea, passing by many villages, including stunning Kardamily and ending in Stoupa, by the sea.

Running by the mountain was beautiful. The Taygetus range, standing so tall, completely protected me from the sun for all of the uphill work. Taygetus is the 12th highest mountain of Greece at 2404m (the highest being Mt Olympus at 2914m). The air was also noticeably cooler than by the sea, I really appreciated the change.

As I started running down the mountain, I had the most beautiful view on the sea, the many bays and beaches, as well as little villages scattering the coast. Kardamily was a beautiful surprise. The upper village is all stone built, a mix of Venetian (who built it) and ancient Greek styles. Kardamily is one of the most ancient settlements of Peloponnese and also the departure point for many hikers attempting Taygetus summit.

The beaches along the way were all stunning – but very crowded, therefore not as tempting as they may have been otherwise. As I reached Stoupa and ran all the way down to the seaside, the beach was absolutely packed, umbrellas and people everywhere. I will wait till late afternoon for my daily swim. What a fantastic day out there…

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: