The Peloponnese
Since we have come across to Patras, we are on the Peloponnese. The Peloponnese is a peninsula and constitutes the most southern part of mainland Greece. It is connected to the mainland only by a few bridges. One you saw last week, the others are located on the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow land bridge near Corinth. The isthmus separates the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf. The canal concept originated in the 7th Century AD, but building wasn`t undertaken until 67 AD under Roman Emperor Nero, who put Jewish prisoners of war to work. Construction ceased shortly after Neros death and was never picked up again until 1891. The first ships passed in July 1893. The hoped for economic significance never came to pass, since the 6,3km long canal is only 25m wide and was soon outgrown by modern ships. The Panama Canal it is not. You will see some pictures when we get there. But first, we were off into the mountains to the small village of Dimitsana, from where you can do a nice hike th...