A stone parapet screening. Behind it, the crystal waters and the hardly beguiling looks of the sea urchins - comfortably far from where you stretch your feet.
You dawdle along the beach to clear your head. All of a sudden you realize that few things seem to matter now: as the sun sets, you turn your head to your right, towards the green patch between Monastiraki and Chiliadou, opposite to the futuristic bridge overarching the Gulf of Corinth.
The old village with the cottages that seem to flow into the sea; the same sea you can walk back to, across the stone esplanade. At Parathalasso, the daily schedule is relaxingly simple : a walk to Monastiraki, dinner at a local, unassuming tavern and then late drinks at one of the bars on the outskirts of the village. The next morning, you are set to explore the beaches of Chiliadou, Skaloma, Marathia, Glyfada, Spilies or Trizonia, the little isle across the sea with its little ports, its charming taverns and its century-old houses.
And then, it’s Nafpaktos. The beautiful coastal castle-city of Roumeli, built against a backdrop of lush green and visible from across the shores of Peloponnese . The walls of the medieval castle stretch to the sea and the Venetian port still protects the small boats of the local fishermen.
Comfortably embraced by its castle, the city transpires a unique sense of peaceful serenity, bringing back memories of older times. Arguably, a city with a past that is inextricably woven into its present.
