Agropoli

S/V Goldcrest
David & Lindsay Inwood
Sun 15 May 2011 14:15

We stayed the extra day in Scario in order to take advantage of a forecast sailing wind, but as usual, we got none at all!  Instead we had a very dull 7hrs motoring around the headland to Agropoli (from the Greek “Acropolis”), where the wind piped up just in time to give us an exciting 14kts to make mooring interesting!  We thought we’d spotted the “free town quay” section of the harbour, but we were having difficulties and were waved over onto a club pontoon nearby.  When we found out they wanted €60 a night, a new record was set.  You can get a nice hotel with laundered sheets and all for less than they charge here for a tiny piece of pontoon, water & and electrical connection!

 

Of course the real reason we were here was to see the Greek temples 6 miles away at Paestum, so first thing Monday we dusted off our bikes and headed off.  We’d forgotten that museums are often closed on Mondays, so we “only” got to see the Greek & Roman ruins, but wow!  We’ve been counting “wow” moments as we travel and this is number 4.  These are about the best preserved Greek (Doric) temples in Europe, in an open setting with hills one side and the sea the other.  I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:  the 1st is the temple to Hera dating to 540BC, the 2nd a temple to Apollo a century younger.  The massive size of the columns and the height of the structures made quite an impact.