Saturday 22^nd August – Messolonghi (Mesolóngion)

38:21.635N 21:25.026E

This morning we were all up early (Pyxis, Cape and Enya) and went off to find the street market that is open on Saturday and Tuesday each week.  Once there we wandered up the single street buying fresh fruit and vegetables, much of which looked like it had been grown in the garden of the storeholder.

Afterwards we retired to a taverna and had a drink whilst Richard, David and Otwin went off in search of meat as it had been decided to do another BBQ this evening.

After lunch, we went for a bike ride with Cape down to the beach where we all went swimming from the point at Tourlida.  We then walked around to the beach and went swimming there too – it helped to keep us cool and we soon dried off in the sun.

On the way back we stopped off at the mud baths on the salt marsh.  Following the example of the locals there, Bethany, Bryn and I covered ourselves in the mud and let it dry on us in the sun.  The mud was really smooth and only slightly sulphurous so we didn’t smell too bad.  When we went to wash it off in the shallows, one of the local women said that we should swim it off first and then shower so we went for a swim out into the salt marsh; the bottom was very soft mud and when you touched the bottom you went down up to your ankle in it.

After a shower on the shore I joined the others who were enjoying a beer in the taverna there.

This evening we had a BBQ with Cape and Enya; the owners of the marina joined us for a while too and it was pretty late by the time the party broke up for the night.

Messolonghi:  Mud Bath - Drying Off; We’re almost dry

© Pyxis 2009