Three days ago, we drove from Delphi down to the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The drive took us along the Gulf of Corinth, which pretty much divides Greece in two (the Gulf is far out in the distance below).

We stopped for an extremely late brunch in the port town of Galaxidi, which is an adorable place (Jocelyn has volunteered to live there should she ever need to be in a witness protection program — though to be fair, she’s identified about four different towns so far that fit this bill).

Jocelyn and I shared a picnic lunch of yoghurt, spinach pie, and Greek cracker/cookies (I really don’t know what else to call them — think of a thick, slightly sweet, very dry cracker) in a park shaded by pine trees.

We loved the houses in town …

… and the small port.

We would happily have spent longer there — it was the first time we dipped our toes in the Mediterranean — but we needed to drive southward.

The road over the Gulf of Corinth leads over this stunning bridge:

After that, the drive leads through some pretty uninspiring landscape for about an hour. We were starting to despair of our views when the light industrial land use broke out into wide fields of everything from strawberries to corn. Farm stands with brightly colored pumpkins called out to us until we finally pulled over.

Our next stop was at the beach village of Kakovatos, where we stopped at a taverna that stood right on the beach (I have no recollection what it’s called, but if you go to the end of the road, it’s on the right, and the bread has a spectacular crumb). We dipped our toes in the water and drove onwards.

The roads here are lined with oleander that is in spectacular bloom.

Our goal was The Farm (at least that’s what I call it), which is in the village of Koumani (also known as Tarapsa, which is its Turkish name). This olive farm is owned by my friend Dimitri from Baltimore, and it’s a little slice of heaven. Here’s one of our views when we walk out the door:

And this is the view out of the driveway and up towards the village:

I love having this view when we walk outside.

Dimitri has made significant upgrades since our last visit four years ago. He’s added a fresh coat of paint to every room, the new bathroom is beautiful (most significantly, there’s a proper shower stall — no more getting the whole bathroom wet!). He’s also put in an orchard with apricots …

… lemons …

pomegranates …

…and figs. A few of the trees are fruiting prolifically. Here’s part of our haul from the first day:

Jocelyn and I made homemade lemonade from the lemons on the tree and local honey.

Dimitri has also added horses:

There’s a donkey, too!

As you walk up toward the town that’s just up the hill from the farm, you pass goats …

… goats in trees …

… a cemetery …

… and a church (these are ubiquitous in Greece — it’s tough to move too far without finding one).

The town beyond the farm looks pretty much as it always has — which is to say, there are a scattering of houses in various states of both repair and disrepair lined up right against the road on the hillside.

We really love being at the farm — there’s something magical about this place.