NAVARINE BAY

This magnificent bay (Κόλπο του Ναυαρίνου/Kolpo tou Navarinou) remains marked by the memory of the Battle of Navarin. It is 10 km long and 4 km wide. It is almost completely enclosed to the west by the uninhabited island of Sphacteria (3.2 km²), with only two openings to the Ionian Sea. To the north, the Sykia pass is almost impassable: 100 m wide and 2 m deep. To the south, the Pylos Strait is 1.1 km wide and 35 m deep, but dotted with reefs. It was here, on October 20, 1827, that the 27 British, French and Russian ships sailed into the strait to confront the large fleet of 80-90 ships led by the Ottomans and supported by shore guns. The surprise effect and the better rate of fire gave a total victory to the allies, without losing a single ship. On the evening of the last great battle of the sailing navy, the loss of 60 ships and some 6,000 sailors by the Ottomans and their Egyptian and Tunisian allies would permanently deprive the troops fighting against the Greek insurgents of supplies, allowing the latter to finally prevail in 1829.

Sublime Voïdokilia beach. Even today, a boat trip in the bay reveals the wrecks of the wooden ships sunk two centuries ago, some of them along the coast because they didn't have time to break their moorings. You can also visit the three monuments to the 175 sailors who died in the battle. The most impressive is that of the French, erected since 1890 in the Pylos Strait, atop the islet of Tsichli Baba. Sphacteria is home to a wooden church and a Russian monument, rusting fuel tanks and the remains of a small ancient fort: it was here that the Spartans were defeated trying to repel an Athenian landing in 425 BC. North of the Sykia pass, the ruins of the Frankish castle of Paleokastro (formerly known as Port-de-Jonc) are perched 120 m above Nestor's cave and Voïdokilia beach, one of the most beautiful in Greece: a perfect omega (Ω) letter shape, fine sand and turquoise waters worthy of a Tahitian lagoon. To get there by road (17 km from Pylos), first drive around one of the country's least eco-friendly luxury hotels (the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino with golf course and marina), then along Gialova beach and around the Lake Divari nature reserve, home to 254 species of birds.