practicalities

On this page we have drawn together some information and also our own and guests’ experiences of living at Gargarou Retreat to help you decide if it is the right place to stay:

Internet

We provide wireless broadband in all the villas free of charge. It is a single shared broadband line with an actual speed of up to 6 meg, though at busy times such as weekend afternoons it can drop down to 2 meg.  As we all share the same broadband connection we cannot allow large downloads (such as movies), bit torrent, file sharing, online gaming, continuous streaming or any usage that will slow the connection for everyone else. If you think your usage might cause a problem please contact us. The connection has been reliable but we cannot guarantee it’s continuous provision.

Phone

There are no landline phones in the villas but if you bring a laptop you can use an internet phone through providers such as Skype or Vonage which will give you very cheap international calls, or free ones to/from another skpe/vonage user.. If you get a phone number in your home country as part of the package you can also receive calls that will only cost the callers local/national rates.

Car or not?

Out of the peak summer season months it has been possible to rent a car for €300 per month, also you could consider renting one occasionally for a day or two.

Driving to Greece is quite possible and is a great opportunity to visit other places on your journey. Pete drives to Greece and back each year and can give your advice on routes. Everyone goes via Italy where you can get a ferry from Venice or Ancona to Patras on the North-West coast of the Peloponnese.  Having a car will give you more flexibility but most people staying for long periods manage ok without one. There is a good supermarket a 20 minute walk along a fairly level dirt track, you can get your day to day supplies from here. The local bus to Koroni (10 minutes) and Kalamata (1 hour 20 minutes) stops here. The village of Harokopio is 30 minutes walk and has more stores, pharmacies, bakers, tavernas, hardware stores etc. The nearest banks and cash points are in Koroni.

There are, of course, local taxis but they all work individually There isn’t some central number you can call to get a taxi so you need to book in advance to be sure of getting one. However, Koroni does have a taxi rank where you can usually get a taxi in the mornings and evenings.

You will need a reasonable level of health and physical fitness to walk to a store and carry your shopping back, especially in hot weather. In winter the tracks will be muddy and you will need boots.

The beach is 15 minutes walk away and is mostly uphill on the way back.

Er...

In Greece, toilet paper is put in a bin lined with a plastic bag and not into the toilet. This is because the waste pipes are not very wide and get blocked easily.

Waste disposal

We have a compost heap for uncooked organic waste. Refuse is not collected from houses directly, you have to take it to large bins situated at regular intervals along paved roads. The nearest bin is about 1km from here. When Pete is here he will take refuse to the bins for you, when he is not you will have to make your own arrangements.

Climate

We are on the South West tip of Greece 1km from the sea and you can expect a Mediterranean climate where hot summers and mild winters are the norm.

January and February are the coldest months with daytime temperatures normally reaching 10C to 15C, at night 5C to 10C. There can be frost and even snow showers, though the ground is too warm for it ever to settle. There is usually  heavy rain over the winter months.

In March and April it gradually gets warmer with day temperatures moving up to 20C, though you can expect rain as well over these months. The land is green and lush over the winter with swathes of wild flowers covering the olive groves. This is a very beautiful time of year that would surprise many people who only know Greece in the dry summer heat.

By early May a pattern of warm weather begins, day temperatures of 20C to 25C normally, though there could still be rain and some hotter days too.

Into June there is less rain, temperatures about 25C going up to 32C and higher by the end of the month.

July and August are the hottest months, from 32C to 38C normally, though there can be heat waves that last several days when the temperature can go from 40C to 45C.

The humidity is generally low and usually there is wind during the afternoon which makes the high temperatures more comfortable.

Towards the end of August temperatures start cooling down. It can stay pleasantly warm through September, October and into November, though rainstorms can suddenly make it much cooler at any time.

December can still be sunny but can also be cold and wet; last year we were picking our olives in lovely warm sunshine, while a couple of years ago it was wet and windy and we were wrapped up in fleeces to keep warm.

Dealing with hot weather

If you like it very hot, then there is no problem. If, like us, you don’t then you need to adapt your daily routine. In a word, this means - Siesta! The hottest part of the day is from 2pm to 5pm, so we get up early to enjoy the morning before its gets hot, have a siesta in the afternoon, and then we are are ready for the long beautifully warm evening ahead. Cool showers are good at reducing your body temperature.

By the summer of 2012 all the villas will have an conditioning unit in the bedroom. If you can’t tolerate heat then we advise you avoid July and August.

 

Us

We live most of the year at Gargarou Retreat. When we are not here we have arrangements with people who live locally and speak English who you can contact if you have any problems with the villa.