Monolithos Castle

On the west coast of the island, where the mountains are wetter and more rugged, several castles perch atop steeply sloped hills with stately views of the sea and the land below. We visited Monoliths Castle on a moody, rainy day. Clouds, dark and dense, made for a gloomy scene, until they parted, and light gilded the water below. We walked steeply uphill, past twisted trees, stone wrenched from the ground by seismic forces, and surreal feats of human engineering, the views softened by fog, to the sounds of the bells of goats floating mystically across the valleys. We quickly declared that this was our favorite place on the island.

The castle from a distance

A view through a window in the castle wall

Ria, trying to get a shred of tattered Greek flag