What The Flux

We’ve made our way to Kalamata, another city in the Peloponnese region of Greece, about a two-hour drive from Nafplio. First impressions? It feels like a mix of Brooklyn, New Orleans, South Beach Miami, and Beverly Hills—a strange combination, I know! Unlike Nafplio or Athens, the urban streets of Kalamata are wide, a more recent development that feels refreshingly familiar to an American. But that sense of spaciousness doesn’t last. Once you leave the urban center and enter the residential neighborhoods—mostly beach towns lining the coast—the roads quickly revert to being incredibly narrow, winding beyond anything you can imagine, and at times, quite rough. Kalamata’s street life has the energy of Brooklyn, but it’s dotted with charming, French-influenced two-story buildings featuring ornate wrought-iron balconies that evoke New Orleans. Our Airbnb is directly on the port, overlooking the water, surrounded by restaurants, shops, and a few small beaches. Just an eighth of a mile down t...