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Mainalo 1427m, 10:40-11:20 •
On this first visit, I saw the following:
Large White, Brown Argus, Silver-studded Blue, Escher’s Blue, Small Heath, Small Copper, Silver-washed Fritillary, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Small Skipper, Olive Skipper •, Large Skipper, Clouded Yellow, Green-veined White, and Meleager’s Blue.

I then continued up to Lakkes Rouchi...

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Lakkes Rouchi 1440m, 11:25-12:30 • •

This turned out to be an extensive open meadow area; there were large numbers of beehives down the track, but not to close to be a bother. I really didn’t have enough time to explore this area properly in the two visits I made to Mainalo, so what I saw here may have been just the tip of the iceberg...

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On this visit I saw the following:
Queen of Spain Fritillary, Large White, Mountain Small White •, Brown Argus, Grecian Copper, Long-tailed Blue •, Turquoise Blue •, Small Skipper, Chapman’s Blue, Small Copper, Clouded Yellow, Silver-studded Blue, Meadow Brown, Lesser Fiery Copper •

Those three lifers were all stunning! And nice to see more Grecian Coppers too.

Heading up the road towards the Ski-Centre, I then saw:
Swallowtail, Brimstone, Large White, and another Small White species which didn't stop for an ID.

I then stopped at the top of the hill at 1587m for some scenic shots: what a beautiful place! • More herbs at the roadside held Large White, Brimstone, Clouded Yellow, Escher's Blue, and Queen of Spain Fritillary.

Then I headed to the Ski Centre proper; the entrance track was closed at a barrier, so I parked at a slightly lower car park to have lunch and do a little bit of exploring.

Parking up I was greeted by a Lesser Kestrel and three Ravens calling overhead.

Mainalo Ski-Centre lower parking area, 1511m, 13:00-14:10

Here I saw the following:
Great Banded Grayling, Clouded Yellow, Brimstone, Dark Green Fritillary, Oriental Marbled Skipper, Small Copper, Silver-studded Blue, my first Cardinal (rather more of these to come later), Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Copper, Painted Lady, Eastern Bath White •, BMW, Common Blue, Ilex Hairstreak, Large Skipper, Brown Argus, and Olive Skipper.

After this I headed back down to Lakkes Rouchi...

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Lakkes Rouchi 1440m, 14:15-15:05
Here I added a female Meleager’s Blue, two more Turquoise Blues, another Long-tailed Blue, an Oriental Marbled Skipper (maybe!), and a Small Heath

Time to head back; oddly this time it seems I didn’t stop again at the 1427m stop, but did stop a little further down:

Mainalo 1166m
Here I stopped for some shots of BMW • and Brimstone •; also saw a Scarce Swallowtail and Cleopatra.

I was back on the main road at 15:30, and back in Kalavryta later afternoon, seeing a couple of Swallowtails and another Scarce Swallowtail during the drive.

Day-list total: 36 species (5 lifers): lots of highlights! Pencilled in a second visit to Mainalo later in the week.

Trip-list additions:

55. OLIVE SKIPPER
56. Large Skipper
57. Green-veined White
58. LONG-TAILED BLUE
59. TURQUOISE BLUE
60. LESSER FIERY COPPER
61. CARDINAL

Day 6 New Notable Birds:
On a pre-breakfast walk around Kalavryta I saw 1 Common Buzzard and heard a Middle-Spotted Woodpecker; at Agia Lavra there were a couple of Lesser Kestrels; on the way up to Mainalo Ski Centre a Short-toed Eagle passed over. Ravens and Lesser Kestrel at the Mainalo Ski Centre.

The species range is phenomenal, Dave. You must have been like a child in a sweet shop!

You're making upland Greece seem more attractive with every post.

David M wrote:The species range is phenomenal, Dave. You must have been like a child in a sweet shop!

You're making upland Greece seem more attractive with every post.

Yes, David! What was particularly gratifying about going independently was having a little bit of research/guesswork come up trumps, particularly re. Mainalo. I'll post a pic of one particular sage clump where it was exactly like being in a little Lycaenid sweet shop!

Back on Mt. Chelmos today for another trip up and around the mountain. The day started with yet another visit to Agia Lavra. This time the entrance gates to the monastery were closed, so I only saw one BMW here. Not deterred, I drove around the corner to visit the Agia Lavra 1821 monument on the nearby hill.

Both of these places now deserve a little side-track into historical commentary. Agia Lavra was originally built in the 10th century, and survived a number of assaults during various wars, until it was razed to the ground by the Nazis in 1943. In this regard Kalavryta has a very sad recent history: in one of the most serious European war-crimes of the 20th century, the entire male population of the town over 12 years old were machine-gunned to death by the Nazis on 13th December 1943 as a revenge attack for the killing of German soldiers by the local resistance. The women and children were locked in the school, which is now a museum. There were only 13 male survivors.

The nearby 1821 monument itself celebrates a key moment in the Greek War of Independence, where the local bishop raised the cry of ‘Freedom or Death’ in revolt against the Ottoman empire.

So quite an interesting and thought-provoking place to visit.

Agia Lavra 1821 Monument 960m
Here I saw the following:
Great Banded Grayling, Wall Brown • (naff photo!)
So worth the minor detour.

On my way back into Kalavryta, a Hoopoe was sitting in the road. Serins were heard jangling in the pines.

After breakfast, I headed up on the usual route, first stopping at Taverna Kastro…

Taverna Kastro 1021m, 09:10–09.35
On this quick visit I saw:
BMW, Great Banded Grayling, Meadow Brown, Lattice Brown, Common Blue, Scarce Swallowtail, and Clouded Yellow

I then stopped for an hour at the Pontic Blue spot.

Mt. Chelmos 1446m, 09:50–10:55
Here I saw the following on this visit:
Large White, BMW, Escher’s Blue, Grecian Copper, Small Copper, Brown Argus, Chapman’s Blue, Meleager’s Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Small Skipper, Clouded Yellow, Mountain Argus •, Large Skipper, Comma, Green-veined White, Silver-washed Fritillary, Brimstone, and one more male Pontic Blue • (not the best shot, but good to get some views of this species - that's a very particular shade of blue!)

I then took the track to the left past the shepherds’ huts to my previous stop on the Xerokambos, where I stopped for a further hour to explore…

Xerokambos Stop 1601m, 11:20–12.20
In addition to vast numbers of Silver-studded Blues •, including numerous mating pairs, I saw the following:
BMW, Chelmos Zephyr Blue, Common Blue, Turquoise Blue •, Clouded Yellow, Small Skipper, 3 Great Sooty Satyrs • (record shot of one briefly flashing a topside view)

I then retraced my steps back to the main Ski-Centre tarmac, and decided to park up here to explore the scrub at the roadside…

Xerokambos Stop 1628m
Nothing new to record, but I saw the following:
BMW, Clouded Yellow, Common Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Meadow Brown, Spotted Fritillary, Niobe Fritillary, Meleager’s Blue, Large White, Brimstone.

Then I made my way up to the gully area for lunch and another explore.

Chelmos Ski-Centre Side-road Gully 1700m+, 13:00–14.30
On this occasion I saw:
Niobe Fritillary (3), Spotted Fritillary, Large White, Oriental Marbled Skipper, Silver-studded Blue, Common Blue, Clouded Yellow, Clouded Apollo, Great Banded Grayling, Turquoise Blue, Eastern Bath White, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Glanville Fritillary, and male Adonis Blue • (which I had initially overlooked as another Turquoise: was planning to get round to seeing Adonis in southern Oxfordshire in June, so nice to have a Greek one after the weather ruined the earlier plans).

After this, I headed back down for a return visit to the Pontic Blue spot…

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Mt. Chelmos 1446m, 15:00–16:15
On this visit, I saw:
Brimstone, Great Banded Grayling, Large White, BMW, Brown Argus, Mountain Argus, Large Tortoiseshell – perched on a tree, sadly no photo since it then headed off at high speed, Escher’s Blue, another female Pontic Blue ovipositing on the Vicia, great to see; this one is a beauty, with much larger underside markings than the first female I saw earlier in the week •, Clouded Yellow, Grecian Anomalous Blue, Meadow Brown, Comma, Chapman’s Blue

After this I called it a day and retired back to Kalavryta.

Day-list total: 37 species (3 lifers).

Trip-list additions:
62. WALL BROWN
63. ADONIS BLUE
64. LARGE TORTOISESHELL

Day 7 New Notable Birds:
The Hoopoe sitting in the road on the outskirts of Kalavryta on the way back from Agia Lavra in the morning was nice. Linnets seen at the Ski Centre – had probably been there all along though I hadn’t spotted them. A Grey Wagtail (I think: I suppose it could have been a Yellow, but I was confused by the altitude/habitat) was also spotted on the Xerokambos from the car.

Today wasn’t intended as a butterflies day, since I took the two-hour drive south-west to Ancient Olympia to visit the site and museums: an amazing and awe-inspiring[ly hot!] place to visit. The museums are very good and the site is big enough for you not to get completely swamped by the hordes of Italian, French, and American tourists. There is also a bit of shade, not that this particularly matters with temperatures clearly over 40C today…

The modern town itself is almost entirely geared to tourism, though this means there are some nice places to relax over an iced coffee, and there are one or two shops (notably a good bookshop) worth a visit. I’ve stayed here a couple of times in the past, and there are some reasonably cheap hotels to stay in if you’re so inclined (lots of useful info of this sort in the Rough Guide to Greece, which I can recommend).

I did, however, have some butterfly encounters today, including one notable one...

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En route to Olympia, I saw numerous Great Banded Graylings, BMWs, Brimstones, Scarce Swallowtails, and Clouded Yellows. At Olympia itself I added Small White to the trip list – one was seen flitting about among the trees and bushes making a valiant effort to stay in the shade.

And, during the journey back, I made a stop half-way along the road for a ‘call of nature’, and discovered a couple of what appeared to be small and very funny-looking Meadow Browns. The turned out to be Southern Gatekeepers • !