The capital of the county of Etoloakarnania, situated at the edge of a lagoon and roughly opposite the city of Patras, at the neck of the Gulf of the Peloponese is the town of Messolonghi and Messolonghi Marina, our home for the next 6 months.

The name is derived from the Italian word mezzo-laghi (middle of the lake) and the marina is at the end of a 3 mile long channel. The journey down the channel is fascinating as the depth drops to between 5-6m and on either side are to be seen pellades, fishermans huts standing on poles above the water level of the lagoon. The marshland is very low-lying with a backdrop of mountains behind and big, big skies.

The town first gained prominence in 1571 when the combined fleets of Spain and Venice defeated the Turkish armada, just outside the entrance of the Gulf of Patras. The first settlers were Dalmatian pirates who made their home here due to the safety of the lagoon and its abundance of fish. The town developed a significant merchant marine fleet but this was obliterated during the Orlophs revolution in 1770 and after several more attacks and sieges, it was proclaimed a sacred town of Greece in just 1937 as a symbol of freedom and liberty, a free town at last.