It was a little sad to leave Nafplion, we have all loved the town. The sun was glowing on Bourtzi Fortress with snow on the mountains behind it this morning.
However, at 9.30 Erin arrived at our hotel, a little breathless from carrying her bags up the hill! Neil walked down to the port to collect the car while we waited at reception. Soon we were on our way, first heading North to cross the peninsula until we reached the coast of the Gulf of Corinth. We passed another huge mountaintop fort along the way, and could see the snow capping the mountains on the mainland.
The westward drive up to Rio was fast along a motorway and eventually we caught site of the massive Rio-Antirro Bridge. We parked right beside it at the old Rio Fort. The original castle was built by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II in 1499 above the ruins of an ancient temple of Poseidon, in only three months. It past through a variety of hands and the Venetians extended it considerably. Along with its twin, the Antirrio Castle, they were intended to protect the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf, and were nicknamed the “Little Dardanelles”. We were lucky to have arrived on a “free day”, and walked up to the battlements to take a look at the bridge beyond.
The bridge is a state of the art one and is one of the world’s longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges. It was finished the day before the opening of the 2004 Athens Olympics .
After we crossed the bridge we then followed the shoreline back west again. It was a very scenic drive but the road was narrower and very windy so it gave Neil’s knees quite a workout.
We stopped in the pretty little waterside town of Galaxidi for a light late lunch. The town has a proud maritime history with two pretty harbours. It was busy with travellers all enjoying a meal in the many cafes and restaurants that lined the marina.
We only had a 40 minutes drive on the Delphi which we could see from a distance. It is a small town that clings to the mountainside and the drive up involved lots of hairpin bends and set my ears popping.
Our hotel has a parking garage but it’s a very tight one so Neil opted to park a short way down the road instead. Our balcony has a fabulous view down the the gulf below.
We went for a walk through the very quiet town and Erin and I both did a little shopping in a tiny shop where the proprietor hand paints all the items. I now have a new pair of earrings.
Then we relaxed in our room while Erin did some exploring. She came back to watch the sunset on our balcony before we went to dinner in a restaurant across the street.
Another delicious meal! We ordered an artichoke risotto with chatted garlic and toasted fetta, this was my favourite. Neil and Erin liked the local dish of goat meat slow cooked in parchment with rosemary and vegetables. And we all enjoyed a classic chicken souvlaki .
The waiter brought a refreshingly simple (free!) dessert of yoghurt and plum sauce with crumbled nuts.
Tomorrow is an early start as we have tickets booked for the Archeological site of Delphi for the 8am to 9pm timeslot.