It was great to see an improvement in the weather this morning, still cool and a bit breezy but so much better than yesterday. We had arranged to pick Erin up at the gate of her hotel at 9.30, so we had plenty of time to try a new breakfast buffet. Still to chilly to sit outside but we had another nice view for our cheeses and spinach pastries and fruit.
After collecting Erin it was only a five minute drive up to the parking lot for the Temple of Poseidon. We arrived at the same time as a bus tour from a Viking cruise ship, but they all headed for to toilet first so we got ahead of them and climbed up to see this “baby Acropolis”. It really has a fabulous position, with a 360 degree view all around.
From the top we also had a good view down to where we had stayed last night.
We walked all around the temple, admiring it from all angles. I had read that Lord Byron had carved his name onto it somewhere, so Erin Googled and found out exactly where it was. Didn’t take us long to find it.
We set off north, back past the airport and skirting the outer suburbs of Athens, before heading west towards the Peloponnese Peninsula. This is the large , roughly hand-shaped peninsula that occupies the bottom left part of the Greek mainland on a map. It’s joined to the rest of the mainland by a very narrow isthmus , which since 1893 has been cut through by the Corinth Canal. A canal was proposed originally in the 6th century BC, and then in 67AD, Emporer Nero actually ordered work to start on it. However it was rapidly abandoned and not until 2882 did work actually commence in its construction. It’s quite an extraordinary sight, very deep and very narrow and we were lucky to see a small cruise boat come through while we stood on the bridge above.
From the canal we drove south, following the coast for a while and then climbing up into the mountains edge the coastline here. It was a lovely drive with the Aegean sparkling down below in the sunshine.
After an hour we started to head east , through hills covered in bright green pine trees until we arrived at the huge parking lot for the Archeological site of Epidaurus. Epidaurus is the famous Ancient Theatre, built approximately in 340–330 BC. It is part of the Sanctuary of Asklepios, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Asklepios was the God of Healing and the site had a huge hospital.as well as a stadium and the fabulous theatre. The theatre is very well preserved as it was covered in dirt and only discovered in the 1890s .
When we arrived we stopped at the cafe for sandwiches and drinks and to make the acquaintance of a sleepy ginger cat.
We were blown away when we saw the theatre, it is huge and can seat over 12000 people! You arrive at the bottom, and we climbed right to the top for a great view of the entire theatre.
In the museum we could see a collection of statuary and other pieces that had been recovered from the site, before walking a part of the way through the remains of the hospital area.
It only took about 30 minutes to drive from Epidaurus to Nafplion, the very pretty town where we will stay the next three nights.
We are staying in the heart of the Old Town and parking here can be problematic. We could not get a spot in the small lot closest to our hotel, so Neil dropped me and Erin with the bags and went off to see if he could get a spot in the next closest lot down the hill. Luckily he could find one, as the next closest lot is half a km away! Erin headed down the hill to check-in to her hotel while Neil and I went up to our top floor room to enjoy the views. It’s wonderful! We look out across the water the Bourtzi Fortress, built by the Venetians in the middle of the bay.
After a cuppa and doing some much needed laundry we set out to meet Erin at her hotel. She had already gone for an exploratory walk through part of the town so we followed her suggestion of where to go to enjoy a drink and yet another sunset. She and I had a very refreshing Hugo spritz and Neil tried another local beer.
Erin had been doing some research about good dinner options, so we walked along the waterfront to a great fish tavern. As we walked we had a great view up to the Palamidi Fortress, another Venetian one that towers on a hill over the town.
We had Saganaki prawns, whitebait, a delicious Greek salad and sea bass with garlic celery puree, washed down with another local Assyrtiko. When we asked the bill the waiter brought it with three serves of a lemon syrup cake for dessert ( on the house!) This was much more to my taste than free raki!!
We strolled back through the quiet town, and after chatting to a very cute kitten , parted with Erin near her hotel and headed up the hill to ours. The fortress in the bay is beautiful at night! Tomorrow we explore the town.
