Private
breakfast on our verandah. So much food! Ham and cheese omelet, bacon, orange juice, tea. Cheese filled bread, plate of sliced ham and cheese, croissants, homemade strawberry jam/orange marmalade/honey, sweet breads. It was all good but we could not finish it all. On the road by 8:45 am. Should take us a bit less than one hour to get to
Epidaurus if we don't get lost!
 |
| Breakfast |
EPIDAURUS. Today we are doing a day trip to the ancient theater of Epidaurus. We don't get lost and arrive around 9:40 am. Admission was 6€ per person. I also bought stamps 7.5€ for 10. Postcards 1.5€. The main draw here is the ancient theater. Designed by Polykleitos the Younger 4th century BC. The original theater had 55 rows. At first it was 34 rows and then it was extended by another 21 rows in the Roman times. It seats up to 14,000 people. The theater is very well known for its exceptional, natural acoustics. Permits almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words to the audience regardless of their seating. Used even today for live performances. Unlike many of the ruins, including the Asklepion, the theater was not pillaged for building blocks in antiquity. As a result the theater is amazingly well preserved. In ancient Greece Epidaurus was a massive healing center for all the ill people. Area said to be the birth place of Apollo's son Asklepios the healer. He was the most important healer god of antiquity. The Asklepeion of Epidauros was the most celebrated healing center of the Classical world. It was a place where ill people went with the hope of being cured. There was a guest house with 160 rooms. The ancient stadium of Epidaurus is 1800 m long and is the classic example of the stadium that the ancient Greeks were using for athletic festivals which used to take place to honor the gods. It was constructed in the 5th centuryBC to host the athletic games that were to take place every 4 years to honor Asklepios. In the beginning there were not seats for spectators but in the late 4th century BC the seats that we see today were built from limestone.
 |
| Admission ticket |
 |
Postcard
|
 |
Postcard-Temple of Askpleios
|
 |
Postcard-ruins of the Tholos in the sanctuary of Asklepios
|
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. Small but nice. Has some sculptures, columns from the Epidaurus site.
 |
Archeological Museum
|
 |
Healing god Asklepios
|
 |
Medical instruments
|
TOLO BEACH. This is a blue flag beach. Driving back we decided to make a stop at the beach. There's a wide parking area above the beach. I knew we would be passing this place so we wore our bathing suits underneath our clothes. The water is calm and warm. The beach has sand so that's nice. You can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas. There are paddle boats here. There are coffee bars and restaurants. We spent about one hour here. Relaxing and refreshing.
 |
Leaving Tolo
|
OLD TOWN NAFPLIO. After drying off it's back on the road to make our way back to Nafplio. Stop to take picture of Tolo Beach from the road. At our hotel we rinse off the sand and the sea, change clothes and decide to walk again to Old Town area. Better to see it in daylight. Lots of cool shops. I bought a headband for 3€. We stop at
Antica Gelateria for some gelato. This place is really eclectic. So many flavors of gelato. We finally settle on 2 flavors each. Richard gets pistachio and straicella while I go for chocolate with nuts and rum raisin. There are are few tables inside where we sit to enjoy this treat. Added water and biscotti. Cost 10€.
 |
Flip flops for sale
|
BOURTZI FORTRESS. Venetian small fortress. Built in 1471. Located on the rocky islet of Agioi Theodoroi. During the Venetian rule it was connected to Akronafplia through a huge metal chain that secured the port against enemy ship attacks. At the beginning of 1860 executioners of Palamidi prisoners used to live here. Can reach the fortress by boats that leave from the harbor wall area. Has a postcard view of Nafplio by the sea. We are in luck and find a boat getting ready to leave. With us there is a young couple with their toddler son. They are from Australia. The boat captain tells us we have 20 minutes here to explore, take pictures, etc. Cost for boat trip was 4€ per person.
 |
Looking back to the town
|
 |
Palamidi Castle using zoom on camera
|
 |
Another tourist boat
|
 |
| Greek flag |
 |
Getting back on the boat to return to town
|
 |
| Leaving Bourtzi Island Fortress |
 |
Our boat
|
 |
| Our boat captain |
SYNTAGMA SQUARE. We walk through this square to get back to our hotel. I withdraw 300€ from the bank ATM. This is the main square of Nafplio and commemorates the provision of a Constitution (1844) which limited the power of the King and controlled its authority. This was during the reign of King Otto and satisfied the demand of the protesters in Athens.
Next on our agenda is
PALAMIDI CASTLE. Stands 216 m above sea level. In order to reach it you can climb 999 stairs carved into the rock or drive up. This is where the famous hero of the Greek Revolution Theodore Kolokotronis had been imprisoned. It seems as if its battlements are still protecting the city. The view is worth it. Views of the Argolic gulf and the Mycenaen plain. Built by the Franks, Venetians. 1686-1715. We drove the car up and parked it by the entrance. There's a large group of students here. Admission 4€ per person.
 |
View from the parking area
|
OLD TOWN. KOMBOLI MUSEUM. Richard wants to buy some worry beads. There is a museum in Old Town where he can do that. Lots and lots of worry beads. He wants something smaller to hang from his car rear view mirror. He finds what he likes. Cost 5€.
OMORFO. Dinner. Within walking distance from our hotel and easy to find. Tables inside and out. Busy. Service was fine. Good variety on the menu. Richard orders the Greek salad as he wants to compare it to the one he had last night and a Mythos beer. He said his Greek salad was as good as his from last night and very similar. I am hungry so I got the chicken souvlaki and it came with potatoes and rice! I was disappointed. The chicken was dry and I really wasn't expecting 2 carbs to be served with it. Maybe I didn't order the right thing here as it was crowded with people who seemed to be enjoying their meals. Back home our souvlaki must be Westernized as we get sides of pita bread and Greek salad. Two cokes to wash it all down. Cost without tip 19.50€. So far I'm not impressed with the Greek food I've had although our breakfasts at our hotel have been delicious.
 |
Menu-sorry for the blurry picture!
|
 |
| My chicken souvlaki |
 |
| Greek salad |
Back to our hotel to prepare for tomorrow-Mycenae.
