The Peloponnese

Nafplio

Our first trip outside of Athens was to the Peloponnese, a large peninsula to the east of the rest of Greece, joined by the Isthmus of Corinth.  It's name is derived from the mythical hero Pelops.

The Peloponnese is dotted with ruins of Mycenaean palaces, ancient temples and medieval fortresses built by  the Crusaders and the Venetians.  We chose Nafpio, the first capital of independent Greece, as our home base from which to explore the wonders of this area.

We stayed at the Marianna Pension, a wonderful family owned accommodation at the top of a hill under the Venetian built Akronafplia Fortress.  It was 99 steps to our room, and no, there were no elevators.  But the view from our room was stunning - the sea, the harbor and old town Nafplio were framed in our window.  There were no cars on the narrow streets - a welcome change from Athens - but the buzzing motorbikes were still everywhere.  Our room was close to the bus station which was great for visiting the ruins in the area.  Lots of fabulous tavernas to eat at, and lots of ruins right in Nafplio.

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The first set of marble stairs to our room - we didn't post the rest, although there were seven sets, making up 99 steps.  I wished that I had packed lighter!

But, this was the view that awaited us when we got there!!  It was worth every step!

The small Bourtzi fortress, one of three built by the Venetians during their occupation of Greece in the 15th century

Breakfast was served on the rooftop terrace every morning and fresh-squeezed lemonade was available at all times - from their lemon trees.

Old town Nafplio - we loved strolling the winding streets

Along the waterfront.  The water was so clear that you could see the sea urchins on the rocks

Palamidi Fortress

The Palamidi Fortress was also built by the Venetians.  It's an amazing, sprawling structure at the top of a mountain - of course!  Overlooking the sea on one side and Nafplio on the other, the Palamidi is the best preserved Venetian fort in the Mediterranean.  There were 999 steps to the top, and when you reached the top it was amazing just how huge the structure was - it was easy to imagine the fortress filled with life as we explored the many rooms and spaces.

If you expand this photo (taken from the terrace) you will see the series of steps that switch back and forth up the mountain.  We filled our water bottles and off we went!

Starting up - fortunately there were amazing views to stop and enjoy along the way - and catch our breath!

And still more steps!

Nearly there - one of the views that we stopped to admire - the beautiful Mediterranean sea!

Getting closer....

Almost at the top

Finally!  There is a 7 euro charge to visit the fortress, but as we were there on election day, it was free!

The fortress city begins.....

After the crowds at the Parthenon in Athens, it was great to explore the Palamidi without hordes of people!

We explored for several hours, and now we are ready to begin the trip down

The beautiful Greek flag

Old Town Nafplio and the harbor from the Fortress.

After we made it down, we got on the bus and had a wonderful lunch at a Taverna in Argos.  What a wonderful day!

Epidavros

Epidavros is the site of the sanctuary of Asklepios, once the most famous healing center in the ancient Greek world.  The worship of gods of healing in Epidavros goes back to the prehistoric period.  The Asklepios sanctuary was built in the 6th century BC.

One of the many structures in Epidavros is the theater.  It is the best preserved of all of Greece's ancient theaters.  Built in 300 BC, the acoustics are superb.

We climbed to the very top row of the theater and could hear the footsteps of the people walking around the stage - amazing!

In the summer, there are still concerts and performances held here

One of the chairs added by the Romans in 50 BC

Huge, ancient stones - some are original, others have been replaced.  The age of things in Greece is mind-boggling

Some of the other structures in Epidavros - many in the process of being restored

Epidavros was a quick bus trip from Nafplio.  We enjoyed the bus trips through the villages and the many olive and citrus groves found in the Peloponnese.

Mycenae

Mycenae - a fortress city atop a hill - was the hub of a might civilization that dominated the Greek world between 1600 and 1200 BC, 1000 years before Athens' Golden Age.  But, by 1100 BC, Mycenae was abandoned and burned, which became the beginning of the four centuries known as the Dark Ages.

In 1876, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated the site and put it back on the map.  As a result, we're able to take a trip back into prehistory and see some of the oldest remains of a complex civilization - a thousand years older than Athens' Acropolis.

The famous Lions Gate entrance to Mycenae

The view from Mycenae

The remains of the ancient walls of the fortress

Fortress walls and structures

Grave circle - where Mycenaean royalty were buried

Entrance to the ruin of a Tholos - or tomb

Expand this picture to learn abut the Treasury of Atreus - a tholos

The entrance to the tholos - built in 13th century BC

As you can see, it's HUGE!!

The inside of the tholos

More of this massive structure!  Only 10% of Mycenae has been excavated - it will be interesting to see what else is unearthed in the coming decades

Olympia - or, "we lost our bus"

As we were planning our Greece trip, Lee found that the torch lighting ceremonies for the London summer Olympics would be taking place in Olympia while we were in the Peloponnese.  We decided that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the ceremony in ancient Olympia so we shortened our stay in Nafplio and planned a one night stay in Olympia.

Our travel from Athens and around the Peloponnese by bus had worked wonderfully - despite not being able to get accurate bus schedules online, we had been very successful in our travels.  As we planned to leave Nafplio for Olympia, Lee talked to our hotel owner, visited the bus station in Nafplio, and we felt confident as we boarded our bus in Nafplio, which would take us to Tripoli and then on to Olympia.
  

All went well until we reached Tripoli at 10:10am, where we found that our bus to Olympia, which was scheduled to leave at 10:30 or 10:50, depending on who you talked to, had actually left at 10:00 am!  But, they said - not to worry!  There is another bus at 6:00 pm - a mere 8 hours from then!  We must have looked confused and lost and worried, as the nice young man behind the counter called Lee over and told us that there was an alternative - a bus would be leaving for Tripotamia at noon, and from there we could take a taxi the remaining 25 kms to Olympia.

Well, that sounded better than waiting around till 6:00 pm, so we bought a ticket to Tripotamia.  The nice young man kept an eye on us, and took us out to our bus when it was ready to go.  He explained to the conductor that we needed a taxi at Tripotamia to get to Olympia.  He then told us that the conductor would take care of us.  So, we got on the bus and away we went!  The conductor told us that he understood that we had "lost our bus", and that a taxi would be waiting to take us to Olympia.  Great!  The bus trip to Tripotamia went through the Greek alps!  We wound high into the mountains, along narrow little roads and through amazing little villages - it was beautiful!  About half-way down, I put on my wrist bands as the winding and twisting was getting to me.  the little villages perched on hillsides were beautiful, white buildings with red tiled roofs.

As we continued along, we stopped in a village and picked up school children - we had become a school bus!  The kids were quite intrigued to have these foreigners on their bus, but as they got off at their stops, some of them said "bye bye".  Our conductor also got off at one of the stops, but assured us that the bus driver knew what we needed.   Ok - so far, so good!

Not long after that, the bus driver pulled over by the side of the road and told us that this was where we were to get off.  In the middle of nowhere!  At an intersection!  He got our luggage off and told us that a taxi would be by soon.  We must have looked dubious, because he again assured us that "taxi will come - maybe 5-10 minutes".  And away he went.

So, there we were, luggage and all, by the side of the road.  And, sure enough, in about 5 minutes a Mercedes taxi came and took us to Olympia!  It was hysterical!  It was definitely one of our most memorable experiences in Greece, and we were well taken care of, even if we didn't know it!

Yes - 28 kms to Olympia!

And here we are - luggage and all - on the side of the road.

But, the taxi did come, and here is Olympia!  Note the British and Greek flags along the street

The night before the torch lighting ceremony there was a wonderful display of Olympic items from past Olympics, beginning with the German Olympics in 1938.  The torch, poster and picture from each Olympics was displayed.  We learned that each city hosting the Olympics designed their torch - the Sydney torch was shaped like the Opera House, with three levels.

The traditional Greek dress work at the ceremony

The British, Olympic and Greek flags at the opening ceremonies, which were held at the site of the original Olympics.  It was pretty amazing to be there on the grounds where those original games took place.  Definitely the highlight of our trip to Greece

Presentation of a poster to the British representative of the London Olympics

The ceremonies begin - they have been the same since ancient times

The ladies dancing

The men come out for their dance

Here comes the flame, which was lit at the alter of Hera.  If you watched the ceremonies on TV, you know that as she was coming down, the light went out!  She calmly turned around, walked back down the hill and reappeared with the flame relit!

There were Greek songs and prayers as they prepared to light the torch - goosebumpy stuff!

She lit her torch....

And then she lit the torch of the first torch bearer to begin the journey of the lit torch to London

The first Olympic runner holds the torch and an olive branch

And the journey begins!  The lit torch traveled through to Athens, some of the Greek Isles, including Crete, where it was placed in a special container and flown to England, where it is still on it's journey to London.

A white dove of peach was released, and flew right in front of all three flags!

The procession back to the alter of Hera

Filling our water bottle from an ancient Greek cistern

The Philippeion - a temple built by Philip, father of Alexander the Great

The Krypti - the remains of a 100 ft tunnel with vaulted ceiling, was the Olympic athletes entrance to the stadium

Ancient house

Ruins of ancient Olympia

Temple of Zeus

The Palestra - a smaller gymnasium which was part of the ancient Olympic village

Olympia is on our "do again" list, as we caught a bus back to Athens that afternoon.  We could have easily spent several days there exploring the ruins and surrounding area.