Well this campervanning is OK. Our van is quite large and fairly comfortable, and it is actually really handy to have all the comforts of home right there all the time.
Got to Napflio around 11 this morning and went up to the fantastic Venetian Palamidi Fortress overlooking the town - built in early 1700s and constructed entirely with defending its position in mind. Very impressive battlements, and great views out over the town and the beautiful blue Mediterranean.
From Napflio we headed north and inland. The endless olive groves started to give way to citrus orchards, and I was struck by the very short distances between towns, and the continuous houses. There is no such thing as open land here, just tiny little orchards and market gardens.
Next stop Mycenae. This is where the ancient Mycenaean civilisation arose before the classic Greek times. It was then Agamemnon’s stronghold, where his brother Menelaus came to ask for help to retrieve his wife Helen from Troy, where she had run away to with the Trojan prince Paris. Watch the movie Troy - as a bonus you get to see Brad Pitt dolled up as a Greek warrior. Heinrich Schliemann excavated here in the late 1800s and recovered large amounts of beautiful golden grave goods, including the purported death mask of Agamemnon (which we saw in the National Archeological museum in Athens).
Late at night we got to a small town called Kira, about 20km from Delphi. Small and rather scungy campground, but a good beach. A nice place to leave behind in the morning.
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| Tolo Beach - first thing in the morning and already about 28 degrees |
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| Jessa at Tolo beach |
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| View of Napflio from Palamidi Fortress |
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| Magazine for storing gunpowder etc, Palamidi |
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| Hard work this sightseeing! |
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| Stone steps polished by centuries of feet |
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| Sentry post, Palamidi |
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| Traffic jam at Palamidi - took about 20 mins for the many tourist buses to clear the narrow, steep mountain road, with very steep dropoff on left - scary stuff - glad we parked further down the hill! |
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| The Lion Gate at Mycenae |
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| Grave Circle A - where Schliemann made his amazing finds |
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| Rio Bridge, joining the Peleponnese to the Greek mainland. We had bets as to how much the toll would be to cross this - turned out to be 20 euros (about $30) |
Fabulous Rio Bridge - we sailed under it at night on a cruise - what a sight!
ReplyDeleteMore brilliant pictures and great commentary Dinah - you know you're making us all horribly envious!! AP
Hi Aunty P - oh dear, that really isn't my intention - I was going to write a diary as well as blogging, but it just seemed easier to combine the two. When I get home, I can print this out, and voila, diary of the trip complete with pics! That is why the posts just seem to keep getting longer and longer, with more and more pics - that and the fact that we are speed sightseeing, so packing a lot into every day. This really is the trip of a lifetime, and we are making the most of it! love, Dinah
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