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| Palamidi Castle in Nafplio |
Wednesday, August
6
Sophia and I arrived in Athens on schedule, and waited at the
airport for my dear friend Kyriaki to arrive one hour later with her
8-month-old daughter. I am her baby's “auntie” and attended her baptism in Kyriaki’s hometown of Nafplio in
the Peloponnese in March of this year.
Now my daughter and I were invited to visit during the high summer
season, and Kyriaki’s sister-in-law, Despina had graciously and generously
offered us her apartment just two blocks from Kyriaki and her parents.
I spotted her father, Sotiris, waiting for her at the
exit from baggage claim, and though I speak only three or four words of Greek,
and he knows only a very few words of English, I greeted him and made it understood
that we had arrived on a different flight from his daughter. We watched families reuniting noisily and
joyously, and finally it was our turn.
Kyriaki came through the doors pushing her daughter in her stroller, and after
“Papou” greeted his little granddaughter with smiles and words of adoration, we
were off to the car. On the two-hour
drive to Nafplio, a tremendous thunderstorm erupted, and at one point we could
barely see one meter in front of us. Fortunately, the rain subsided, and we
arrived in Nafplio to see Kyriaki’s mother waiting anxiously on the
sidewalk. She had called several times
during the journey to check our progress.
Of course she was happy to see her daughter, but the baby was the star
attraction. Sophia and I just did our
best to stay out of the way so that these adoring grandparents could get their
fill of cooing and cuddling with her.
Kyriaki’s mother Aggeliki had prepared a delicious welcome
meal of beef and pasta especially for us, since the rest of the family was
fasting (no meat or animal products) until Friday, August 15, Mother Mary Day,
and the name day for all women named Maria in Orthodox and Roman Catholic
tradition. They ate some equally
delicious fish, the leftovers of which Kyriaki’s mother packed up and insisted
we take with us to eat the next day.
This was our first wonderful taste of Greek hospitality…
Thursday, August 7
Our first full day in Nafplio was cloudy and though not in
the least bit cold, it was not the sunny blue we had imagined. Never mind!
We made a trip to the grocery store to add to the welcoming stock of
food Despina had already provided for us. I took Sophia on a tour around the old
city center, which I now know quite well after my trip in March. My sister Shelley and I had stayed in Nafplio
for two days many years ago in 1985 when I was working as an” assistante
anglaise” for the French Ministry of Education.
At the time, I had three weeks of vacation at Easter, and Shelley
arranged to fly to Athens from the U.S. and meet me and my friend Mel Scullen
to travel to Crete and several smaller islands. After two weeks, Mel had to
leave, so Shelley and I took a bus from Athens to Nafplio to spend our final
week exploring the Peloponnese.
Sophia and I decided to try the little “beach” in Nafplio at
the base of Palamidi Castle. There is
actually no true beach in the town, but there is a pleasant stairs descending
through a pine grove decorated with lights and ribbons. I ordered a coffee and
we had the use of two lounge chairs by the sea.
I had planned to swim, but a short and light rain shower deterred
me. Instead, we packed up and walked
back along the harbor where we gathered information about a cruise to two
nearby islands that we planned to visit: Hydra and Spetses. On the way, we were lured by an Italian
gelato shop where I tasted a mango gelato that was so delicious it seemed as
though I were eating a fresh mango!
Later that evening, I made the fifteen minute walk from
“our” apartment to the central square, known as Plateia Syntagmatos (Constitution
Square) to meet Kyriaki and Despina for a drink and a chat. On a summer
evening, the square is brimming with activity.
Numerous restaurants have tables which spread and spill out under
canopies and umbrellas, while at one end, a sculptural tree spreads its
smooth-barked branches above the heads of café dwellers, enjoying a cold Mythos
beer, or a delicious iced coffee. In the
middle of the square, balloon sellers and bubble makers attract a constant
stream of children, who run wild in packs, playing games and riding bikes,
dodging the passersby, locals and tourists alike. Nafplio is very popular with Athenians who
come for a weekend or to spend a few days in the tranquil and beautiful
atmosphere created by the colorful Venetian style architecture dating from the
time of the Venetian occupation during the 14th through 17th
centuries. The Venetians were responsible
for fortifying Nafplio with Palamidi Castle which dominates the city from its
perch atop a stone cliff overlooking the Argolic Gulf. Unfortunately, after building such a
formidable stronghold, Venice stationed only 80 soldiers in Nafplio in the late
17th century, and it was quickly conquered by the Ottomans in
1715. It remained under Turkish control
until 1822 when it was liberated in the Greek War of independence.The castle is illuminated every evening for several hours
and provides an enchanting, almost fairytale backdrop for this charming little
city of 33,000 inhabitants.
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| Balloon sellers in Constitution Square, Nafplio |
Friday, August 8
During the car trip from Athens on our first afternoon,
Kyriaki and her father had spoken to us about the opportunity to attend a
performance in the ancient theater at Epidavros. On Friday morning, I awoke and began
searching online for information. I soon
discovered the website for the summer theatre festival, and had booked tickets
for Sophia and me for Saturday evening to see Euripides’ “The Bacchae.”
We were invited again to join Kyriaki's family for lunch,
and “Mama V” had prepared a delicious vegetarian dish of stuffed
eggplants, tomatoes and peppers expertly cooked in local olive oil and seasoned
with oregano. This lovely meal combined with the heat of summer prepared us for
a relaxing siesta in the afternoon.
Every time we entered the family household, we were greeted warmly by
everyone, and made to feel right at home.
We told them about our discoveries, while we all delighted in 'our' baby girl's
latest achievements. They had set up on
their balcony a little puddle pool shaded by an adorable inflatable red
mushroom where she could cool off and enjoy a tiny splash. She is a truly
happy baby who smiles and laughs so readily that she kept us all in a good mood
regardless of the heat. Later that
afternoon, we rode with Kyriaki by car to the nearby beach known as Karathona. I couldn’t wait another moment to plunge into
the sea, and it was so warm and delightful that I could have stayed in for
hours. The sky clouded over, and 'copela mou' (my girl, in reference to the baby, not Sophia!)
was a bit afraid of the vast expanse of water, so we didn’t stay very long, but
just enough to relax under the umbrella after our swim, and take a few
photos. A bus from Nafplio departs for
the beach several times a day to make the 5 kilometer trip, so Sophia and I
made plans to come back soon on our own.
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| Karathona Beach, 18:00 |
Saturday, August 9
One of our daily temptations was looking in the many shops,
both in new and old Nafplio, each with its own attraction. Very near our apartment in the new part of
town was a large “Chinese shop” filled with clothes….racks of colorful summer
dresses, blouses, etc. The prices were
bargain rate, so we succumbed and ventured in one afternoon after another
delicious lunch that left us too tired to do much of anything but digest. We tried on a number of promising items, but
I ended up with underwear and an apron for Sophia, after several disappointing,
sweaty attempts in the changing room.
Ironically, all week long, we would spot women around town sporting one
of the dresses we had seen at the popular “Chinese shop.” We also tried on a number of shoes in several
local shoe stores that all had drastic markdowns for the end of summer.
The old town has more sophisticated and therefore more
expensive shops, but we managed to keep our purchases there to a minimum,
though we each returned home with a new ring – mine a circle of life spiral in
silver which makes a perfect contour around my finger, and Sophia a classic Greek design in gold.
At 7:30 pm we boarded a special chartered bus which took us
directly to the ancient theater of Epidavros.
We arrived one hour before the performance, so there was time to have a
dessert and coffee in an outdoor restaurant, take some photos, and then find
seats in the stone amphitheater which dates back to the 4th century
B.C. I had purchased the cheapest
tickets in the uppermost tier – 10 euros for Sophia as a student, and 15 euros
for me. We were able to sit directly in
front of the stage, and with its famed perfect acoustics, we could hear every
word. It is said that the acoustics are
so good, that you can drop a pin on stage, and it can be heard in the top row.
The theater seats 14,000 to 15,000 people, and has a total of 55 rows of seats
in a bowl-shaped hollow in the side of a steep hill. In the ancient Greek tradition, the view of
the sky and surrounding mountain and forest form the natural backdrop for the
stage. The whole scene before us was
breathtaking. Before the performance
began at 9:00 pm, I captured the setting sun in a photo, and photographed the
ubiquitous olive trees surrounding the site. The play was performed in modern
Greek, and supertitled in English on large screens to the left and right of the
stage.
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| sunset at Epidavros |
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| The ancient theater at Epidavros before the peformance of Euripides' "The Bacchae" |
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| Sophia and I at Epidavros before the performance |
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| climbing the ancient stone steps to our seats in the upper tier |
I later learned that ancient Epidavros had been a healing
center. People traveled from all over
the region to the asclepeion where they hoped to find a cure for their
particular illness. They slept in a huge dormitory, where they were supposed to
receive a communication in their dreams from the god of health himself,
Asclepius, telling them what they needed to do to be cured. The ancient Greeks believed that attending artistic
performances of various types could help to relieve numerous ailments, so the
theater was designed by Polykleitos the Younger near the site of the healing
center. In this particular belief, I
think the Greeks were very advanced.
Doctors today ought to prescribe their patients to attend theater as
part of their treatment.
Sophia and I both felt a “chill” as we sat on those huge
stone slabs alongside hundreds of other spectators, listening and watching as
actors performed a play written by Euripides for audiences in 405 B.C. People had been sitting on those very same
stone seats for thousands of years, watching theater just as we were that night
under the stars, looking out at this very scene, and contemplating life. It was a memorable evening and an unforgettable
experience. The bus was waiting for us
after the performance ended to drive us back to Nafplio.
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| The famous Lion Gate entrance to the citadel at Mycenae |
Sunday, August 10/Monday,
August 11
After our evening at the performance of the Greek tragedy,
“The Bacchae,” we decided to spend the next afternoon at the Karathona Beach. This was very pleasant but uneventful. I swam to my heart’s content in that
deliciously warm water, and sunbathed a bit with plenty of sunscreen lathered
on. Neither of us managed to get much
reading done, despite bringing along our books.
Monday morning, we set out relatively early to catch the bus
to Mycenae.
Mycenae was a great citadel
and stronghold of southern Greece two thousand years before Christ, and the
area was inhabited since at least 4,000 B.C.
Mycenae was founded, according to legend, by Perseus.
The name derives from the Greek word for
mushroom, mycés, which Perseus may have chosen because the same word describes
the cap on the sheath of his sword.
The Mycenaeans
reached the peak of their civilization in 1350 B.C. at which time there were
nearly 30,000 inhabitants.
It is famous
for its “cyclopean walls” built from gigantic stone boulders, weighing on
average 20 tons, and some as much as 100 tons.
As is so often the case in ancient Greek history, myth intertwines with
fact to describe the glories and mysteries of the ancient past. These enormous
boulders were purportedly placed there by the one-eyed Cyclops giants, as their
manipulation by mortal men would have required 110 years by modern
calculations.
We do know, of course, that
the ancients were not as preoccupied about getting things done in a hurry, and
if it took 100 years to get the job done properly….well, so be it! (Most
likely, the contractor told the king it would be finished in time for his
retirement, and it actually took a few extra decades…..)
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| the 'cyclopean' walls |
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| Grave circle at Mycenae |
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| view over the valley from Mycenae citadel ruins |
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| view from Mycenae site |
While Mycenae is only 14 km from Nafplio, our bus took
almost one hour, making its way through small villages as well as the town of
Argos, also protected by an imposing castle perched high above the town.
I photographed it from the bus as we passed
beneath it.
Though my friend reminded
me that almost every Greek town has its castle, I am no less enthused when I
spot one on the horizon.
Their massive
walls and formidable towers still impress modern mortals like me.
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| Castle above Argos, as seen from the bus |
Despite the heat of Greece in August, we
found wandering among the ruins of Mycenae quite pleasant, as there was a light
mountain breeze and here and there a shaded nook to sit in and take in the
surrounding landscape.
The site is high,
and provides a view in every direction over the surrounding valley and plain filled
with olive groves, and a view towards the Bay of Argolid.
The major points of interest were well
marked and described in both Greek and English.
We entered through the remarkable Lions Gate, where the missing heads
are a reminder that long ago foreign invaders wished to leave a lasting symbol
of their domination over the once powerful Mycenaeans.
The grave circles were long ago excavated
for their treasures, which are kept in The National Archeological Museum of
Athens.
(
http://www.namuseum.gr/wellcome-en.html)
There, you can view the famed gold mask of Agamemnon uncovered by the German
archeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, along with many other treasures from
Mycenae.
Even without going to Athens,
we were able to view wonderful pottery in the small but lovely museum located
adjacent to the site.
These ancient vessels
were amazing for their graceful forms and fascinating archaic decorations.
There was also a partly reconstructed mural
that depicted two female figures, one Mycenaean, the other Minoan.
The style of dress of each woman was very
distinctive and clearly showed the two cultures.
I read somewhere that the Mycenaean women wore
their hair in a style possibly influenced by the Egyptians.
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| detail of grave circle |
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| the north gate |
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| characteristic corbeled arch |
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| additonal view of north gate |
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| overview of the Mycenae Citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site | | | |
Sophia and I also managed to descend part way down into the
underground cistern with the aid of our feeble cellphone flashlights.
The passageway descends beneath the
distinctive corbelled walls seen both at Mycenae and Tiryns located just 4 km
from Nafplio.
Water was channeled
through clay conduits from a natural spring outside the citadel to provide a
continuous fresh water supply.
It got a
bit too dark and claustrophobic for our taste, so we made our way back out into
the brilliant Greek sunlight and climbed the last portion to the top of the
site for a panoramic view.
We returned to Nafplio on the bus via Argos, which made the
return journey more quickly.
We were due
at the Vourla’s apartment for lunch promptly at 14:15, and had the pleasure of
tasting okra cooked Greek style with garlic, tomato sauce, oregano, and other
secret but tasty ingredients.
Mama
Vourla’s okra was a far cry from the slimy dish I had once tasted in Virginia at
the Mary Baldwin College cafeteria!
Okra
is a popular vegetable staple in southern U.S. cooking, but I found the smaller
Greek variety far tastier.
Our Bulgarian
friend and master chef, Izzy, tells me that the okra should be soaked in a
vinegar solution prior to cooking to avoid the slimy texture.
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| Sophia descending into the cistern |
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| Mycenean clay figures in the adjacent museum |
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| the Greek flag (Hellada) |
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Tuesday, August 12
On Monday evening, we secured our tickets for the cruise to
Hydra and Spetses.
We had to catch a bus
at 8:00 am from Nafplio to the nearby resort of Tolo (stress on the second “o”)
in order to embark on the ship before its 9:00 am departure.
We were among the last passengers to board,
and found seats on the open top deck where the morning sun was not yet too hot
to bear.
As we cruised along, we
followed the Peloponnesian coast, rocky and dotted with coastal villages and
vacation homes.
Here and there tiny rock
islands emerged from the sea.
The sky
was slightly hazy, and the calm waters sparkled and glinted as the boat cut a
swathe of foam to make our path.
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| early morning sun on the Ionian Sea |
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| villas along the coast |
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| rock cliff coast en route to Hydra | | | | | | |
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In general, tourism in this high season is remarkably low by
former standards.
It is clear that
Greece has suffered a severe decline in tourism which is a mainstay of the
economy.
Most of Nafplio certainly depends
on both local Athenian and some foreign tourism for its survival.
These are tough times for many here.
Kyriaki described how in the past, the summer
theater festival at Epidavros lasted from June through August, with busloads of
tourists attending every performance.
Now the number of performances has been drastically reduced, and the
theater which can accommodate up to 15,000 was perhaps one-third full.
As another example of declining tourism, I
had read online to be sure to get to Mycenae early, as the line to buy entrance
tickets could be unbearably long due to the arrival of numerous tour
buses.
We arrived at 11:00 am and bought
our tickets immediately.
Lines were simply
non-existent.
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| Approaching the island of Hydra |
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| Hydra Harbor |
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| entering Hydra harbor |
The cruise company had offered only two days per week, and
the option to board in Nafplio was no longer on offer.
It was clear from our crowded ship that they
limited options in order to have a full boat and maximize profits while
avoiding wasting precious and expensive fuel.
We soon knew that our decision to visit these two nearby islands,
equidistant between Athens and Nafplio, was well worth the effort.
Hydra proved to be a delightful introduction
for Sophia to Greek island life….living up to the idyllic expectations one
envisions when imagining Greece.
We
quickly escaped from the port area thronging with tourists and pricey shops,
and headed uphill.
All of the side
streets are in fact a series of whitewashed steps, as the island’s main village
is built into a hill.
There are no cars
permitted on Hydra except service vehicles, so donkeys, mules and horses
provide the only public transport.
Sophia and I chose
to walk and explore the island at our leisure, within the three hours allotted
by our crew.
I was soon finding a photo
at every turn, from lace-covered doorways and donkeys to black-robed priests
disappearing down white stairways.
The
sun grew hotter, the streets were empty.
We stopped in a tiny grocery to refill our water bottle, and then
continued on until we reached the sea on the other side of the island.
On our way, I photographed cozy houses and
gardens filled with cacti heavy with fruit and gorgeous bougainvillea in full
bloom.
As I snapped away, an older
Frenchman passed me and smiled, saying that he had been living on the island of
Hydra for 11 years, and still took photos of its beauty every day.
“Everywhere you look there is a picture, “ he
commented.
I heartily agree.
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| these usually adorn the corners of roofs in Greece |
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| the 'streets' of Hydra | |
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| public transport on the island of Hydra |
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| houses on Hydra |
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| crocheted lace-covered doorway! |
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| whitewashing the walls |
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| Orthodox priest on Hydra |
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| one of several feline residents we met |
When we reached the other edge of the island, we were glad
to have tucked our bathing suits into the backpack.
There we found a convenient stone stairway
down to the rocks below from which we could step into the deep water and take a
refreshing swim in the turquoise water of the Ionian Sea.
We also spotted a house for rent on that very
spot with its doors and windows opening onto the blue sea and sky….we took down
the phone number…..and started dreaming of future trips!
We were pleased to find this spot where we
swam almost alone.
A couple was sunning
on the rocks nearby, and another man took a quick dip, but otherwise we had the
sea to ourselves.
After we dressed and
continued our walk on a path that circled the island, we discovered where our
fellow passengers and other island tourists were swimming and sunning further
along and closer to the port.
The views
were none the less stunning, and we ended our sojourn at a restaurant
overlooking the sea.
We had only forty
minutes remaining before we needed to board, so we quickly ordered a Greek
salad and tzaziki….a cucumber and yogurt salad served with thick slices of toasted
bread spread with olive oil and garlic.
In the heat of summer, it was a perfect lunch.
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| our dream vacation house by the sea....it's for rent! |
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| We swam here just below |
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| We jumped off the rocks below and swam here |
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| Laskarina Bouboulina, heroine of the Greek War of Independence, 1822 |
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The next and final stop before returning to Tolo was the
island of Spetses.
It is flatter
topographically than Hydra, and less charming, but it has an interesting
history.
Both Hydra and Spetses are
proud to be the home of Bouboulina, a woman whose family originated from Hydra,
though she was born in a prison in Constantinople (today known as Istanbul)!
From what I learned she was a pretty tough
cookie!
Bouboulina’s father had been a
captain, but was imprisoned by the Turks along with his wife and child for his
participation in an uprising against the Turks who occupied Greece at that time,
incorporating it into the Ottoman Empire.
Her father died in prison, and her mother returned with her to Hydra,
then moving to nearby Spetses where she remarried.
Bouboulina grew up and married a wealthy
ship’s captain named
Dimitrios Bouboulis
from whom she took her name. When he died fighting against Algerian pirates,
Bouboulina inherited his ships and fortune, and used some of the money to build
four new ships.
She also purchased arms
and ammunition, and helped create a naval blockade in Nafplio in 1821 as part
of the Greek struggle for independence from the Ottomans.
In a civil war in 1824 between opposing Greek
factions, Bouboulina was arrested due to her association with a certain Greek
officer out of favor, and exiled in Spetses, all of her fortune spent on the
war of independence.
She died in 1825
when her son eloped with the daughter of another island family.
The story goes that the angry father came in
search of his daughter, accompanied by armed members of his family. Bouboulina
came out onto her balcony to confront the angry group, and after a brief
argument, someone in the crowd shot her in the forehead, instantly killing
her.
A museum and statue in her honor
are found on the island of Spetses.
Quite a woman!
I think she more
than earned her statue and place as a heroine of modern Greek history.
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| fresh squeezed orange juice we sucked down in zero time! |
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| 'selfie' while waiting for the bus back to Nafplio |
.jpg) |
| At a café in Tolo, waiting for the bus. The man behind us was our kind waiter. |
We returned to Tolo and had one hour to spend before the bus
arrived to take us back to Nafplio.
The
hotels and restaurants of this fishing village turned resort are practically
washed by the waves so close are they to the sea. We wandered along the main
street, found the bus stop, and sat waiting on a comfortable sofa practically
on the sidewalk of a nearby café where we ordered fresh orange juice.
Our waiter was friendly and helpful, walking
with me up the street to point out the bus stop in answer to my query, and
checking the schedule with me.
This may
sound like a rather simple matter in such a small town, but keep in mind that
most all signs are written in Greek!
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| images from the Wednesday morning market in Nafplio |
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| Viva la vida by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo |
Wednesday, August
13/Thursday, August 14
Our last days in Nafplio were spent quite leisurely.
We did some more wandering about the old
town, and on Wednesday morning, I made sure that Sophia visited the market
along the edge of the park. I had passed quickly through it on Saturday morning
with Kyriaki and the baby in her stroller, but we arrived quite late and the
crowded market was no place for a maxi cosi (Kyriaki’s large and comfortable
baby stroller). The Nafplio market is a delight for the senses and easy on the
wallet.
Vendors called out loudly,
offering deals such as a kilo of grapes for one euro, sweet melons for 50
cents, or a braid of garlic for 3 euros.
I photographed an amazing pile of colorful assorted peppers, and saw a
display of cut watermelon that looked like the still life that inspired Frida
Kahlo’s “Viva la vida” painting.
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| cicada in Nafplio...uncharacteristically on the ground |
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| red eyes and ocelli |
Another memorable aspect of our week in Nafplio was the ever-present
sound of the cicadas. Their deep rasping
hum by the thousands was so loud in some areas of town that it was almost
overwhelming. (Watch my video clip above.)
The mating call of the male cicadas reminded me of the cicadas in the
huge silver maple of our garden in Virginia every year in the month of
August….the same insect going through the same cycle of life in a totally
different part of the world. A little-known
and fascinating fact regarding cicadas is that they actually have five
eyes! They have two large red eyes on
either side of their heads, and between these two larger eyes are three much
smaller red eyes known as ocelli. Cicadas go through several metamorphoses
before reaching their adult stage, and all of the earlier stages take place
underground over a period of 2-5 years on average, but can be as long as 13 to
17 years for some species! (I just
thought you might like to know all this….I find insects quite fascinating….)
We had a last delicious lunch with Kyriaki's family, and on
Wednesday evening, Sophia and I ventured out late in the evening when the air
had cooled to stroll along the harbor front while savoring one last mango
gelato.
A Greek musician was performing
at a concert venue on the waterfront, and many people were walking along the
Arvanitia, a promenade along the base of the hill beneath the Palamidi
Castle.
We followed it as it wound past
seaside restaurants and scented pine groves, but finally turned back when we
reached an unlit portion, unsure where it would lead us.
I later read that you can follow this path
all the way around the base of the hill and continue on to reach Karathona
Beach on foot in 40 minutes.
I will keep
that information in mind for my next trip to Nafplio.
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| Sleeping Beauty...or The Little Mermaid :-) |
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| Windsurfer at Karathona Beach |
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| Ya sias (Farewell!) to the sun, sea, mountains, people, and thousands of years of history that make Greece so extraordinary! |
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On our last day, after packing up in preparation for our
early morning departure on Friday, we headed one last time to the beach to swim
and sunbathe in that idyllic spot. There
was a sea breeze which kept us comfortable, and when we grew too hot, we could
dive into the perfect sea, with a sandy bottom and delicious temperature. I swam three times that afternoon, trying to
store up the experience to keep me satisfied until my next opportunity!
That evening, we met Aggeliki, Despina, Kyriaki and baby to have dinner together in one of the outdoor harbor
restaurants. As we strolled through town, Kyriaki's mother delighted in her role as "Yaya" (Grandma), pushing the stroller proudly and greeting her admiring friends and neighbors. Sitting under a clear, starlit sky with the illuminated castle high on the hill above us, we ordered an array of
Greek specialties, including grilled octopus (Chtapodi sti schara),
mushrooms in vinegar, fried feta cheese (saganaki), eggplant salad
(melitzanosalata), and zucchine balls (tiganita). Finally, it was time to say thank you and farewell to
all before we departed.
The next morning, Sophia and I boarded a bus bound for
Athens central bus station, and from there we took a bus to the airport. We were on our way back to Brussels, and
though it had been indeed almost unbearably hot at times, we were going to miss
the sun, cicadas, and warm Greek hospitality.
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| Sophia sampled Nafplio's famous giant chocolate donuts...worth every bite! |
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| before the theater at Epidavros, Nafplio's old abandoned train depot |
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| Copela mou....my girl |
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| inscription above a fountain near the old Turkish mosque |
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| Old doors fascinate me...one door closes, another opens...a metaphor for life. |
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| St. Giorgios Church, Nafplio |
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| palm trees in Nafplio |
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| typical Greek kiosk, Argos |
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| curious neighbors, next to Despina's apartment |
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| statue in Nafplio near the bus stop |
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| in Nafplio |
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| super-sized garlic braid at the Nafplio market |
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| The Church of Saint Nicholas, Nafplio |
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| dining al fresco in Nafplio |
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| A parting image of Nafplio |
