Two Retired Boomers Go Trekking: Athens to Nafplio

Thursday June 14

This morning didn’t start too well. I decided to go out of the hotel for a stroll while we were waiting for Panos to come and pick us up. A few steps away from the hotel I heard a heavy sound and whipped around to see an older man lying motionless in the road, on the opposite side. I was stunned. I watched him; he didn’t move. Meanwhile a passer by walked up to him and bent down to him and another got on their cell phone…I am assuming to call emergency. I took a few more strides, then turned around to go back to the hotel. I felt sick. When I turned I could see he still hadn’t moved but that a large pool of blood was forming around his head. Within moments 2 motor bikes arrived with 3 paramedics. I hurried on. I am not very good in these situations, and felt quite weak; I knew I had to get back to the hotel. A few more steps and I was in the hotel lobby, sipping on my water. This happened about 10:10 a.m., and when we drove off with Panos around 10:45, the ambulance still had not arrived. The man still lay in the road where he fell, but he had moved slightly. I heaved a sigh of relief. There were plenty police directing traffic around him though and I am sure he was in good hands with the paramedics. I hope he got to hospital safely, got the treatment he needed in the hospital, and had quite a tale to tell his family when he got home. I have no idea what happened. I didn’t see any cars, or bikes involved. I can’t imagine what split his head open. It must have been quite a blow.

We had a pleasant drive with Panos. Panos, is our Mani tour guide, Yorgos’s, brother, who picked us up from Athens and drove us to Nafplio. Tomorrow he is picking us up and driving us to Epidavros, then to the bus station, in time for us to get the 4:00 p.m. bus to Kalamata.

It has been a beautiful day. First stop on our drive was the Corinth Canal. The concept for this canal is believed to be as old as 602 BC. The “thought” was renewed periodically over time, but it was either too complicated given the technical capabilities at the time, or too costly. It wasn’t until 1832 that work on the canal began spear headed by an Austrian company. The canal was used for the first time in 1893. It is 6.4 k long and 25 m wide. It originally provided a route for ships to travel between the Gulf of Corinth on the east side and the Saronic gulf on the west side. It separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnese effectively making the Peloponnese an island. Unfortunately, the Canal has no economic importance today other than it is used by a tourist company for tours through the canal. And….it has a bungee jump!!

Our second stop was at Mycanae. In the 2^nd millennium BC Mycanae was one of the major centres of Greece. Wikipaedia says “At its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares.” Again the concept that we were seeing a site, and ruins, that had existed all those years ago was overwhelming. But there was much more to this site than what we have seen so far. The “karma” was beauty and peace. The site was small enough, and well signed enough, that we could follow what the different areas were. In many cases the building pieces from the destroyed buildings were still lying on the ground so although there had been renovations, they were by no means complete. So what you were seeing was raw, pure, history. The descriptions on the signs gave pictures of what the site may have looked like. The other part to most of these Greek ruins is the view. The sites were of course chosen for their ability to provide that. And the view was stunning, It gave sheer pleasure to the viewer.

After looking over the site, and quickly visiting the museum, we drove the last 30 minutes into Nafplio. Once crossing over the Canal and landing in the Peloponnese, the roads we drove on were pretty, windy, narrow, roads through the countryside. We drove through the hills, and rich fertile countryside with grapes, olives, pistachios, and orange trees. I know we are going to love this area.

We arrived at the Pension Onar in Nafplio to find all the doors locked! No problem. There was a number to call, which Panos did, and within about 5 minutes the owner arrived and showed us to our room. He was lovely, making us feel very at home and able to contact him/ask him about anything he could help us with.

Panos led us through the old town, where the hotel is located, and we found a little restaurant where we could eat lunch. It was 3:00 p.m.!! The town feels so peaceful after the bustle of Athens!!

It was very hot today, so after lunch we had a short “rest” at the hotel, and then set out on a walking tour of the harbour area. We walked along a beautiful path lined with cactus towards the beach; we met the cactus cats and said hello to them when they crossed our paths; we marvelled at the views over the ocean; and we soaked in all the beauty around us. (PS - we did this walk on ...after the walk I read an article in The Greek Reporter (http://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/06/24/lucky-escape-for-walkers-as-landslide-blocks-greek-citys-seaside-route/)about a rock slide onto the path. Fortunately no one was hurt. We discussed this as we walked. The Gods were taking care of us!!) We passed a few people, but not that many. Nafplio is quite small. About the size of Uxbridge and Squamish, but it’s population swells with tourists and local weekenders in the summer season. Although the temperatures are over 30C, summer isn’t here yet!! On the way back we wal)ked to the other end of the harbour passing some young lads fishing, took a picture of Bourtzi, a Venetian castle in the harbour waters, looked at some amazing ships, and the old train station. Apparently the train line and the station, which had opened in 1882 closed in 2011 during the economic troubles in Greece. There is a plan to re-open, but that hasn’t happened yet!!

Nafplio has a very comfortable feel to it, and the old town is so beautiful with its square, and tiny lanes filled with restaurants and shops, and flowers, and cats.