Nafplion and bit of ancient history

Bourtzi fort at Nafplion

On 5^th September we sailed past of the Venetian fort of Bourtzi into the harbour of the lovely old town of Nafplion. The town sits  at the very top of the Argolic Gulf and was briefly the capital of Greece after the Greek war of independence.  Its impressive 18^th and 19^th century buildings still give it a rather grandiose feel and its become a popular spot for artists.



Me by our 'quiet' mooring (photo by Gina)

We had been warned that the main quay could be rather smelly and noisy, so we were very pleased to find what seemed to be a quiet spot moored alongside the commercial quay. We didn’t take much notice of the giant dredging barge moored to one side of us, but it made its presence felt the next morning when we were woken at 7am by the roar of an industrial diesel engine and the clanging of giant chains as it began dredging mud from the harbour.

That evening our friend Gina arrived to stay for a few days. Our main reason for coming to Nafplion was to visit the local archeological site of Mycenae, and it would be a bonus having Gina with us as she studies archeology and has become a bit of an expert on Mycenaean history.

Cliff at the ancient citadel of Mycenae

We decided to set off early the next morning for Mycenae before it got too hot,  and when we arrived 8.30am we had the site to ourselves for a very peaceful half an hour before the coachloads of tourists began to arrive. There’s not a lot left of the original citadel, but as we wandered around the ruins set high on a hill above the plains, we did get a sense of a rich and sophisticated civilization had lived here in the Bronze Age.

Gina by the tomb of Agamemnon

The highlight for us were the royal tombs, including what some believe is the tomb of Agamemnon. These giant, majestic structures looked as though they belonged in Egypt, and we couldn't help but be impressed by their size and the skill that went into building them.

After Mycenae, at Gina’s request we drove down to the far side of the Argolic Gulf to visit a tiny Bronze Age site called Lerna, which features the ‘House of tiles,’ the earliest known instance of using terracotta as roofing tiles. There wasn’t a lot for us to see, but Gina was in her element exploring such an important site.

A welcome break for lunch

We had a welcome stop for lunch at the fishing village of Myli, then drove round the Gulf to Nafplion and up to the Venetian fort of Palamidi, which sits on a rocky bluff high above the town. The fort is an interesting complex of buildings with wonderful views down over the Gulf, but we were all pretty tired by this time and there were rain clouds gathering, so after a quick walk round we beat a hasty retreat back to the boat.

The Venetian fort of Palamidi

After Mycenae and Lerna Cliff decided he was ‘ruined out’, but there was one more site - Tiryns -  that Gina and I wanted to see, so the next morning we left Cliff doing boat jobs while we  jumped on a bus for a quick visit. At first sight Tiryns is very impressive as many of the thick, towering walls that surrounded the ancient citadel are still standing. Once inside we found that most of the ruins are at ground level, but having Gina as my personal guide helped to bring it to life, and we spent an enjoyable morning exploring the site.

One of the gates through the massive walls at Tiryns (photo by Gina)

Gina on the helm

We had just a day and half to go before Gina had to catch the ferry back to Athens from Porto Heli, so as soon as we got back from Tiryns we cast off and sailed back down to Vivari. We put Gina on the helm and she did a great job negotiating  some of the trickier parts of the course where there are channels between the rocks.  We eventually anchored in the bay in the late afternoon, just in time to introduce Gina to a shoal of the fascinating, 'fried egg' jellyfish.

Gina relaxing at Korakonisia

The next morning we sailed on south and had a lunchtime stop for a swim at a bay on the tiny island of Korakonisia, where the water is a wonderful turquoise blue.  Then it was on to Porto Heli where we anchored out in the bay and dinghied ashore for a final farewell meal. We ate at Ostria, a waterside restaurant which serves Greek food with a modern twist, and it turned out to be one of the best meals we’ve had since we’ve been in Greece.

Vivari

Cliff looking good in his kilt

 

We had a wonderful few weeks back in the UK catching up with family and friends. This included a trip to Scotland to attend Cliff’s nephew Alan’s wedding, which was held near Falkirk in a lovely old church next to Linlithgow Palace. The men in the family all wore kilts and Cliff thoroughly enjoyed showing off his knees! On the way back we stopped at Whitley Bay in Northumberland and had a great evening catching up with our friends Alison and Tony from Reveller, who were also having a break from cruising the Med.

Sunset at Kilada

On August 28^th we flew back to Greece. Unfortunately a combination of a delayed flight and an hour and a half’s wait for our rental car meant we finally arrived back at the boatyard in Kilada at one o’clock in the morning. When we left the boat there had been a boatyard ladder tied to the stern so that we could climb up to the deck, which was about 12 feet from the ground. When we returned we found that the ladder had gone, so we had to creep around the yard in the dark trying to find one, hoping we wouldn’t wake the guard dogs. No such luck, within minutes they were in a barking frenzy, and with visions of Rockweilers snapping at our ankles we ran round like mad things until we finally found a suitable ladder and were up and onto the boat in record time!

A couple of days later the boat was back into the water. The weather had been hot and sticky and our launch was accompanied by a thunderstorm. As we motored away from the yard the lightning was putting on a very good show and we had a difficult decision to make, should we anchor in the bay and wait for the storm to pass, with the risk of the mast being struck by lightning, or should we press on towards our planned anchorage further north, where the sky looked clear? We decided to make a run for it and two hours later we were anchored in brilliant sunshine in the pretty bay of Vivari, just south of Nafplion.

The village of Vivari

Vivari is a peaceful spot in an almost landlocked bay with cliffs rising sheer from the water. The water is very clear and perfect for swimming and the village has a few tavernas and a small store, which was all we needed. We planned to stay there for a couple of days then sail round to Nafplion, where our friend Gina would be joining us on the boat.

The fried egg jellyfish

Later in the afternoon, after a swim off the back of the boat, Cliff spotted a shoal of jellyfish floating past. Once we got over our initial horror we were totally fascinated, as we hadn’t seen anything like this before. Some of them were as big as a dinner plate and from above they looked like a large fried egg, then underneath they had a mass of curly tentacles that looked a bit like hundreds and thousands.  A quick search on Google confirmed that they were Cotylorhiza Tuberculata, a type of jellyfish that can propel themselves so aren’t reliant on the current, and often have small shoals of fish swimming with them. They can grow to up to 35cm in diameter, but aren’t dangerous as they have a very mild sting. Needless to say, after this we took a very good look at the water before diving off the back of the boat!