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Wildflowers and a Mighty Wind:
Nine days in the Peloponnese and Athens.

To the theater! Epidaurus

After a rough night’s sleep for Chris, due to late-night street noise and
merry-makers, we all enjoyed our super-deluxe shower (nine water jets!
Impressive hot water pressure!). Once again, we enjoyed our breakfast
and got on the road early. We drove due east to ancient Epidaurus. Marisa
had been there before, about 30 years before, but had little recollection of
the place. We had read that the theater was the main thing to do here, and
was regarded as the single best-designed theater in the ancient world.

The drive was rather nice, somewhat more rural and hilly, with plenty of
olive groves and a few Mycenaean-era bridges along the way. Upon arrival
(easy parking!) we headed straight to the almost 100-percent intact theater.
Allie had just studied Greek theater in freshman English and explained
everything to us—the altar, the “expensive seats”, the back stage area, the
skena, etc. As we approached the round orchestra/stage, an opera buff
was crooning O Sole Mio, and quite well. The acoustics of this venue are
world famous, and with good reason. Drop a coin in the center, and you
can easily hear it in the back row.

We climbed all over and took photos from many vantage points. Chris
couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity, taking center stage and
performing about 30 seconds of Hamlet’s soliloquy (through “what dreams
may come”) in full voice. No one applauded, although it seemed few there
spoke English.

It is worth noting that the theater is not the only attraction to see here. The
ruins of the ancient town are interesting to explore, and the local temple of
the healing arts was one of the early cradles of western medicine. There is
also a 182-meter track; we climbed down into the ruins of the surrounding
stadium, where we were befriended by a feral cat who followed us and
others around the ruins. It started to sprinkle a bit, so we headed back to
the car and headed back toward Nafplio. On our way, we veered off toward
Tolo to see the beach. Chris remembered reading about Ancient Asine in
one of the guide books; when we saw the sign, we stopped and explored
the ruins for a while. We literally had to climb up to the ruins via barely worn
footpaths and steep ancient staircases that we followed all the way to the
top to the hill, providing great views over the coast in both directions. This
is the type of site we really like to explore, especially Allie. It’s a bit off the
beaten path; we were the only people there, not unlike our experience at
Duffus Castle in Scotland…but 2000 years older. Note: you need good
walking/hiking shoes and strong ankles/knees to visit this site and explore
it properly.

Unsolicited and unpaid product endorsement #2: Chris is ecstatic about
the performance of his New Balance 748 hiking shoes throughout this trip.
Comfortable, rugged, and outstanding traction on all terrain.

Afterward we drove into Tolo, a modern beach community which was very
quiet on this day. Allie was very hungry, and a local baker, to his credit, had
put out a hand-written “open” (in English as well as Greek) sign. We
stopped for a slice of pizza bread, a large beer and bottled water—all for 3
Euro.

We drove back to Nafplio and took the road up to the old Venitian Palamidi
fort perched on top of the hill. We were surprised to learn that it was only
open for another 45 minutes (the book said 6:30pm!), but we were able to
explore a good deal of it. We hiked around the bastions, headed up ramps
that led to courtyards that led to tunnels that led to ramps that led to
beehive guard towers. The prison was interesting, but we missed visiting
the little chapel (recommended by Chris’s mom, who had been here years
earlier) by less than 15 seconds! The views of the town from the Palamidi
were enticing, it was getting warmer, and the sun was almost out. So we
headed back to Nafplio and found the town bustling with Sunday-afternoon
visitors.

We sat ourselves at a café in Syntagmatos Square for about an hour with
drinks, watching the people, noting the fashions and watching the local
kids play soccer. This really is a great town square for people-watching,
possibly one of our top 10 favorites in Europe. We discussed dinner
options and decided on a low-key, tavern-style dinner with traditional Greek
food. We perused the menus at some of the places on Staikopolou street
and finally decided on Zorba’s, across the street from Ta Fanaria. We
enjoyed dolmades (of course!), greek salad, a liter of wine, coke, cod/garlic
sauce, chicken Zorba and veal with tomato—all very tasty, for about 44
Euro total.

The restaurants in town remain busy on Sundays throughout most of the
day, but now (around sunset) they were starting to clear out. We strolled,
took plenty of sunset photos, and stopped for some ice cream—a pair of
dueling gelaterie in town offered some top-quality treats. We strolled along
the waterfront until we were past the town, and walked along a stone-
paved path to the other side of the massive rocky outcrop, then back
around to the other side of town. We finished our day with a night cap in bar
back at Syntagmatos Square, then packed for departure in the morning.

Next: Madness? This is Sparti! (and Mystras)

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Stadium at Epidaurus

Steps in the theater at Epidaurus

Theater at Epidaurus

Tolo, through a "window" at Ancient Asine

Ancient Asine

At the bar on Syntagmatos Square, Nafplio