Peloponnese Day 1: Venetian Castles Everywhere!

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A short break on Aetoma Hotel's computer here as since I had to reload Windows XP on the laptop it does not recognize WPA networks. So still no photos, sorry. On top of that the laptop charger was left in the Hilton Athens guestroom and we do not return there until the 9th.

Corinth

Not that big of a city, but when you have the kind of location it has on the narrow piece of land (isthmus) that leads to the entire Peloponnesian Peninsula, you are going to end up having a disproportionately large reputation. We only saw the suburbs as we went to visit the famous Canal of Corinth that was built in 1883 and is about 6 kilometers long connecting the Saronic Gulf to the Aegean Sea. It would otherwise be about 425 miles to circumnavigate the Peninsula. We also got lost on our way to find Acrocorinth so I had to bite the bullet and buy a rip off 8 Euro map of the Peloponnese, but on the bright side we ran into a Carrefour where we picked up a couple of things. Again, we did not venture into the center which is closer to the beautiful Saronic Gulf, but the suburbs were nonetheless crustier than what we've seen in other Greek cities.

Acrocorinth

The highlight of the day and undoubtedly of the trip is the strategically critical Acrocorinth Fortress. With this, we were impressed and loved Athens but the Peloponnesian Peninsula is even better. The poppies are in full bloom and there are wildflowers of every color covering almost everything here. It could not have been painted more colorfully by an artist, beautiful flowers, ruins, with a backdrop of mountains and the blue of the Gulf of Corinth and the Aegean. There are very few people that come up to the fortress, in true form to what we have seen later in the day, Venetian or Frankish fortresses from the Middle Ages to not factor importantly for the Ministry of Tourism and we passed by the tour bus hordes in Ancient Corinth to get to the fortress where there were maybe a dozen other people visiting and easily 10 times that amount in Ancient Corinth. Our perspective on Ancient Corinth is that if you've seen one Greek ruin, you've seen them all, which is a bit trite to say but we were running late and there is something magical about the fortress when you are approaching it.

Mycenae

As promised, we also visited Mycenae, a city inhabited by a culture of the same name and who is famous in Greek mythology through Agamemnon who led the siege of Troy. The structures we saw are the oldest we have seen yet on our trips together - from 1700BC to 1300BC. Absolutely amazing. We then went to Argos which is a very old town, much like Napflio where we are staying, the latter being the first capital of Greece, at least that is the claim made on the sign outside of town. Argos has another fortress high on a rock, much like every other rock in the area. This was also a very little visited site, just like Acrocorinth which makes it even more enjoyable to see. Mycenae was the first time we had to pay to visit a site in Greece and I dare say if it wasn't for the two slick Greek "boys" at the entrance, my walking in like I owned the place would have worked out just fine. But then Jennifer came perambulating down the path which focused the attention of our boys like a laser away from calling me back to accosting her for God knows what, I didn't give them a chance. When they saw I was with her, the wolf on prey look turned to consternation and he told me to pay up to which I responded "so what do you do here, you guys just stand around all day long?" He didn't understand, I didn't care to explain my sarcasm.

Nafplion

Napflio is an amazing town, it is hard to judge how great a place will be when planning but one could easily spend several days here. The old town is a marvel of medieval layout unlike any we have yet seen in Greece and like so few exist to such a scale in western Europe.

It is sad to think that so many people come to Greece and only see it from the perspective of Mykonos and the Cyclades, we have not seen those yet, and so cannot judge, but to miss the Peloponnese and mainland Greece is such a great loss. We stay in Kardamyli tonight and hopefully we will be able to post photos.

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Photos

Canal of Corinth
Not very long, but deep and narrow.

View from Akrocorinth Main Gate
The red, purple, and yellow floors along with the hues of blue from the sky and Gulf of Corinth were amazing.

Wild Flowers in Akrocorinth
The best shot of the trip!

Ruins at Akrocorinth
Some of the amazing ruins at Akrocorinth.

The Hornet's Nest
Literally. I don't know how I made it down there, but this French couple we met down the hill said it was worth going in this direction and that "if not afraid of bees," I should go see this underground fountain. There must have been 100 bees in this pit swarming around. Not about fear, more like being suicidal.
In Greek Mythology this is the fountain of Pirene from which Pegasus would drink.

At Acrocorinth
I thought that was a knight's residence in the back but with consultation to an unclear Wikipedia entry, believe it is a Mosque with demolished minaret.

Stony Path
This is one of my favorite photos, had to include it.

Poppies at Second Gate
Outside the second gate.

Poppies at Curtain Wall
Amazing to see these fields of red, and sometimes white and yellow and purple.

Through the Crenelation
D80 precariously propped on some rocks.

First Curtain Wall
Acrocorinth has been around for a long-time and is naturally very defensible, the Byzantine, Frankish and Venetian fortifications just made it more impressive.

The Rock
Acrocorinth in almost all of its splendor . . . could never get the right shot to show how this just rose out of the ground from nowhere.

Ancient Mycenae
The oldest structure we have ever visited together at almost 3300 years old.

Tholos Tomb
The Mycenaens were famous for this type of tomb.

Inside the Tholos Tomb
The acoustics are absolutely amazing, when you get to the center of the dome the sound reverbaration is eerie, almost inside your head.

The Famous Lions' Gate
This gate has been around for a very very long time.

Ancient Mycenaen Ice Cream
This was without a doubt Jennifer's favorite part. Just look at her.

Larissa Castle
Argos was the first capital of ancient Greece, this castle was built by the Franks during the Fourth Crusade. A lot of people came through this area in history.

View from Argos Castle
The city of Argos below, don't miss Jennifer on the rampart there.

Larissa Castle's Keep
The last line of defense at Larissa Castle in Argos. There is so much history in Greece that something this recent does not get the attention it would get anywhere else in Europe.

Aetoma Hotel
On its own little square, good luck finding it though, the maps do not list Stavropolous Square!