Pelopennese

---

So we've found a little piece of paradise. The pebble beaches and wonderful apartments are great, the mountain coastline is amazing; but the culture, the friendly people we've come across, are really the icing on the cake here. The ouzo doesn't hurt either!!  😉
There are a lot of really genuine people here. For example, we arrived at our apartment (late), Angela met us outside before we even look for where we were supposed to go. She asked us how our trip was, how we liked Greece so far and showed us to/around our apartment. Meanwhile, her dad is parking our car because "it's dark, we've had a long trip, and it can be tricky...no problem!". And what's sitting on the kitchen table but homemade cookies and cake from Angela's mom. Ya, that's right, baking.  
The restaurants in this little town are all on the beach and serve delicious food for unbelievable prices. The Internet cafe we were at showed us more of the same wonderful kind of people. There's a certain pride that seems to intertwine with the genuine nature of some of these people we've met, they all have wonderful things to share. 
The man selling fruit (and wine) at a stand on the side of the road, spoke absolutely NO English whatsoever, could not have been ANY nicer! He got us watermelon, peaches, tomatoes and wine...all fresh off his farm. The prices were excellent, the fruit is to die for, and he had a smile that felt like a hug! 
So that's the kind of environment so far. Now the sites!

On our first full day we went to Nafplio, Epidavros and Mycenae. Nafplio is a gorgeous town on the coast, previously the country's capital. An old fortress looks over the old city, which has a newer city attached. There's also a fortress-looking house off the coast that looked like it was sitting on the water. An old arch off to the side of the road marked the only land entrance into the town (in it's day). We've noticed a lion theme here, starting with a huge lion carved into the face of a hill in the town. There was some nice shopping in the old town; one of the stores was owned by a nice man who sold us ouzo and marzipan...OMG! The marzipan he made himself...ridiculously delicious...the ouzo he did not make, but it sure does knock the stress out of you!! 
Next we went to archeological site of Epidavros (as opposed to the coastal town). The ruins we saw were from an ancient village that was considered a sacred healing place. There was a building people went to be healed and diseases isolated. The sick would go to the well of healing water and then move to the basement to lay on the floor for healing to begin. The village had a track similar to the one in Olympia, and several buildings and temples with statues of gods. The museum had many of the statues and borders of grand buildings...again with the lion heads.
On to Mycenae, with a little help from the super friendly man selling watermelons and wine! The ancient town was the heart of the Mycenaean world, and named the period and civilization that evolved between the 16th and 12th century BC. for any of you who have seen the movie Troy, this is what they were talking about! We saw the tomb and palace of Agamemnon (the man who led the battle against Troy). We did not, however, find any of those good looking fellas!!
We headed back to home base for dinner and Ouzo! The souvlaki is our meal of choice so far!

Full day the Mani peninsula. We drove some absolutely phenomenal coast line. Personally, my favorite part of the trip so far! We stopped in Kardamyli, a little town with a huge history, and took a breather in the cutest little tavern. This town has roots dating back 3000 years. More recently it was used as a secret military base (last decade). Noted in Homer's Iliad as the most beautiful of the 7 major cities. 
We found all kinds of ruins, archeological sites, and insurmountable beauty. We tackled coastline and mountains; land of the switchback, no shoulders on roads...no lines! It's a good thing we left mom's last nerve somewhere in Italy, because it would be suffering here for sure!! 

---