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| The Hill Top Fort of Palamidi |
We were leaving Nafplio today, so we woke up very early to pack. The sun was just coming up so we went out to the square to get pictures with the golden light of dawn. As we stepped out of the hotel, the cold hit us. I think we stood there for a bit, neither of us wanting to be the first to admit we needed jackets. I don't know who caved, but finally we went back up to our room to get them. The sun was shining beautifully on the Fortress of Palamidi atop the hill, so we used it as our backdrop.
It was so cold that we didn’t want to eat outside like yesterday. We tried a different hotel for breakfast this morning. I have a picture of me eating breakfast, but I have no memory other than we were warm and it was good.
After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and headed for the Fortress of Palamidi. It took a couple of attempts to find the right road — the first landed us at the bottom of a massive staircase climbing 700 feet to the fortress. There was no way we were going to climb up those steps, so we tried the map again to find the right road to the top of the hill rather than the bottom.
The route went out of town and around the back side of the hill, then climbed up toward the top. We parked and bought tickets into the fortress. The Venetians built this fortress in the early 1700s to protect their interests in the region.
We meandered through the fortress taking pictures and reading the info plaques. While looking out to sea, we spotted a small boat and wondered what it was. I was using my brand-new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and it has a full optical 10x zoom. I took a picture of the boat with the 10x, then zoomed in on the photo to see that it was a small fishing boat. Mike was impressed with the ability. It’s been over three years as I write this blog, and I still use my S23 rather than upgrading to the new phones that removed the 10x zoom. They also removed the Bluetooth stylus that I use to trigger the camera when it’s on a tripod.
We walked around for an hour then headed back to the car and our next destination. Ancient Tiryns is yet another hilltop just outside of Nafplio. It is mentioned in the Iliad when Homer praised its massive walls, which were said to have been erected by giant cyclopes. We walked up ramps to the top of the fort.
A lot of restoration had already been done to the fort, and more was in process. We only spent about 20 minutes because we had a long drive ahead of us.
The plan for today was to drive through the Lousios Gorge on our way to Olympia on the far side of the Peloponnese Peninsula. To get to the start of the gorge we began with some highway driving.
We drove about 30 minutes on the highway before we turned off toward Lousios Gorge. Just 5 minutes down this smaller road, we spotted a sign that said something like “The largest ancient theatre”. That just sounded like something we had to see, so we turned off the road.
When we parked, we could see construction barriers surrounding parts of the area, and construction workers sitting on picnic tables, eating their lunch. We asked if it was OK to go look and they said yes, so we walked in.
The theatre was supposed to hold 20,000 people, which is more than Epidaurus or the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens. There were only a few rows of stone seats at the bottom, but if the whole curved hillside was filled with seats, it would be massive. We only stopped for a few minutes, so we missed some other ruins in the area, but it was still cool to see.
Seeing the workers eating lunch reminded us that it was lunch time, so we started looking for somewhere to stop. We figured there would be a town soon, but there wasn’t.
10 miles up the road was the turnoff to the gorge. There was a restaurant there, but it didn’t look open and the gorge road looked tiny. There was a town just ahead, so we opted to stay on the main road and drive to Karytaina. The road wound its way up a steep hillside with some beautiful views. After only a few miles we reached the top and the town.
There were several restaurants in town but there were few people to be seen. There was also very little parking, so we had to go all the way to the top and park in a small lot then walk back down to the restaurants.
Two restaurants were under construction so they were out, but Vrenthi Cafe had 2 old men sitting in a corner and they waved us inside. The cafe wasn’t really open, but the lady inside said she’d be happy to whip something up for us. She didn’t offer any choices - she just told us to go outside and find a table.
It had gotten pretty warm, so we chose a table in the shade and waited. She did come out and ask us what we’d like to drink. After 15 minutes she brought out a big plate of chips (fries) with meatballs and a bowl full of a tomato based dipping sauce, not unlike fry sauce at Five Guys. She also brought out 2 big glasses full of ice and 2 diet cokes. It was heavenly.
The chips were fantastic. I think the meatballs were ok, but they had an odd spice to them that neither of us loved. We still ate most of them, but we devoured the chips. When we finished, we walked back up to the car and drove down the hill to the gorge turnoff.
Now we were on an even narrower road that followed the terrain. The road had constant turns, ups and downs, and many blind corners. But the views were incredible. I think the big lunch got to me and Mike says I slept a good part of the drive. I know we stopped a few times to see town and scenic overlooks, but we don’t seem to have taken many pictures. The lesson learned here is, don’t eat a massive lunch on a road trip.
We arrived in Olympia in midafternoon. The Hotel Pelops was on the north end of town, and we quickly got checked in. On Mike's personal rating scale for hotels, it earned a 2 out of 10. The room was tiny, the TV didn’t work, and the AC was almost non-existent. It was a good thing we were here for only 1 night. We just dumped our bags and headed off to scope out the town.
It wasn’t a very big town, so it didn’t take long. We did some souvenir shopping and found a museum dedicated to Archimedes. It felt like a museum of oddities and illusions. It would have been wonderful for kids. There were some very impressive wooden models to look at and some practical demonstrations of Archimedes inventions. We spent more time there than it warranted because there just wasn’t much else to do in town and we didn’t want to go back to the hotel while it was still hot outside.
After we left, we finished exploring the town, then decided to try to find some dinner. We found a street that was lined with restaurants. We chose one at the far end but I don’t remember why or if we liked the food. We did linger over dinner to let the temperature drop before returning to the hotel.
By the time we got back to the hotel it was actually getting cold so we opened the window and let the room cool off. I think we left it open all night because I remember dogs barking and the rooster crowing the next morning.
We saw many villages and beautiful views on the drive, at least those I was awake for, but Vrenthi Cafe and the ice cold drinks overlooking the valleys really sticks in my mind.
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