OCTOBER 12

The Palamidi Fortress above the town of Nafplio.

The lovely streets that have small shops and nice restaurants right on the waterfront.

We drove to Mycenea and saw the acropolis where there the king lived with his army that protected the farming area below. This is the Lion's Gate that is the entrance to Mycenae. . Amazing the size stones that could be moved and fit perfectly 3,500 years ago.
Within the fortress was a cistern that was fed water from a nearby spring and fed thru an underground waterway, built by them, into the underground cistern. We walked most of the way down the stairs, in the total darkness, toward the cistern. We were told by the people coming back up, that there was nothing there but a small indentation in the ground, so we returned to the top, and the light. We used the red light of Arleen’s camera for illumination. Not much, to be sure, but enough. Great fun.

Entrance to the cistern.
Then we went to the theatre at Epidaurus. It is mostly original. Only some supporting walls were redone. The acoustics there are so great that no one, to this day, can duplicate them, and many have tried to discover the secret. Duane and I sang “let there be peace on earth” to the adoring crowd, all of whom heard us perfectly. And what applause, from the hundreds of people in the theater!
A potter at the pottery stop we made on the way to Mycenae.

During lunch, we walked down the busy street of Epidaurus, while others where finishing their meals, and came upon a pomegranate tree in the parking area of a very small shopping mall and stole (I mean took) one. On our way back to the others, Dave stopped to take a picture of the tree. I noticed a lady watering the plants in front of one of the shops and I said hello (in Greek..yasoo). She replied in rapid Greek. After telling her I did not speak Greek, we were still able to converse a little and she said something about knowing someone in Canada. She then walked me over to the tree and picked a large pomegranate and gave it to me. Nice, huh. I wonder which pomegranate will taste betterJ
Along all the roads, we saw small shrines. We tried very hard to get pictures. These are our best. The shrines were for people who either died, or didn't die, on the road.
Close up of a shrine.
Sign in a shop in Nafplio.

Tomorrow we board our cruise ship for a 5 day cruise on the Aegean. We have to get up at 4:30 a.m. Auggh!

By the way, it looks like we will be aboard the same bus as Tom and Dot, Tom and Joyce, and Charlie and Arlene once we get to Turkey. Other folks on our tour now said they had a great time in Istanbul, which they did as a pre-trip before starting our Greek tour.