10 January ’05, Monday. The Theatre at Ancient Epidavros
A few days have gone by since I’ve written anything for the journal, so I will kind of give you a short update. Sunday was a day off from anything but go out by the sea, walk the beach, wade in as far as possible without getting too crazy (to my waist, the water is coooollllddd), throwing the stick for “Bear” (the name I gave him), and just sit in the sun holding out hope that you might get a little color out of it (didn’t happen). Monday we fired up “Bumble Bee” and headed off to see the ruins of Epidavros. Epidavros is about 30km (18 miles) from Nafplio. Our campground was at Deprano Beach (just outside of Tolo), so that added on another 8km. The ride took us through a number of small villages and lots of agriculture. We have and still are in an area of olive, orange and tangerine groves, fields of grape vines for the local wines, and smaller crops of all kinds. All this was capped off by the wonderful mountains that circle the area. As we pulled up to the ruins of Epidavros, we found we finally had some company…about 4 tour buses and of those at least 2 were filled with college students from the US. They were spending the Fall quarter traveling Greece and studying the ancient ruins….good way to attend classes… At Epidavros, are found the ruins of Asclepius, the god of medicine. There were many kinds of healing practices available here beginning with the licking of snakes. It was thought that a serpent which, by renewing it’s skin, symbolizes rejuvenation. Some other practices were diet instruction, herbal meds and the occasionally even surgery. For some reason (and we couldn’t find out) this site is getting a rebuilding. There were at least 3 buildings that are getting completely rebuilt. The drawings are incredible, it would be great to be back in about 5 years to see the “New” Epidavros. There is also a very large theatre there that is one of the best and most complete ancient theatres anywhere. You could be sitting on the top row (a very long ways up there) and hear someone on the stage strike a match (it sounded like it was right in front of you). If we hurried we could get back to the beach before the day was too cool to enjoy it….so we headed back just before lunch.

8 January ’05, Saturday. Yesterday was still fresh in our mind as we started out to see another spectacular ruin that has been put before us through a prior visit to a museum. This morning we headed off to see “Ancient Mycenae”. In our visit to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, we saw a tremendous amount of a unbelievable collection from a find at the Ancient Mycenae ruins… We saw the Mask of Agamemnon, the Warrior Vase, the Vaphio gold cups and much, much more, which were found by Heinrich Schliemann in the late 1800’s. I believe Schliemann got in touch with the King of Greece at the time of his discoveries and said something like “I have gazed upon the face of Agamemon”… Schliemann was an amateur archeologist and did not receive a lot of confidence from the “professional” archeologists around the world. In fact, they tried to convince the government of Greece and Turkey that he was nothing but a “Grave Robber”… Their concerns may have had some merit, as his digs were “a little rough”. He wasn’t too concerned about what he “went through” to get to the area of the dig that he was after. There were some who said that he would dig right through “cities” without any care as to what he was damaging. Some of the history books have been good to him and others… Today we saw and were able to get into, the burial tombs of some of those that Schliemann found. The tomb of Agamemon was a huge “Bee Hive” design that was entered through a long walkway to a large stone arch. Once inside, it was just like standing in a “Giant Rock Bee Hive”… We actually visited 3 such tombs. There were others throughout the site that also had many wonderful finds for Schliemann. It seems that at this time in history the bodies of the royals were buried in a vertical shaft (otherwise, standing up). What we saw today and yesterday, dates back 2 to 5 THOUSAND YEARS !!! The official name for this site was “The Citadel of Mycenae”. This “Citadel” was a city of about 10 thousand people with a “Palace” located at the top of the hill inside the walls for the fortification. It had an underground fresh water system that came from an aquifer that they “tapped” into and piped underground back to the Citadel. We were able to walk down the stairs (for a short distance only because it got too dark to see any further without a flashlight) and get a feel of were the underground water was coming from and how. We saw quite a number of the foundations of the houses that they had. We visited the “Palace”… Again, we walked, climbed, and enjoyed another great “ruin” from a life many, many years ago.

7 January ’05, Friday. There are days when I have a tough time getting a journal together, and this is one of them. It’s not because we have nothing to write about. Believe it or not, it’s because what we have had the chance to visit, has been so spectacular, that it is tough to put into words just what our experience and feelings have been. I know, that would seem like it would make it easier, but for me???..No…
Thursday I had told you about the Corinth Canal and a little bit of history on it. After I had a chance to look at my pictures, I was very disappointed so we headed back to Corinth (ko-rin-thoss) to see the canal again and then go onto Ancient Corinth and see the ruins. During the 6th century BC, Corinth was one of ancient Greece’s richest cities. It owed its wealth to its position on the Isthmus of Corinth, that is having a seaport on both sides of the Isthmus…Aegean Sea and the Ionian Sea. They could carry on trade between both seas having a port to handle all cargo sent their way. That lasted until 146 BC as Rome got tired of them thumbing their nose at them and invaded Corinth and took over. That wasn’t the first or the last “sacking” that Corinth went through. It also suffered from devastating earthquakes which destroyed just about everything. In the ruins we saw another good example of the Temple to Apollo, an unusual fountain (The Peirene Fountain) which still furnishes the water supply to the village of Old Corinth, and the “agora” (forum) which was just OK.
All the invasions and earthquakes compelled the Corinthians to retreat to “Acrocorinth”. This sheer bulk of limestone was one of the finest natural fortifications in Greece. Now here is what I got so excited about… This fortress sits high (and I mean HIGH !!!) above the Ancient City and seems impossible that it could be attacked and sacked, because of the steep mountain it sits on top of. Our steepness of our ride up meant that “Bumble Bee” had to be in 2nd gear all the way. It was a thrilling ride, very narrow road, and no shoulders or guardrails. From down below it seemed like a large fortress, but when we approached the top, you couldn’t believe just how large it was…it was incredible… This was a “FORTRESS” to beat all fortresses… The strange thing about this fortress, it had been sacked so many times and rebuilt by those that did the sacking, that it reads like a “Who’s who” list…Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian and Turkish. On the higher of Acrocorinth’s two summits (and we made it all the way up there…), is the Temple of APHRODITE where the sacred courtesans, who so raised the ire of St Paul, catered to the desires (if you know what I mean…) of the insatiable Corinthians. Anyway, the fortress was an exciting place to visit, and we “hiked” our bodies into a mass of jelly that will take at least a week to get back to normal…

6 January ’05, Thursday. I must say, I could get used to having our meals outside… yesterday lunch, this mornings breakfast, and tonight I barbequed…all this and it’s January. I know, a couple of days ago it was cold, blowing and raining, but this is today. Last night I wrote about the celebration of Epiphany and a little of what the Greeks do at this celebration. Well, we hadn’t been more than 20 minutes out from checking out of our campground and we came across a small crowd of people congregating at a small marina at sea side. Guessing what was about to happen, Louise and I found a parking spot and followed the crowd. Sure as heck, just after we got there a procession of young boys, a Greek Orthodox Priest, a Navy officer, and others came down the breakwater to a stand that was already set up. There they gave a short service (in Greek). In front of the stand were 4 young men who were wearing their swimming suits. At a certain point in the sermon, the Priest throws the cross into the water in a blessing. On the 3rd throw, the 4 swimmers jump into the water to retrieve the cross. The one who gets there first is said to have good luck blessed on him. This is our first blessing of water, and I’m glad we had a chance to experience it. Our trip today was to take us from Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon to Corinth (Korinthos) in the Peloponnese. Just as we crossed into the Peloponnese, we came into Corinth and passed over the Corinth Canal. This canal was first proposed in the 7th Century BC, but instead built a paved slipway across the Isthmus of Corinth linking the Ionian and Aegean Seas. The sailors dragged small ships on rollers until the 13th century. In AD 67, Nero decided that the time had come and took a golden pick himself and made the first blow to the earth. He then left the work to 6000 Jewish prisoners to finish digging the canal. It didn’t get completed then because of wars and other problems, but then in 1883 a French engineering company completed the canal. This canal is 6 km long (3.7 miles), 23 meters wide (76 feet), and 90 meters high (298 feet). As we walked out onto the foot bridge to take pictures, we saw a sign “Bungee Jump” from the Corinth bridge into the Corinth Canal…me ?… It was dizzying enough just standing there, let alone have someone place a rubber band onto my ankle and say “jump”… Talking about a ride…today’s trip covered about 4 hours on the road. Most of the time we were on a very modern toll road. It cost us about 5 euros for the complete trip. The roads were very wide (4 lanes), perfectly smooth, fast, and very few cars and trucks. The scenery spectacular.

5 January ’05, Wednesday. In 490 BC an army of 9000 Greeks and 1000 Plataeans defeated the 25,000 strong Persian army. The Greeks were greatly indebted to the ingenious tactics of Miltiades, who altered the conventional battle formation so that there were fewer soldiers in the center, but more in the wings. This lulled the Pursians into thinking that the Greeks were going to be a pushover. As the Pursians broke through the front lines, the remaining Greeks came in from the sides and caught the Pursians in a trap, thus winning the war. 192 Greeks and over 6000 Pursians lost their lives. A runner in full armor was sent to Athens to announce the victory. After arriving and shouting “Enikesame” (We won !) he collapsed in a heap and never revived. The location that the war was fought was Marathon and the distance the runner ran was about 26 miles…thus, the marathon was born in Greece. We headed out to Marathon this morning to see the town and the dam that was built of Pentelic marble the same marble that was used to build the Parthenon. It supplies the city of Athens water. The rest of the day we continued our drive down the eastern coastline enjoying the beauty of the rolling hills to the sea. We also came across the site were the equestrian games were held at the 2004 Olympics. We have seen a lot of the sites since we arrived and this just added one more. What are they going to do with all of these arenas, swimming complexes, stadiums and on and on??? I sure hope they made a lot of money during the Olympics… Anyway, about 2 we pulled up to a beach location and had lunch. It was just one of those perfect places to have lunch…beside the sea, warm sunshine, great food, and the best of company… We finished the day with a ride to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. The ancient Greeks chose this site for it’s natural beauty and its appropriateness to the god in question…Poseidon, the god of the sea. It was built in the same year that the Parthenon was built, 444 BC. Originally there were 34 Doric style columns, but now there are only 15 left standing. The structure with it’s gleaming white columns standing in contrast to the brilliant blue of the sea and sky, and the craggy spur that plunges 65 meters down to the sea, makes this site one you wont forget. I know I haven’t. I first saw the Temple of Poseidon from the sea in 1960. I was just about to pull into Athens for a little R&R when I was on the aircraft carrier USS Independence. I was as awe struck then as I am now.
Tomorrow is Epiphany (The Blessing of the Waters). The day of Christ’s baptism by St John is celebrated throughout Greece. Seas, lakes and rivers are blessed and crosses immersed and tossed into them. The largest ceremony occurs a Piraeus. In Greece, it is a national holiday and EVERYTHING is closed on national holidays. I hope we have everything we need… If I had guts, I’d drive into Piraeus for the celebrations….I’ve got the guts ok but I’m not nuts either so I guess we’ll miss it.

9 January ’05, Sunday. For the last few days we have noticed a lot of people out in the fields, beside the roads, and even in the campgrounds picking and digging something green…like green leaves that grow very close to the ground. Well, yesterday we were in Argos looking for an internet café and we found that they were having a bazaar / market. In wondering through we came across a number of people selling these greens, so we found someone who could at least tell us how to prepare them, so we bought a bag full. It cost us a whopping euro ($1.30). This young lady that was doing the explaining of the plant and how to cook it, had the booth next door and she and her husband were selling wine. They had a rose, white, and a dark red. After sampling all three, we decided on the rose and the dark red (1.70 euro / 1½ liter ea.). This is the grape growing and winery area for Greece. We have noticed for the last 2 days quite a number of people who have set up these little stands along side the road. They had 5 liter and 1½ liter plastic containers in 3 different color liquids in them. Now we know what they were selling too.
Tonight, we cooked the Greek greens, I barbequed sausages from Crete, and a Greek bread that is so dense that you almost need two hands to hold a half slice, and Greek wine from a Greek plastic bottle. Our dinner was really wonderful, even if we found some of those green leaves growing under our van tonight. Well, last night we took time to wash a couple of loads of laundry and hang them overnight, and this morning we did our sheets. It was a wonderful day with the sun shining bright and warm. Our campground is just across the street from the Gulf of Argolikos in the Myrtoo (Mirto) Sea, so we grabbed our lawn chairs, put on our summer clothes (shorts and t-shirt) and packed a snack and spent the afternoon on the beach. Louise spent most of her time wondering the beach looking for shells and anything that is “pretty”, while I just settled back and soaked in the sun. We also have a “resident dog” that has adopted us. He is a large German Shepard with a huge bark and loves to chase sticks. The only thing is, once he gets the stick, he keeps it. He finds a place to place the stick and then digs like crazy throwing sand and beach gravel everywhere trying to cover that stick. For some reason, the stick never gets buried and he goes ballistic over it. Overall, a good dog. He will take a treat from you, but he won’t pester you for it. This campground is the best we have had for some time. It is very modern and well maintained. I would guess that the spring to fall season here is booming. There are a number of caravans here now from Germany, but I would guess that they are here year around.

2 January ’05, Sunday. We had a wonderful “New Year’s Day” and we hope that all of you did one as well. It was a quiet day over all, with the exception of a long walk from the campground. We decided not to go into town yesterday as most likely everything would probably be closed anyway. Our walk took us to an underpass of the major freeway here, and it was so quiet that we could have a soccer game on it and not been interrupted. As always you will find something open, and we found it, a wonderful chocolate shop. Yep, I know it was a “wonderful chocolate shop” because we bought ourselves a treat… tonight’s desert. The sun has decided to join us. It has pretty much shown everyday, but today it has been with us all day. Fact is, the weather man has told us we can look forward to sun and cooler days for a few more days at least…good news… Our celebration for New Years Eve was very quiet, but we at least stayed up past mid-night. Our celebration was last night…dinner of roasted turkey, yams, and all the trimmings, the sparkling, and that desert.
Today we caught the bus and tram and went to Pireas. Overall it took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there. If we were to catch a ferry to Crete, that is were we would catch it. Pireas was just one of those places that we just wanted to see. It doesn’t have anything historical to see, but we did find the largest outdoor flea market that we have been to. That took us over an hour to walk through. Floor to ceiling people…what a mad house… I loved it !!! You know you can really enjoy those flea markets even if you have no intention of buying anything.
I did have a wonderful surprise on New Years Day. My computer screen just decided to start working again…. I was just sitting down to write, with my new screen already plugged into the laptop, when I happened to notice that I had 2 screens starting up…what the heck ??? Anyway, let’s see just how long this is going to last. Another thing is, the birds are back. We have seen birds of course, but now we have the birds that want to sing. We haven’t had them for at least a couple of months. We also have a lot of flowers coming into bloom…could this be spring ??? Na, it’s only the 2nd of January. Well, tomorrow morning we pull up stakes and head out to new territory. Our first stop will be Marathon, and then down the coast and making our way into the Peloponnese for an extended period…lot’s to see…