Changing On The Fly!
It was a day of changing plans to adjust for the changing weather that’s coming our way in the next few days. It’s nice to have the flexibility to alter plans. We’ve not booked all of our accommodations, and even though we’d already booked for tonight in Leonidio we changed it up for a small € penalty. The thing is that on Tuesday it looks like rain will be arriving and it would be a shame to be stuck inside on the one day we planned for Nafplion. This ment a longer drive today for at least one sunny day in Nafplion. Having been here with my daughter Erin in 2003, I already knew what a Jen this place is, and I wanted Annemarie to experience it as well. So here we are!
Dinner last night was the best one yet.
We climbed high up into the mountains on our way to Leonidio. Much higher than I expected and on extremely windy roads. We passed through villages parts of which looked as though they had been there for centuries. The wind was blowing hard up high as well. Obviously a precursor to the coming weather change.
We eventually descended into the head of a long, steep-walled gorge that would take us all the way to Leonidio.
Some of the scenery!
I had read about a couple of monasteries that could be visited while passing down the gorge. The first one was Monestary Elonis. Before entering we had to work our way past a honey merchant.😅. I failed miserably and now am proud owner of a small jar of orange flower honey! There were lots of honey testing during the process!😋
The operating monastery was open and they were celebrating the christening of several kids. Every one was pretty dressed up too!
And then it was time to continue on down the gorge.
We eventually rolled into Leonidio at around noon and stopped for a little lunch at a coffee shop. We decided that the second monastery was too far off the beaten track to risk our rental car on. So we decided to continue north.
Another winding coastal road! We stopped infrequently to take in the views along the coast. What we saw was pretty beautiful
As we wound our way north, we made the decision to visit the ancient Greek and Roman site of Epidaurus to see the spectacular amphitheatre located there. We reasoned that we would have time given we did not visit the second monastery. So we drove on well beyond our destination of Nafplion.
The amphitheatre is spectacular, and I understand that it was able to seat up to 15,000 people. That seems like a lot until you realize that the amphitheatre at Ephesus in Turkey seats over 25,000 people! Nonetheless, it’s a site to behold.
We previously wandered the remaining site before driving back to Napflion.
Annemarie was able to arrange an extra night at the apartment we had booked for Monday night, and we met our host at the door to our apartment. It’s really quite a nice little apartment. We should be quite comfortable here for the next three nights. Much more comfortable than we’ve been the last two nights!
After a long day of driving and sightseeing, we weren’t really in the mood for a formal restaurant tonight.
We found a highly rated greasy spoon sort of place, where we managed to get a plate of food that was more than adequate to split. Even though we were splitting the meal, there was still more than we could handle! I think that the day of the lemon-roasted Greek potato is sadly gone. Everything is just French fries. Damn those Northern Europeans and Brits!😂
I could write more, but I’m too tired after a long day. I’ll say good night and perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow! Looking forward to a couple of quieter days here!
Geoff🍻
Happy Thanksgiving!🦃🍗🍷
