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The heat, the heat!
Jun. 16th, 2003 09:10 pmI seem to have been a bit... lax in my writing. My bad, I was too tired to wait around for a computer to free up the other night. So a belated Happy Father's Day to my most excellent sire, I hope you will continue to enjoy my travel updates until I get back. ^_~
So, we left Mykonos and A-L had a little adventure on the metro. We took the metro from Piraeus (the port) to Athens proper and when we got to our stop, A-L wasn't quick enough getting off. I turned around as the train was pulling away and I saw poor A-L waving forlornly at us. Luckily, she has a head on her shoulders and took the next train back to meet up with us. Whew!
(Aside: the menus here are sometimes almost as funny as they were in Vietnam. Let me think, do I want the meet balls or the lamp chops? *cracks up*)
We saw her off in the evening and us remaining ones went back to our hotel. We had beds in a windowless 10-bed dorm in the basement, sharing with people who were leaving at 4:30 in the morning. I slept fine but I can't say the same for M-P, who spent some time listening to the girl in the bed beneath hers repel the amorous advances of one of our fellow roomies.
The next morning we left for Nafplio which I think was the best town we've been in so far. It's not crowded with tourists (most of them seem to be Greek, actually), the buildings are gorgeous, it's got a wonderful beach and our 9$ per person per night hotel had a killer view over the city. There are 3 forts, one high on the mountain overlooking the town, one a 5-minute walk uphill from our hotel and one on a rock in the bay, accessible by little put-put boat.
Since we arrived in the afternoon, we didn't do much except relax at the beach. G and I did, that is; M-P went off to explore at least one of the forts. Have I mentioned she's obsessed with old stones? Well, she is. More than I am, it seems. Anyway, the beach had perfect water, clear turquoise that let you see all the way to the bottom even out in the bay and the perfect temperature for a cruelly hot day. After that we went out for supper and for a walk around the old Venetian part of town which is much better than the real Venice, in my opinion.
Yesterday we did the seemingly impossible: we visited Mycenae *AND* Epidauros in one day! We rock. The heat was punishing (instead of just cruel), but we did it!
Of everything I've seen so far, Mycenae impressed me the most. It's high on a hill with incredible vistas but the size of it alone is awe-inspiring. You enter through the famous Gate of the Lions (yes, I had G take a picture of me standing beneath them), already surrounded by colossal stones and you climb up, passed the graves and the houses and the workshops, up to the palace of the king. Only a few walls remain and you can tell where the columns once stood. Keep climbing over the highest point and go down on the other side, where more former buildings carpet the ground and turn left at the bottom of the stairs. There's an entrance there, leading to a secret cistern. Climb down, carefully, because the stone is worn. You need a flashlight; even a little two AA one like mine, will do. The stairs turn left, go down about twenty more stairs then turn right and follow the stairs down to the bottom. There's a draft of cool air and the walls are moist.
Really, there's nothing to see at the bottom, but it's still very cool. I had planned ahead, and so had my flashlight, and led not one but two groups of tourists down! *bows*
After that we had to go back to Nafplio to catch the bus to Epidauros, which is in the opposite direction. Epidauros was quite a nice shock after Mycenae. Mycenae is on a hill, dry and barren; Epidauros is fragrant and green with pine trees and, most importantly, shady. We didn't stay very long because of the bus schedules, but we poked around the ruined temple for a few minutes and had time to explore the theatre, which is really what the site is all about.
I'll bet the Corel Centre has nothing on this place. The acoustics are incredible: I was sitting in the top row and could hear M-P and G speaking to each other in normal voices down on the skene. M-P also gave us a stirring rendition of O, Canada from the ancient altar.
We hit the beach again after our grueling hunt for history only we had a few problems this time and were obliged to move our things when the waves suddenly picked up, for no apparent reason. Seriously, there was no wind, no boats were going by, nothing. What gives?!
This morning we left bright and early for Sparta, that ancient power. But wait, what's this? No direct bus and Tripoli has *two* bus stations? Have no fear, no unpracticality will get in MY way! We made Sparta before noon, to everyone's surprise (mine own included). I still don't get what everyone's beef is with Greece's bus system. I suspect the problem is that not all bus stations have signs in English. Well, after two weeks I can read Greek well enough to pick out names of town or regions pretty fast, so it's not too much trouble.
We got here early so we decided to hit Mystras this afternoon. After finding out there were no buses before 4, we hired a cab to take us to Nea Mystras, the village at the foot of the mountain. Then we climbed. And we climbed. When we'd come all the way back down, I couldn't believe we actually reached the highest point of the fortress.
Mystras is a (now crumbling) Byzantine city with churches, houses, a palace, a fortress and the most stunning view I've ever seen. Lakonia is a beautiful place, I can't quite understand how the Spartans managed to be so fixated on war; Athens, bone-dry and dusty, seems to have inspired much, but this place, rolling hills of orchards, olive and cyprus, encircled by mountains... Didn't they ever stop and smell the wildflowers? I had to stop myself, otherwise I would have taken only pictures of the countryside.
We saw many frescoes in the abandoned churches, their colours still vibrant. In some of them, the faces or at least the eyes of the figures have been scratched out but the rest left intact, save for the damaged wrought by time. A result of Ottoman rule?
There is still one building that's still inhabited, a monastery that now functions as a convent. I bought some embroidery from a smiling old nun, though she didn't want to be photographed. On the walk outside the convent, there were cats lying here and there on the paving stones like old socks, trying to escape the heat. We, on the other hand, kept climbing! We saw a similar display further up, only this time grasshoppers were all over the place. Cute ones, too! Fat and juicy, with longer legs and prettier colours than our grasshoppers back home.
Now we're back in Sparta, and I think I've written quite enough for one day. Kali nihta!
So, we left Mykonos and A-L had a little adventure on the metro. We took the metro from Piraeus (the port) to Athens proper and when we got to our stop, A-L wasn't quick enough getting off. I turned around as the train was pulling away and I saw poor A-L waving forlornly at us. Luckily, she has a head on her shoulders and took the next train back to meet up with us. Whew!
(Aside: the menus here are sometimes almost as funny as they were in Vietnam. Let me think, do I want the meet balls or the lamp chops? *cracks up*)
We saw her off in the evening and us remaining ones went back to our hotel. We had beds in a windowless 10-bed dorm in the basement, sharing with people who were leaving at 4:30 in the morning. I slept fine but I can't say the same for M-P, who spent some time listening to the girl in the bed beneath hers repel the amorous advances of one of our fellow roomies.
The next morning we left for Nafplio which I think was the best town we've been in so far. It's not crowded with tourists (most of them seem to be Greek, actually), the buildings are gorgeous, it's got a wonderful beach and our 9$ per person per night hotel had a killer view over the city. There are 3 forts, one high on the mountain overlooking the town, one a 5-minute walk uphill from our hotel and one on a rock in the bay, accessible by little put-put boat.
Since we arrived in the afternoon, we didn't do much except relax at the beach. G and I did, that is; M-P went off to explore at least one of the forts. Have I mentioned she's obsessed with old stones? Well, she is. More than I am, it seems. Anyway, the beach had perfect water, clear turquoise that let you see all the way to the bottom even out in the bay and the perfect temperature for a cruelly hot day. After that we went out for supper and for a walk around the old Venetian part of town which is much better than the real Venice, in my opinion.
Yesterday we did the seemingly impossible: we visited Mycenae *AND* Epidauros in one day! We rock. The heat was punishing (instead of just cruel), but we did it!
Of everything I've seen so far, Mycenae impressed me the most. It's high on a hill with incredible vistas but the size of it alone is awe-inspiring. You enter through the famous Gate of the Lions (yes, I had G take a picture of me standing beneath them), already surrounded by colossal stones and you climb up, passed the graves and the houses and the workshops, up to the palace of the king. Only a few walls remain and you can tell where the columns once stood. Keep climbing over the highest point and go down on the other side, where more former buildings carpet the ground and turn left at the bottom of the stairs. There's an entrance there, leading to a secret cistern. Climb down, carefully, because the stone is worn. You need a flashlight; even a little two AA one like mine, will do. The stairs turn left, go down about twenty more stairs then turn right and follow the stairs down to the bottom. There's a draft of cool air and the walls are moist.
Really, there's nothing to see at the bottom, but it's still very cool. I had planned ahead, and so had my flashlight, and led not one but two groups of tourists down! *bows*
After that we had to go back to Nafplio to catch the bus to Epidauros, which is in the opposite direction. Epidauros was quite a nice shock after Mycenae. Mycenae is on a hill, dry and barren; Epidauros is fragrant and green with pine trees and, most importantly, shady. We didn't stay very long because of the bus schedules, but we poked around the ruined temple for a few minutes and had time to explore the theatre, which is really what the site is all about.
I'll bet the Corel Centre has nothing on this place. The acoustics are incredible: I was sitting in the top row and could hear M-P and G speaking to each other in normal voices down on the skene. M-P also gave us a stirring rendition of O, Canada from the ancient altar.
We hit the beach again after our grueling hunt for history only we had a few problems this time and were obliged to move our things when the waves suddenly picked up, for no apparent reason. Seriously, there was no wind, no boats were going by, nothing. What gives?!
This morning we left bright and early for Sparta, that ancient power. But wait, what's this? No direct bus and Tripoli has *two* bus stations? Have no fear, no unpracticality will get in MY way! We made Sparta before noon, to everyone's surprise (mine own included). I still don't get what everyone's beef is with Greece's bus system. I suspect the problem is that not all bus stations have signs in English. Well, after two weeks I can read Greek well enough to pick out names of town or regions pretty fast, so it's not too much trouble.
We got here early so we decided to hit Mystras this afternoon. After finding out there were no buses before 4, we hired a cab to take us to Nea Mystras, the village at the foot of the mountain. Then we climbed. And we climbed. When we'd come all the way back down, I couldn't believe we actually reached the highest point of the fortress.
Mystras is a (now crumbling) Byzantine city with churches, houses, a palace, a fortress and the most stunning view I've ever seen. Lakonia is a beautiful place, I can't quite understand how the Spartans managed to be so fixated on war; Athens, bone-dry and dusty, seems to have inspired much, but this place, rolling hills of orchards, olive and cyprus, encircled by mountains... Didn't they ever stop and smell the wildflowers? I had to stop myself, otherwise I would have taken only pictures of the countryside.
We saw many frescoes in the abandoned churches, their colours still vibrant. In some of them, the faces or at least the eyes of the figures have been scratched out but the rest left intact, save for the damaged wrought by time. A result of Ottoman rule?
There is still one building that's still inhabited, a monastery that now functions as a convent. I bought some embroidery from a smiling old nun, though she didn't want to be photographed. On the walk outside the convent, there were cats lying here and there on the paving stones like old socks, trying to escape the heat. We, on the other hand, kept climbing! We saw a similar display further up, only this time grasshoppers were all over the place. Cute ones, too! Fat and juicy, with longer legs and prettier colours than our grasshoppers back home.
Now we're back in Sparta, and I think I've written quite enough for one day. Kali nihta!
