We didn’t have much time left to explore beautiful Nafplio so we were up early to try to catch the sunrise and see more of the city.
We definitely wanted to climb the steps to the Palamidi Castle. The Palamidi fortress and castle sit atop a 216m-high hill (over 700 feet) right outside the city of Nafplio. You can see the fortress from everywhere you look within the city. It is so impressive. It was constructed during the Venetian occupation in 1714 and took only three years to build. It has eight bastions to ensure that if one was breached the others could still be defended. They are on top of each other.
Going to this castle was a must-do, partly for the views of Nafplio and the rest of the Argolic Gulf.
On the way we just wanted to see what else we saw on the way there. We tried unsuccessfully to get to the only beach right in Nafplio because the walking path was closed due to the danger of falling rocks. And John wouldn’t let us pass because he didn’t want to “bail you out of a Greek jail”.
The next attraction we came upon was the Akronauplía Castle. So many castles; so little time, am I right?! This is the oldest of the three castles in Nafplio (the third is Bourtzi). The lower section of the walls date back to the Bronze Age (3300 BC – 1200 BC) and until the arrival of the Venetians the whole town lived here.
It was so early that we had the whole area to ourselves and it was a cool, crisp, beautiful morning to see the views around the city. We joked around as I rang a (very) loud bell on the clock and did a “morning dance” on an high ancient rock wall jutting out over the sea.
We made our way back down the hill to get to the steps of Palamidi. Per my research there are 999 steps to reach the castle. Up we went. And the higher we went the better the views got. Again we had the area pretty much to ourselves. This really isn’t too tough of a walk. The steps are a normal height and it look us around 15 minutes to get up even with a couple of breaks. And the view from the top – and even on the way to the top – is totally worth it. See below!
We had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel (because it was free 😆). This was the first breakfast we’d had in Greece. Oh – besides bougatsa. And we enjoyed every moment of it and got to try a few new foods – cheeses and fruits and breads and meat. It was an indulgent way to end our time in Napflio.
The rest of the day was truly special in a way that I won’t be able to adequately express in words. But of course I’ll try.
John has family in Athens and he’d worked to get in touch with “aunt” Mary. We were scheduled to take a taxi to her house from the bus station and spend the day with her – eventually meeting some other family members for dinner.
Mary lives near the Kolonaki area of Athens and has been there for 36 years. She lives in a truly amazing apartment filled with family heirlooms and photos in a busy and walkable area of Athens. She welcomed us with open arms! John hadn’t visited her since he came to Athens on a AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) trip when he was 16! That was over 40 years ago! So it was a long time coming.
We were lucky in that her daughter Constance was at the apartment with her daughter Alexia. Connie had just arrived from Vienna and was picking up her daughter from Mary’s house. When John was here last Connie was just a baby. She and her daughter are lovely! It was great to sit at Mary’s kitchen table, have a cheese sandwich and talk about life with Mary and Connie – everything from where they’ve lived and traveled to family memories to politics to racism – including how much John looks like his dad! This is a family that is so close and loves and respects each other so much – it was special to be part of it.
We got in the car to go to Mary’s athletic club called Vouliagmeni – a private club in the seaside resort of Vouliagmeni where she goes to swim and socialize. We were to meet other members of John’s family and, unfortunately, I won’t get the relationships correct – but they are all cousins – I do know that! We met Thanassis and his wife Marykeri, Dimitris and his wife Emelia and their son Marcos. We sat at a lovely table overlooking the sea and sharing more stories of the Cacheris family. One story that we need to make sure we share with John’s dad is the time he traveled to Athens when he was a young man in the military. Apparently rock and roll was just getting big at that time and he tried teaching the cousins the rock and roll dancing!
I have felt such feelings of pride and gratitude during these days in Greece! What a way to culminate them!