May 2 Epidaurus/Mycenae/Napflion

Wednesday, May 2

Today we will visit two sites that are an hour or so from the hotel and return here again tonight.

The first is Epidaurus.  This was kind of a wellness area,  which concentrated on the connection between mind and body. It was a place of healing and they often brought families here because they recognized their importance in mental and physical health.  There was at least one doctor here who even did brain surgery! With no anesthesia of course - LOTS of wine I hope.  This was 2400 years ago!  The site was dedicated to Apollo, who was the god of medicine.

Theatre was a wonderful part of the healing process as well as preventive medicine, and the theatre built here is a work of art with amazing acoustics.  Built of limestone rather than marble, in 400BC and used for 800 years before it was covered by an earthquake, they began to excavate it again in 1881.

 Several people tried the acoustics by reciting something and indeed, the sound seemed to carry to every seat.  We clambered about and then visited the small museum.

 Here are some of the surgical tools they used back then! And the statue was of a prominent doctor.

Maria Callas  (sp?) sang here, but archeologists determined that music may be harmful to the stone, and musical performances are now forbidden.  There are theatrical performances of the ancient Greek tragedies and comedies in July and August, which would be amazing to see.

Lots of cars and traffic here.  Emmie mentioned that those who can afford it convert their cars to run on natural gas.  The conversion costs about 1000 euros, but the fuel is 1/2 the price of gasoline, which we figured runs about $8.85 a gallon.

Next we head towards Mycenae, home of Agamemnon, hero of the Trojan War,  and the Lion's Gate.  On  the way, we pass acres of orchards.

 Oranges, lemons, apricots and peaches.  Emmie calls for an impromptu "orange break" and buys enough at a roadside stand so that we all can taste them.  They are thick-skinned, delicious and very juicy!   Fortunately she also had a roll of paper towels.

This cemetery is next to where we pulled over for oranges, in case you are interested. Most are small and associated with a church. They post framed photographs of the deceased and some have oil lamps.

We stop at a pottery shop and watched a potter for a bit.  They had lovely pieces from hand made and painted to less expensive molded things, still quite lovely. But oh so breakable in luggage.

We followed Rick Steve's advice about packing light, each bringing only a carry-on size suitcase and a carry-on bag/backpack.  So not much room for shopping.  Oh, I did manage to squeeze in a few items.  We have done a bit of laundry in hotel rooms here and there.  It is nice not having heavy bags to tote around.

On to Mycenae!  Mycenaean culture is from the 1,000BC era and most of the city is still buried. It was home to about 10,000 people and only 10-12 houses have been excavated, as well as some tombs. (Mostly an issue of $$.)  It was a walled city and entry was through The Lion's Gate, the oldest monumental relief in Europe, dated to 1240BC and weighing 1-2 tons minimum.  Hard to see, but there are lions on the triangle shape.

Our guide here is Theo, who uses quite a few photographs in his explanation. He is perhaps the least engaged and engaging of the guides.  Many artifacts, including golden masks, were found in several tombs here.  Theo is showing us the one that they call the Mask of Agamemnon, though in fact they don't know which if any really is his.

No museum at this site, so most of the original artifacts are in the main archeological museum in Athens. Down the road a ways, we stopped to see a beehive tomb - this is the entrance.  It is tall and beehive shaped inside.

We stop for lunch at a nice restaurant outside of town called KOLIZERAS.  Only one bus there when we arrive, but 8 buses when we leave.  The cruise ships are in town, was Emmie's explanation.  We tried Pastitsio, which is a pasta of long tubes, with some beef (like pot roast) and cheese. They do love their cheese, made from milk from cows, goats and sheep.

 All the flavorings are subtle, with oregano, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf the primary spices.  Nutmeg and cinnamon are popular too, mostly in desserts.  Greg thinks it needs some hot sauce!

Since Old Town Napflia was so crowded this morning, Emmie offers a bus ride to anyone interested in returning there this evening.  So after relaxing and showering, everyone heads back to Old Town.   Much more pleasant, as it is cooler and not very busy.

 We explored a bit with Doug and Diane and decided to stop for a leisurely dinner at The Old Mansion Taverna.

 The waiter and owner were very pleasant and setting was perfect! He said they have been there for 30 years. There was a canopy of bougainvillea above us.

  We started with a fried cheese appetizer, (saganaki) then each tried different things so that we could share.

Doug was adventurous and went with the octopus in wine sauce which was very good - tender, not chewy!  We also had lamb and veal dishes, with the ever-present potatoes. Nice wine too.


No, I didn't also have dessert -  this was my lunch the day before - gelato, yum.

 A resident observing....
Many houses have balconies and many windows are shuttered. Lots of wrought iron on some streets.

The town began lighting up as we left.  This is the old fortress which overlooks the town and harbor.

We went back to the hotel and met on the patio to enjoy the moonlight and our bottle of wine from the winery.  The bartender graciously opens it for us and pours four glasses - apparently if he pours it it is ok to carry out, otherwise technically we could drink only in our rooms since we didn't purchase it from him.   Doug and Diane are younger, but we felt we had a lot in common.  We talked about family and other things...nice relaxed evening.