|
Palamidi Fortress
Palimidi fortress, seen from every corner of the town, sits on top of the large hill overlooking Nafplio. From the top, there are great views of the sea and mountains. There are many (many!) steps up to the top of the castle - somewhere between 850 and 1000 steps - but we did not walk up! No way can we do that (though I did it when I was an energetic 22 year old!).Fortunately, we're able to drive to the top via a road that loops around the castle. Today is the Orthodox Good Friday, so hours were restricted. We, along with others, sat and waited till noon to be let in. Happily, the doors opened right on time. And what a place! Fantastic views, amazing remains of structures. Many times, we had to scramble up and amongst the rocks. This isn’t a place that is easy to explore if one has any physical disabilities, though there is a path near the entrance to enjoy the overviews. A description of the fortress (copied from the website Greeka dot com): “Palamidi Fortress in Nafplion: The fortress of Palamidi is a true architectural masterpiece. This fort was built during the Venetian occupation in the early 19th century and consists of eight bastions, each was self-contained, ensuring that if one bastion was breached the others could still be separately defended. The bastions were built one on top of the other and they all connected with one wall. The Venetians named the bastions by ancient Greek names, such as Leonidas, Miltiades, Achilles, Themistocles, to give emphasis on the strength of the castle.” Then we drove to a nearby beach though it was very windy and, since it was Good Friday, the beach restaurant was closed. We had a great time exploring and enjoying the views! |
Tour of Arvinitia
There is a wonderful coastal walk, called the Tour of Arvinitia, which is about 1 km long and goes around the end of the peninsula which Nafplio sits on. Overlooking the Argolic Bay, it starts at the end of the port and goes as far the beach by the same name. Wonderful views along the way. This is the first of 2 walks we took along this stretch. This was in the late afternoon, and the light just sparkled on the water and dappled through the trees. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c36b8f2db4.jpg Starting out https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...33bece054a.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...67db829a3f.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ae16cb2605.jpg Glorious views at every turn https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9366f580da.jpg This is Cat Heaven https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7603951d3.jpg School of Funny Walks? https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dbce68705a.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f2bce55eef.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...24a367f956.jpg |
Beautiful photos, love the archway on your walk with the beautiful blues of the sea. And the cat with neatly tucked paws.
|
Thanks for the info & tips, Progol. And the new photos and prose are inspiring. Thanks!
|
So many different shades of blue in the same photo. Breathtaking. And before that the bronze hue of the stonework of Palimidi with the backdrop of blue. I think I've gone to heaven.
|
francebuound, studenttobe, and shelemm, thank you for still following! I'm trying very hard to stay on top of this TR while life (and more trip planning!) goes on!
francebuound, Greece is Cat Heaven for sure! studenttobe, hope that the tips help at some point! shelemm, the blues were the bluesiest here! We were mesmerized on our walk and with the many views from Palamidi. I promise more soon!! |
Good Friday
It wasn’t planned, but it turned out we are in Nafplio during Holy Week for the Greek Orthodox Easter. And the most special celebration takes place on Friday evening: the Procession of the Epitaphs, the representation of Christ’s coffin. On Friday, the epitaphs in several churches are decorated with flowers, and after the evening service, the epitaphs are then paraded around the town in a procession which includes the “coffin”, the priests, the congregation, and many VIPs. The townspeople carry lit candles and follow the procession or line the streets as rhe procession passes. Each of the churches and their procession meet up in Syntagma Square, the central square. M & I waited at the Church of Ayios Georgios to begin its procession. We arrived somewhere around 7:30 or 8:00pm, waiting as the crowd gathered. By the time the service ended around 9:15pm or 9:30pm, there was a large crowd waiting for the procession to begin. Many people carry lit candles adding to the spiritual aura of the event. I watched for a while though didn’t continue on to the central square as I was told it gets very, very packed. Still, I loved watching the beginning and seeing the people turn out to honor a long tradition in the town. After the procession of the coffins, the priests and VIPs, there came a marching band playing very dramatic music. It almost felt like I was in The Godfather! |
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4045bec3a5.jpg
The crowd waiting for the procession to begin. You can see the cross has just been carried out. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4c32c2cf4f.jpg The cross is carried out and leading the procession https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...83b3b85d3e.jpg Lighting candles https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7805e4d0fe.jpg Incense bearers at the head of the procession. They stood like this for about 10 minutes while the priests were chanting. You can see the epitaph, or "coffin" between the incense bearers. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...484d10cfa9.jpg The procession is finally starting! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ea54cfcfc8.jpg And they're moving! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4423b1b058.jpg The priests https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3d5730d1a1.jpg Congregants with candles https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...30bd02eb9e.jpg The procession begins! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b2a6ce74d7.jpg Lining the street and waiting for the procession to pass https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dcc933d34d.jpg The procession moves through the street https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...776994699c.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...313692b002.jpg The epitaph, or "coffin" https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2439b3d505.jpg The priests follow the VIPs https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c3ca327883.png The procession - taken from a video https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...678328e43d.png The procession - taken from a video |
I'm tentatively planning on Greece for my 2026 trip, and this trip report has me wanting to get started with the planning now! Thanks for taking the time to write it up even though you're busy. I know you're planning a trip to Taiwan and back to Japan. Anything else in the works?
|
Originally Posted by memejs
(Post 17591016)
I'm tentatively planning on Greece for my 2026 trip, and this trip report has me wanting to get started with the planning now! Thanks for taking the time to write it up even though you're busy. I know you're planning a trip to Taiwan and back to Japan. Anything else in the works?
|
Saturday morning walk
We are moving at a verrry slow pace today…we continued the walk we started the day before. We start at the Palamidi castle, where we notice the carving of the Venetian Lion of St. Mark. We’ve seen this carving in so many places now - it really ties many of our trips together. We find the coastal walk that continues on to the Karathona beach. It’s not quite as glorious as the walk we took the day before, with the sun dappling through trees that are shading the path, but it’s still quite beautiful as we make each turn along the walk and take in the views. The cliffs above us look like something out of Edward Munch! |
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bb67ae36da.jpg
Palamidi Fortress towering over Nafplio https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2ec00921e0.jpg The Lion of St. Mark https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ee5b6d65be.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...07914f0f6a.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4d9d9840f6.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f3eb8c1b15.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...389ff54a3a.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7b2151b3c9.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7a038b11a3.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...accc863fcd.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...efab0b7cce.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...921620bfb5.jpg M's gorgeous photo of the Two Blues https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...175db6b749.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a6551c7669.jpg The cliff wall - doesn't it look like something out of Edward Munch?!! |
Wow! Lucky you for being in Nafplio during Greek Orthodox Easter! The photos are fascinating! I love it when something unexpected like that happens. And it doesn't seem crazy crowded like I assume Seville would be, for example.
And I love your two walks. They are so beautiful and interesting. I have an embarrassing confession to make. We wanted to do the Arvanita walk. So, after having a light lunch by the harbor, we started walking in that direction. At a distance, we could see a gate across the pathway. Without actually going up to the gate, we stupidly assumed the gate was locked and the pathway was off limits. So we didn't go any further! Afterwards I was kicking myself for not forging ahead, which is what we would normally do. Don't know what we were thinking that day. |
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17591063)
Wow! Lucky you for being in Nafplio during Greek Orthodox Easter! The photos are fascinating! I love it when something unexpected like that happens. And it doesn't seem crazy crowded like I assume Seville would be, for example.
And I love your two walks. They are so beautiful and interesting. I have an embarrassing confession to make. We wanted to do the Arvanita walk. So, after having a light lunch by the harbor, we started walking in that direction. At a distance, we could see a gate across the pathway. Without actually going up to the gate, we stupidly assumed the gate was locked and the pathway was off limits. So we didn't go any further! Afterwards I was kicking myself for not forging ahead, which is what we would normally do. Don't know what we were thinking that day. I was going to post this later but I figured it was appropriate now! https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...42a894428.jpeg |
I'm still reading and loving the photos. So many shades of blue, I love it.
I doubt my M would do what your M did...how to trick him? That walk looks lovely. |
OMG! That is so funny! That is exactly the gate I am talking about.:) In our case, there was no one else walking on the path that day (at least not within our eyesight) so needless to say, there wasn't anyone climbing around the gate. If we saw people doing that, we would have done it too.
|
Originally Posted by xyz99
(Post 17591133)
I'm still reading and loving the photos. So many shades of blue, I love it.
I doubt my M would do what your M did...how to trick him? That walk looks lovely. |
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17591134)
OMG! That is so funny! That is exactly the gate I am talking about.:) In our case, there was no one else walking on the path that day (at least not within our eyesight) so needless to say, there wasn't anyone climbing around the gate. If we saw people doing that, we would have done it too.
|
Originally Posted by progol
(Post 17591142)
It was pretty funny watching the couple carry the stroller around the end! That’s when I knew it was safe!😉
|
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:53 PM. |