Strolling around Nafplion Greece

 

Strolling around Nafplion Greece

Our next to last stop on this fabulous journey lands us in the seaside town of Nafplion.  It was founded in antiquity and became an important seaport in the Middle Ages.  It changed hands several times over the centuries and is now the capitol of the regional unit of Argolis and is an important tourist destination.

 As we arrived in Nafplion, our eyes were drawn up – to what is the Palamidi Fortress. It was built during the Venetian occupation in the early 19^th century and consists of eight bastions, each of which is self-contained.  Our partners in travel, Nancy and Lonnie, decided to climb the 999 steps to reach the fortress.  Jeff and I decided to opt for a much easier stroll around the town!!

As we started strolling down one sort of boulevard, we came across the First Marble Sculpting Symposium.  Here are some of the sculptures we saw, named (from the left, clockwise) Idolion, Liberty, Bouboulina and The Angel of the Virgin.  It was nice to just appreciate the art, even if we didn’t understand it!

After seeing the sculptures, we saw some cafés and charming looking hotels that also encircled a central park of sorts.  We weren’t quite hungry enough for lunch, so we didn’t stop.

In the actual park in the center of the boulevard, there was a statue, but I couldn’t find a sign to tell us this individual’s name.  However, surrounding it were rose bushes and orchid trees.

After we wandered through the park, more scenic streets opened up to us, with lots of shops on either side of the pedestrian traffic only streets.  Our lunch spot was ahead on the right in the image on the right!

We had quite the lovely lunch, with an impressive view of another part of Nafplion, a nice shade tree to keep us comfortably cool, and even a visitor more than willing to share our lunch with us!  Both lunch and the wine were tasty!

Before heading back to the ship, we decided to stroll around the pier area.  The boat is a tourist boat that would take folks to and from the Venetian castle that sat in the harbor.  It was originally called “Castello dello Soglio”.  The name that has ultimately prevailed is Bourtzi, which in Turkish means “Island – Fortress”.  Although it started its life as a castle, it was also used as a prison and the residence of the executioners of Palamidi, the fortress I mentioned initially.  Later it offered housing to the Greek government.  It was also a luxury hotel and restaurant, but today, it’s only open for tours.

Here’s another view of the harbor and sea from the shore before we headed back to the ship.  This was a lovely way to enjoy our last port of call before we disembarked.  But we have one more exploration to share!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Walking and Riding Around Corfu

 

Walking and Riding Around Corfu, Greece

Our next port of call was one of the Greek Islands, Corfu.  This was to be the only island we visited in Greece, and it was a lovely one.

Corfu forms the margin of the northwest frontier of Greece, and technically in the Ionian Islands.  Here we are entering the port area of Corfu.  It was a charming port, with all sorts of boats.  The yacht in the lower image is one that Jeff says we’ll be getting just as soon as we win the lottery!!

The first stop on our excursion around Corfu was to Kanoni, which is just south of Corfu.  It is a small peninsula, and one of the most fun things to watch are the planes landing and taking off!  The first two images, above, are of a plane approaching the landing, and the final (lowest) image is of another plane taking off right after the first plane landed.  And, below, is a close-up of the small church the planes take off and land over.  As you can see in the above image, the church is out on what is either a pier or another small peninsula. 

Our next stop was at the Museum of Paleopolis, and the building is the British Governor’s Palace (from quite some time ago).  This area dates back to the 8^th century.  This palace isn’t dated back that far, though!  We did get a chance to tour the inside of this building, which was primarily recreations of rooms as they would have been furnished when the Governor was there.  There was one room, though (see image below), that was interesting to me, because it highlighted the flora found in the immediate area, and even had some botanical stenciling on the wall.

Immediately outside the palace, just outside the entrance, there is an active archeological site.  Since this was an active site, there weren’t any informational signs around to tell you exactly what you were looking at and how long ago it was lived in.  I do believe that this ruin is the ruin of an ancient church.

Our last stop was in the current city of Corfu.  Across the street from the city, is what is referred to as The New Fort, which was built in the 1600s.  I don’t know where The Old Fort was or when it was built!

Out past The New Fort is a bay and lighthouse.  I really liked the image of the boat slowly making its way out to sea.

We did walk around the park square in Corfu.  The image on the left is of the actual square, and off to the right of that were playing fields, where it seemed children were having soccer practice.  As we walked just off the square, we saw a number of restaurants, some in between the pillars of nearby buildings!

We did have lunch just off the square, and this building with a lovely balcony garden as a view while we ate. It was a relaxing way to end our tour for today!  Next stop – think athletes!!

Enjoy!!

 

Shoreline Views

Since we were driving down along a peninsula and a couple of islands while exploring Digby Neck, and Long and Brier Islands, we got to see some wonderful shoreline views!  I’ve selected the best of the best – take a look!

Coastline at Brier Island

Looking out from Grand Passage Lighthouse

Boats in Harbor

Lone Gull

Enjoy!

Rainy Day at Sea

After we left the Bahamas, we had a couple days at sea before our next port of call.  Altho the weather was fine where our ship was, there was some rainy weather just off our starboard side.

Rainbow in the Waves

The winds were blowing at a fairly decent clip, which made the waves sort of splash up a mist.  Since it wasn’t raining where we were, I was able to capture a bit of a rainbow in the mist from the waves looking down off the ship.

Storm over Cuba

We actually sailed not terribly far off the coast of Cuba, and I found it somewhat ironic that the only place the storm cloud seemed to center was over that island nation.  You really cannot see it in this image, but it is located right where the downpour from the clouds is happening.

Edge of Cuba

In this image, you have a bit of a better glimpse of Cuba, altho it’s still mostly under the rain cloud.  In any event, I’m glad the rain fell there and not on us!

Enjoy!