A Small Boat Ride in Nafplio

Nafplio - Sea view

I have been to Nafplio, an old city of Greece few months back. It was a wonderful experience and I posted some pictures of the place in this post. That time I was not well connected to blogosphere, so many of you may not have seen my previous post on Nafplio.

The view of the Harbour

I enjoyed the place. Nafplio is very different. It was the first Capital of Modern Greece. I was captivated by the nice old architectures of houses, Castle up above the mountain and hypnotizing sea landscape. Thus I thought to share some of the pictures I had taken in a small boat trip to Bourtzi (The castle of Bourtzi is located in the middle of the harbour of Nafplio) .

On the way to Castle

The boat ride was quite adventurous. It was a small private boat, something like the boats in Indian rivers but machine driven (otherwise it would have sunk in the sea). The waves in the sea made it more interesting. The boat was swaying in the sea dangerously, as if it can topple anytime. My friend was scared and tightly held my hands. We were wet. But I was enjoying it thinking its just a ride and if anything happens I had nothing to do. Both of us do not know swimming. Thanks to the boatmen(see images) we finished our journey to Bourtzi Castle safely.

Bourtzi Castle

(Click on the pics for bigger view)

Ancient Corinth

Acrocorinth (Gr. Ακροκόρινθος), the acropolis of Corinth, is a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth, Greece. It was continuously occupied from archaic times to the early nineteenth century.

The city Corinth was founded in the Neolithic Age, circa 6000 BC. According to myth, the city was founded by Corinthos, a descendant of the god Helios (the Sun), while other myths suggest that it was founded by the goddess Ephyra, a daughter of the titan Oceanus, thus the ancient name of the city (also Ephyra). There is evidence that the city was destroyed around 2000 BC.We have been to Corinth on 29th April, Sunday. One and half hour drive from Athens on E94 highway next to the sea. The coastal areas are really beautiful and anyone can enjoy the drive. In the Driveway the landscape was fascinating as usual. The tough part is on the way to castle, it is stiff and exiting. The view from the castle is really beautiful. Once we reached the castle, we found it as it is somewhere in Middle-east, hot humid and full of ancient stones. The city is very ancient and the acropological ruins have been found in many place, like the ancient theater in the above picture। Natural beauty of Corinth is enchanting and majestic.

Three circuit walls formed the man-made defense of the hill. The highest peak on the site was home to a temple to Aphrodite which was Christianized as a church, and then became a mosque. The American School began excavations on it in 1929. Currently, Acrocorinth is one of the most important medieval castle sites of Greece.

I will rate this place very high in terms of archeology and ancient come natural beauties. If one is planning to visit Greece, this is a must seen place with a combined package of Sea, Canal, Hills, Castle, Museum and Acropolis.

Nafplio - The first Capital of Modern Greece

Nafplion (Ναύπλιο) is a town on the Peloponnese in Greece. The town was the capital of Greece from 1829 to 1834. Nafplion is situated on the Argolic Gulf in the northeast Peloponnese. During the Greek War of Independence, Nafplion was a major Ottoman (Turkish) stronghold.

Bourtzi Castle, Nafplion : The castle of Bourtzi is located in the middle of the harbour of Nafplio. The Venetians completed its fortification in 1473 to protect the city from pirates and invaders from the sea. The Greeks regained it from the Turks on June 18, 1822, from where they assisted in the siege of Nafplio. Until 1865 it served as a fortress. It was then transformed into residence of the executioners of convicts from the castle Palamidi. From 1930 to 1970 served as a hotel. Since then it is mainly a tourist attraction hosting occasionally parts of the Summer Music Festival.

Different views of the port and harbour


The Boat ride in sea to the Castle : Its not a big one, rather somehow comparable with Indian boats, used in rivers. The boat was weaving in the sea dangerously, as if it can toggle anytime. So we were bit afraid and hold our hands tightly. It seems to be a real life ride for us.

Below is the colourful city with nice restaurants in sea-side. At the end of the day we took our dinner here, with Pizza and Coffey. Some heating lamps was neutralising the chill effect of sea-winds. I must say this is really a nice experience to visit Nafplio.

The Palamidi Fortress, which sits above and dominates the city, is actually three separate fortresses walled together. It was built by the Venetian in 1714 and then taken by the Turks the following year and held until they surrendered it to Kolokotronis after a 15 month siege during the War of Independence.

The driveway is excellent as usual. One fascinating thing in Greece is the diversity of natural beauties in the highways, which always captivates me. The blue sky, deep blue sea, pyramid like mountains, subways, corn fields are really wonderful. I never get bored even after driving for more than 300km per day. While coming back I touched 170kmh in Getz. These drives are life time experience for me as I have started driving in highway so frequently after coming here.