Monday, May 11, 2009



May 2

Today we are at Navplion, Greece. Tony has a cold/laryngitis and needed to take it easy so I was on my own in this small Grecian town. Some lifeboats were put down into the water and used as water taxis to take us to the shore as our ship is anchored out in the bay. I was surprised because I didn’t know the lifeboats were used in this way. I felt a little nervous being by myself for the day but I thought I should take advantage of the opportunity to see this town. Again the weather was perfect; sunny and just a little chill on the water but perfect temperature in the town. Navplion has a very high hill with a fortress on top; 1000 steep steps lead to the top of the hill, so of course the first thing I did was to climb the hill! The view from the top was outstanding! Next I hiked to a fortress located nearer the water. These ancient towns all had fortresses and protection usually in the form of high walls in case enemies were on the way. How lacking in protective powers a 15 foot wall is today! Next I walked all around the town, finding a very large farmer’s market active, being that it’s Saturday morning. All the fruits and vegetables looked so fresh. I especially noticed the artichokes which are so available here. Even though Navplion is a small town, the traffic was pretty congested through the winding and narrow streets. You have to about step into traffic in order to cross the street. One more thing I did which I always enjoy in a foreign country was to visit the “supermarket”. This is my second supermarket for this trip, having gone to one in Italy already. Supermarkets show what average people are buying and for every place it is a little different.
Almost every evening there is entertainment with professional level singers, dancers, and others. Last night was a dancing show; probably 10 young men and ladies provide a Las Vegas style show for maybe 45 minutes, twice in the evening, in a large theater area.

I sound pretty out of breath in the video because I had just climbed the mountain!

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