Monemvasia to Nafplio

Oh, what an interesting 48 hours it has been for me. And if it’s been ”interesting” for me, you can bet that it’s been trying for Tom. We travel well together, we really do, and we’ve done so for many years, but Tom has stayed committed to fitness, etc., and I’ve had challenges there. So yesterday hiking down a steep slope at Mystras IN A THUNDERSTORM where every third step threatened to send you tumbling down the mountain made me a little testy. Tom often expects me to work beyond my comfort zone on these adventures, and I do try. Yesterday, with no umbrella because of the heavy lightning, soaked to the bone in jeans and a cotton sweater, I reminded him that if I died on this damn mountain, I would haunt him forever as payback.

Before we left Monemvasia for that ill-fated descent, though, we had one of the best meals of this trip at the restaurant Voltes. I even took notes as I intend to recreate parts of it this summer. I will skip the eel. We didn’t even take photos. We just ate wonderfully well.

So off we drove to Sparta. Mystras is near there. I put on a second layer because it was chilly. We started at the top to walk down. I took the photo above at the second church. It’s really something special to see frescos from the 13th century. Then it started to rain. And then it started to storm and then it was obvious that it was going to take a lot more effort than I’d intended to make it the 1,000ish feet down the very, very steep hill to a parking lot. We called a taxi at the bottom to take us back to the top. (7 Euro, but we gave him 10.) We were drenched. However, we had everything we’d brought to Greece in the car, so a few miles (excuse me, kilometers) later, we stopped at a highway rest stop and changed clothes.

(I’ll put in links after we return. Also, never listen to my husband when it comes to something being ”easy.”)

We found our apartment in Nafplio after driving the wrong way down a one-way street, just as Google maps had instructed us to do. We met the owner, who gave us the keys. We did a load of wet laundry. (No dryer again; laundry was everywhere by evening to dry.) The key stuck in the door as we were trying to leave for dinner.

There are a few levels to finding lodging. This one is a Booking.com reservation. Generally the multi-room setups from Booking.com are great. This was more like an AirBnB setup, though, and either because this owner isn’t great at communicating, or as she explained the storms were a problem with cellular service, we were in limbo for half an hour or so waiting for help. That wouldn’t be a problem with a hotel. When you travel, you always have to balance what you want (a washer) against what level of inconvenience you are willing to endure. We made it to dinner about an hour delayed. For me, the soreness was starting to set in. I wanted food, ibuprofen, and pajamas as soon as possible. Dinner wasn’t great, but they did comp our second 500ml of house red wine (I was looking rough by then, my friends) and the rain had finally stopped, so hope was in the air as we walked back to the apartment.

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ding ding ding
ding ding ding
ding ding ding ding ding ding ding

The town bell woke us up at 7:30am when it started dinging. It took a few minutes to figure out that it was 7:30am, but you know that weird thing your brain does when it can remember the bongs on the clock? That’s how the day began. I can’t recall being anywhere that told the time in that order, though. I guess it’s Nafplio’s alarm clock.

I was sore, but had slept well. I climbed down the stairs for more ibuprofen. Tom made an attempt at coffee, but the vanilla-flavored grounds that had been left behind did not impress, so he made a trip to the grocery store. A similar outing the night before based on proximity had less selection and more interesting maganizines. So much for that mini mart. Groceries secured, a last load of laundry in the washer, we made plans for the day.

Mycenae is 20 minutes from here, but I didn’t know if I was up to it. It was probably the oldest and most important place on the map for me, so we packed up, vacated a really good parking place (on the proper side of the road) and headed out. Good call. The museum, which is kind of my favorite part anyway, was lower and accessible. And while Tom walked to the top, I stared at the enormous rocks that make up the base of the complex. (I have ideas. They sound crazy. No aliens, I promise. I’m going to work on these ideas and might share them someday.)

We left Mycenae to find lunch. We planted ourselves at a restaurant that was overwhelmed, so we walked across the street to one that was a little more quiet. Lunch was fine at 18E for two. Our entertainment was watching a woman at the restaurant a few feet down the street trying to bring customers into her place.

Tom insisted we go to a winery he’d been researching for a wine tour.

I was so skeptical. I’m still so sore. And we’ve had some real stinker ”drop in” wine tours in our past travels. However, we lucked out at Koroniotis. He was a little unsure of us at first, too, and we were the only visitors, but an hour and a half later Tom and I left with a sense of genuine mutual appreciation with the owner. This is a brief note that humans are awesome if we give ourselves time. And, I’ll be writing a separate post about this visit. I need to document it, and you need to hear it.

Back to the apartment. Tom took a hike up to the hill town here, I caught up with the world. We’re waiting to see if we are really mask-free going home. (I am almost 60. Maskne and wrinkles are not a good look. My face is soooo broken out!) We’re contemplating dinner in an hour or so. And I’m really glad to be caught up with you.