Corinth Canal Greece

Travelled:268km tolls €6

Stay: Lagkadia-roadside area N37.6872 E22.0048

Visited: Corinth Canal, Nafplio Greece

A quick coffee and we were off by 7am out of Piraeus. 

Evidence of the fires that were here in July

 

The traffic flowed well as we passed the port area and then onto minor roads, hugging the coast line all the way to the Corinth Canal.  It was eventually completed in 1893 but has never been an economical success. It is 6.4km long and connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean Sea and has no locks. It was supposed to save ships from having to navigate around the Peloponnese coast, however due to its narrowness of 21m, it is impassable for modern ships. Other navigational issues was the wind caused by the high cliffs and the strong currents due to the differing tides in the bays. There were also periodic closures beacause of landslides of the unstable cliff walls. It suffered badly during the World Wars and since 1948 has mainly been a tourist attraction.

The Aegean Sea end of the Corinth Canal. On the far right was a submersible bridge .

View of canal looking towards the Corinth Bay

View of canal looking towards Aegean Sea.

That’s the bridge we were standing on.

This was a different option to love locks! Not very attractive.

We continued on to Nafplio a pretty and touristy seaport town. 

Along the way we spotted a hill top fort.

Plenty of olive trees...

And people working in an archeological site.

We parked in the port parking area and strolled into the quaint old quarter. 

We picked out a restaurant for lunch and enjoyed some grilled octopus and sardines. 

Unfortunately the day was incredibly hot and there was not much shade on offer so we decided to head West for the hills in hope of some relief.   After turning off the motorway we took R#74 and passed a few villages that were built on a steep hillside and narrow roads. As it was getting late we stopped on a wayside next to the road but still hard a peaceful and cool sleep.

Acropolis Athens Greece

Stay in Piraeus as per last night

After a quick coffee we were off to the metro station by 7:30am to get to the Acropolis before it became over crowded. We weren’t quite there for the 8am opening hour but close enough. We got off at the Acropolis station and entered via the South Slope passing the base of Theatre of Dionysus, built in 4th C BC, it is considered the birthplace of European theatre. 

As we continued around the slopes we came to the other theatre Odeion of Herodes Atticus. This is in better condition as it is still used today.

 We then made our way up to the Acropolis which means High City or Sacred Rock which is where the famous Parthenon is found. It was originally built as a temple dedicated to Athena but was destroyed by Persians in 480BC and then rebuilt 30 years later. As rulers and occupiers changed the temple was used for different purposes...a church, a mosque, a fortress. Then it suffered damage by natural disasters and a gun powder explosion when attacked by the Venetians. Later many pieces where looted and a major collection is in the British Museum. 

There are also other structures on the Acropolis; the Propylaea- which was a covered passageway at the entrance. 

Next to it was the little Temple of Athena Nike.

There’s Port Piraeus and Bluey down there...

 The Erechtheion was a tomb for one of the early a Kings and is especially noted for the beautiful carvings and Caryatids (women statues) holding up the porch. 

We then went and enjoyed the view of Athens under the huge Greek Flag.

View of Temple Zeus 

View of Ancient Agora 

We descended the hill of Acropolis and wandered through the streets to Ancient Agora which was a huge gathering place in the heart of Athens. There were businesses, shops, theatres, a court, a school. People would come here to socialise and conduct politics. We visited the museum in the rebuilt Stoa of Attalos, an ancient shopping mall.

 We went and looked at the charming little church of the Holy Apostles.

 The Temple of Hephaistos set on the hill was one of the best preserved of it kind. 

After having quite an extensive morning visiting Athens’ major ruins it was time to refuel the body and rest the mind enjoying a moussaka and a stuffed pepper and tomato. 

Feeling rested we braved one more set of ruins at Kerameikos which is an ancient cemetery. 

We then decided to go and have a look something different and chose the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology. It was relatively small but had some working models of some of the quirky inventions. One of the museum attendants even demonstrated how some of them worked. 

This is a robot that pours wine into your goblet.

Parishioners have to put in a coin to get some holy water in their goblet.

A door alarm..it whistles when the door is opened!

Having had a full day we returned to Bluey and later walked down to the port to see the hustle and bustle of ferries coming and going from the islands.