The Peloponnese is a large peninsula in southern Greece connected to the rest of the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth - a narrow land bridge across the Gulf of Corinth. We started our journey on the Peloponnese by spending a few days in the picturesque town of Nafplio.
We climbed 999 steps up the hill to the Palamidi Fortress
View of Nafplio with the small Bourtzi Fortress standing on a rocky islet just beyond the port
Italian-style mansions with wooden window shutters and wrought iron balconies in downtown Nafplio
Ancient amphitheatre (seating capacity 14,000) at the Sanctuary of Epidavros, 30 km outside Nafplio. The amphitheatre is famous for its acoustics – a coin dropped into the centre can be heard from the highest seat. Yes, we did test this.
Our next stop on the Pelooponnese was Monemvasia – Greece’s version of France’s Mont St Michel – a medieval fortress town on a rock island connected to the mainland by a short causeway.
We spent an afternoon wandering around the complex web of narrow cobbled streets and winding stairways of the medieval town.
Shipwreck off the Peloponnese coast
We visited the Diros Cave – travelling 1½ km on a canoe through the lake section of the cave past some amazing and quite colourful stalactite and stalagmite formations
We stayed overnight at the small beachside village of Kardamyli.
We went to the World Heritage listed ruins at Mystras, 5 km outside Sparta. The old city was spread over the slopes of a steep hill.
The were several churches and monasteries at the site
Our friend at Mystras
European rat snake getting ready to kill the camera
The old and the new – ancient temples and modern power station
Our last stop in the Peloponnese were some charming mountain villages in Central Arcadia
The Temple of Epicurean Apollo at Vasses was built in 420 BC. It has been enclosed in an enormous tent with steel girders since 1987 while it undergoes restoration.
How it looked it without the tent
This stone bridge across the River Alfios adorned the 5,000 Drachma note before the advent of the Euro.
After we left Central Arcadia, we drove off the Peloponnese to Thessaloniki (our final stop in Greece) to return our rental car.
On the way we stopped to see Mount Olympus - the highest mountain in Greece and the home of the 12 ancient Greek gods and goddesses.
View of the village square from our hotel room in Litochoro, next to Mount Olympus
The majestic snow covered peaks of Mount Olympus
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