Seaside Napflio & Ancient Mycenae
The distinction between Napflio and Mycenae was sharp--one a modern sea-side town, the other a dry, mountainside, ancient citadel. But Mycenae is home to some of the most interesting and important ancient sites in Greece. And, as far as I'm concerned, you couldn't have too many sea-side towns to stay at on a Greece tour. So this combination turned out to be a fun experiment in contrasts.
Staying in Napflio
An hour and a half after leaving Sparta, the bus pulled into a lane next to our hotel. A light rain started falling, the first rain we had seen on the trip. There weren't a lot of drops, but they were big, so before long we were all starting to get soaked sorting out our luggage and waiting for room assignments. I love the rain, so I quite enjoyed it. It's a good thing too, because I was one of the last ones to get my room and even with my raincoat on I managed to get pretty wet.
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The rain left as quickly as it came, and I ventured out to explore the town. At six o'clock I met the group in the town square and Colin led us to a swanky, little boutique where we enjoyed a wine tasting of Greek varieties.
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I'm not much of a drinker, so this was all pretty new to me. But when in Greece... So, I tried a sip of the various offerings, enjoying some and, well, others were way too strong for someone not used to it like me. Even so, it was a fine time.
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After the wine tasking, I strolled down to the shore and chose a fancy sea-side restaurant. Dinner was a fantastic red snapper and Greek fries, and by 9:30 I was heading back to the hotel.
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Tour of ancient Mycenae
The next day we took a 30 minute bus ride to ancient Mycenae. Like so many of sites in Greece, it was nestled on top of a hill with commanding views of the valleys below.
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Our tour guide took us first to the ancient bee-hive tomb, explaining the history and significance before we were given time to wander in and look around. (The lighting conditions were particularly tricky here, so I was pretty happy with how the photos came out.)
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We made our way through the little museum before heading to the most famous part of the site: the Lion Gate. I had read about this in art history books and now that I was standing in front of it, I couldn't believe I was here. It's considered the oldest monumental sculpture in Europe, probably from around 1250 BC. Over three thousand years old and it still guards this gate. Amazing. I enjoyed wandering the rest of the site but, for me, nothing topped seeing the Lion Gate.
Evening in Napflio
When we returned to Napflio, we had our own time until we met for dinner at 7. I grabbed a chicken souvlaki for lunch and walked back to the hotel with a strawberry gelato. I spent a relaxing afternoon sketching, painting, and journaling before meeting the group for dinner.
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We walked to a local mom-and-pop restaurant and had an wonderful meal of grilled pork, salad, and of course, tzatziki. But the really memorable part of this dinner was that for the entire time, two guys played live, traditional Greek music for us. The both sang. One played the guitar and the other played a mandolin-type instrument called a bouzouki. It was perfect. Sitting with friends, eating great food, talking, listening to great live music.
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Around the time dessert was brought out, Colin introduced a quartet of locals who gave demonstrations of traditional Greek dancing. They put on a great performance, then invited our group to join in. Being a bit of an introvert, I was happy to watch and take some pictures and videos on my phone. But it was a taste of that Greek attitude of really enjoying life.
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Around 9:45, I started making my way back to the hotel. As I walked home, I heard a lot of noise coming from a park ahead of me. Floodlights lit up part of the park in front of some big bleacher seats, but I was too far away to see what the big attraction was. It was kind of late, but I decided to check it out.
When I got closer, I saw the kids walking around with pop corn and cotton candy while families poured through the gate. But it wasn't until I noticed a group of kids on a big stage that I realized what I was seeing. It was some kind of a school pageant or play. From what I could tell, it was an elementary or junior high school production with home-made props and simple costumes. Music played over loud speakers while the kids did simple choreography and recited short lines into mics on the stage. One group would finish and another group would take the stage and do a new number.
It's funny how similar people are around the world. This kind of performance could be taking place in New York or California (except probably not in Greek). What struck me was how late it was. It was almost ten o'clock and the program was just getting started--even the younger groups of kids playing all around seemed wide awake. It was great. Being a night owl, I really appreciated this aspect of Greek culture. I watched for a few more minutes of what I can only guess was a reenactment of the Battle of Thermopolyae, then decided I better head back since we had an early morning tomorrow. I crossed back over the street and walked away impressed with the community spirit shown by this school, these parents, and the kids.