Nafplion, Greece

The original schedule for today, Monday, had us in Santorini (which we've been to before) but the cable car that takes people up to the city is out of order so they substituted Nafplion instead (which we haven't been to before).  We are satisfied with the substitution!  And the weather turned out to be fine despite an earlier forecast for rain.  The first thing we did after the tender ride was walk along the waterfront where we got views of the Bourtzi Fortress on an island in the bay.

We had briefly considered climbing up to the Palamidi Castle but the thought of 874 steps up and then the painful 874 steps down convinced us to skip it.

So, instead, we opted for the easier walk up to the Akronafplia Castle.  We walked up along the walls and through the town.

At the top we got good views over Nafplion and of the ruins of the fortress.

 

When we got to the other side of the hilltop, we discovered an incredible forest of prickly pear cactus.

After exploring the fortress, it was time to head down to town for lunch.  We came upon the Alaloum restaurant on a quiet side street.  My initial plan was to do another round of Greek salad and beer, but they were offering fresh mussels which I could not resist.  Linda went baked eggplant and cheese.  All good. 

After lunch we just wandered through the charming town to complete our 5 hour very good outing.

One thing that we observed in Napflion as well as in Piraeus was the large number of feral cats.

Tomorrow it's another new Greek port for us, Gythion.  Until then,

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry