5.25.09 Mystras to Nafplion, Greece
5.25.09 Mystras to
We drove 2km from our Castle View Campground this morning to the Lower Entrance of that castle. We found little parking. We could have parked n a large lot across from a restaurant, which still required a walk in the hot sun. So we drove all the way to the upper entrance, where we did manage to park in a line of about 5 motorhomes. The road there was curvy and steep, and one-lane in places, making it a bit hair-raising when a bus approached. The best maneuver is to follow on the bumper of a bus- everyone clears out for them.
Mystras is an impressive UNESCO site! (Adults cost 5E) It is an ancient village on the side of the mountain, including a castle at the tippy top, with an active monastery.
It was hot, hot, HOT by the time we hiked up from the Upper Entrance to the castle at the top of the mountain. We wandered all around and met some Canadians and Englishfolks on our way down (we made sure they were packing water), who guilted us into exploring further upon out return to the upper entrance. So we walked down into some of the other buildings that had ancient frescos on the walls and ceilings. Apparently, the 13th century artisans from here moved en masse to
Since it was a million degrees, flexibility was required.
We stopped for groceries at a supermarket and for 50E were able to get breakfast and lunch foods, some Greek hair conditioner that we love (but cannot decipher), and things like tzatziki, pitas, bread, Greek cheese, ham, cookies, etc. I don’t think most Americans recognize how inexpensive food is in our grocery stores compared to the rest of the world. Many other countries seem to spend far more on basic foods in their grocery stores than we Americans.
Everyone at this grocery store was really nice and our cashier practiced a little English with us.
A funny store incident: At the checkout line, a man obviously cut in front of us. We just let it go, thinking he must be really impatient to be so obnoxious about it. Then opportunity struck: another line opened! After moving our cart over first in the new line, I tapped him (he hadn’t noticed) and invited him to go ahead of us. He eagerly took the opportunity and later made an effort, hard as it was for him, to attempt “Thanks.” I just smiled back and said “Parakalo” (you’re welcome). I’m hoping his impression of Americans improved more than if we’d seized our rightful line position in that small-town store. Hilarious!
We drove lovely, mountain roads (maybe 80 miles?) through central Peloponnese, up to 
Speaking of driving, we also had to wiggle through Sparti (
Let’s talk about a new club that we’re forming here in 
We are now in the “New Teton Campground” along the
These Greek campgrounds are expensive! It was 30E for last night’s campground with electric too, but I don’t remember the breakdown. We’re supposed to have wi-fi here for free near the bar, so we’ll enjoy that.
Most of our fellow campers are neat and tidy with their camping room awnings attached. Our nice neighbor from
We asked the Campground Owner about a restaurant and he said, “What time do you want to eat? That’s when I’ll have it open for you.
It storms off and on, which seems very unusual and must be blowing over. It is beautifully sunny in the meantime. The beach water here was a bit warmer than the chilling water at
Did you know there can be 3 different spellings of Greek words (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, and English)? It can make things a bit confusing for the Navigator.
There’s a man driving along the beach with a bullhorn, yelling something out, but we cannot tell what he’s saying: is it a warning or an advertisement? Really, the cars with the huge bullhorns on top, that drive around advertising, as in 
Many people smoke in
We would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful country. We went through gorgeous, huge mountains today that reminded us of National Parks in
