CYCLADES pt 3

CYCLADES Poros - GREECE

Poros

May 25/09

We finally arrived in the harbor at Poros just as the sun was setting and made our way through the lit channel, hugging the deeper waters near the endless line of charter boats med-moored to the wall alive with crowds enjoying the restaurants and tavernas along the waterfront. We dropped our anchor next to GWTW, happy to have made it so far without a complete breakdown.

Poros is just half a mile off the northern coast of the Peloponnese Peninsular separated by a channel of water so narrow that you can almost throw an olive pit across to the mainland. The town has lots of character with its white houses and terracotta tiles roofs, waterfront lined with cafes, bars and souvenir shops. But it had a laid back feel to it, despite all the glitz tied up to the town quay.

Its 19th century houses climb in tiers to its apex at a clock tower.

Fishing Port

We walked along the town quay, lined with "toy" fishing boats loaded down with nets.

The following morn we moved Ascension to the wall where there would be no issues of dragging anchor or problems in the anchorage without an engine to move the boat.

Gord completely disassembled the water pump and made preparation to install a new pump that we had ordered to be picked up in Athens.

Since Ascension was safely tied to the dock, we arranged to rent a car to land tour with Annie & Liam before heading to Athens to retrieve our new part.

May 27

Nafplion

We caught the passenger ferry across to the mainland (Galatas) on the Peloponese and headed for Nafplion reported to be one of Greek's prettiest towns.

The road to Nafplion took us through farmlands, with rows of olive, pomegranate, fig and lemon groves, the green mountains in the background.

Nafplion is indeed a beautiful town with its narrow streets draped in bright bougainvillea

After a stroll along the waterfront we headed to the towering Palamidi Fortress that dominates the town. It once guarded the approach to the city and was later a prison.

Within the walls stand three separate Venetian fortresses built in the 1700's. There were 999 steps up the hill behind the town to visit the fortress. We opted to drive up the paved road to the top.				The path meandered up more steps to different parts of the ruins. Some parts of the trail clung to steep precipices with no guardrails.

Although it is seemingly impregnable, the Turks almost immediately captured it.				Giant cactus protects the castle walls


From the summit of the castle, there was a great view of Navplion, the small old Venetian quarter, the sprawling commercial port and beaches.					Exploring the Old Prisons

			Back in Navplion we had lunch at a local restaurant with Annie & Liam.
Gord, Ginny, Annie & Liam

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