(You can click on the photo to enlarge the picture)
THE SARONIC GULF AND METHANON PENSULA
ARRIVAL IN METHANA
As Cathy has described, after the terrible night on the quay at Palaia Epidavros we sailed on to the town of Methana on the Methanon peninsula.
The town of Methana takes its name from the fact that it sits just below the site of an extinct volcano. Aside from the smell of sulphur in the air - A unique feature of the harbour is its milky-yellow water, coloured by the hydrogen sulphide gas that bubbles to surface.
There is a health spa just beyond the harbour gates. The sulphur rich water is supposed to be good for a variety of ailments – and somewhere nearby is a pool of radioactive water! Needless to say we have been swimming in the sea outside the harbour and hope the hydrogen sulphide is keeping the barnacles at bay on the bottom of the boat. Judging by the absence of jellyfish here, they don’t like sulphur either.
NAFPLIO AND MYCENAE - TWO DAYS ASHORE!
Since the boat is in a safe billet we decide to give ourselves two days of shore leave and set out to visit the ancient site of Mycenae. Checking the local bus schedules we quickly learn that it might be easier getting to the moon – but undaunted, we head off to Galatas (completely in the opposite direction of where we are trying to go) to connect with the cross country bus to Nafplio, where we will spend the night on land!
The attractive town of Nafplio which lies at the head of the Argolic gulf was originally intended to be the capital of Greece. The Greek Parliament was held in the mosque in the picture above.
The town has several fine parks and is dominated by a Venetian fortress-castle overlooking the town. We stayed in a comfortable hotel near the park and had a view of the castle from our balcony. This is the first time we have slept in a non-moving, land-based bed since February in Venice!
NAFPLIO ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
The recently renovated archeological museum contains items excavated at Mycenae and from the surrounding area. Beautifully laid out, we thought it was one of the best museums we have visited anywhere.
There was even a display of a complete set of Mycenaean armour. The helmet is reinforced with wild boars’ tusks.
The Mycenaean civilization which dates back to the 13th century BC was an amazingly advanced society. One of the items that caught our eye was a three thousand year old fishhook. [Photo taken for Mike Skidmore!] It was identical to a modern fishhook – complete with barb. (Also note the tongs and spoon.)
The small coloured glass jug below is described as “Phoenician” and dates from around 475 – 425 BC. This particular example was found in a grave at Epidavrus. It is unusual as virtually all the glass manufactured during this period was “clear”.
This is the fourth (almost identical) example of this jug we have seen in museums as far north as Syracuse in Sicily, indicating there must have been active trade links right across the Mediterranean during this period.
THE FOLKLORE MUSEUM
We also visited Nafplio’s small Folklore Museum.
When it opened in 1981, this museum was voted the “Best Museum in Europe”. It houses a delightful collection of costumes, toys and household implements and is an insight into Greece’s recent past.
AN EVENING ON THE TOWN
We topped off the evening with dinner in a Greek alleyway restaurant; a stroll around the sea front and the back streets of the old town. An ice cream from “Antica Gelateria di Roma” – described as having the “Best ice cream in Greece”- completed the evening.
THE ANCIENT SITE OF MYCENAE
Early the following morning we took a bus from Nafplio, 12 km north up into the hills past Argos and Mykines to the site of Mycenae, the seat of Agamemnon who according to Homer led the Greek army to beseige Troy.
Situated on the top of a hill between two larger summits the site looks insignificant when seen from below. Pictures cannot do justice to the scale and beauty of this place.
When viewed from the top - from the ruins of Agamemnon’s palace – you immediately understand why they built here. The site commands a view of all the valleys below - 15 km in all directions. The views are breathtaking!
The sea is clearly visible some 12km away and according to Homer, Agamemnon would have launched his fleet against Troy from here.
THE LION GATE
All my life I have read about and seen pictures of the “Lion Gate” at Mycenae. It is wonderful to see it in its setting in the palace wall. Again photography can not capture this amazing site - you have to be here.
The tombs uncovered at the site attributed to Agamemnon and Clytemnestra are massive in scale and built to a unique design with a long shaft approach, a tall entrance leading to a beehive shaped chamber inside.
Agamemnon’s Tomb. A key feature to identify Mycenaean architecture is the “relieving triangle” above the doorway, which took weight away from the lintel.
Cathy in the doorway of Clytemnestra’s Tomb. The lintel stone over the doorway of Agamemnon’s tomb is estimated to weigh some twenty times the weight of the stones used to construct the pyramids.
Inside Clytemnestra’s Tomb there are finely finished stones rising in a huge “igloo” shaped vault
This is looking up some 70 feet at the ceiling from where Cathy is standing. It is sobering to think this building was constructed (1500 BC) about the same period the inhabitants of Salisbury Plain were laying out the crude inner “bluestone circle” at Stonehenge.
MASTER MASONS AND ENGINEERS
To really appreciate the Mycenaeans’ engineering abilities you have to take a torch and go underground to visit the palace cistern.
Mycenae’s water supply came from an underground spring. To protect it they extended the eastern palace walls - then dug a 45 degree tunnel shaft down through the rock some 100 feet down to meet the spring underground.
More "Indiana Jones" ? Here Cathy is at the doorway to the entrance to the cistern, wondering, “do I really want to do this?…”. There is no light and it is a long way down the stepped tunnel shaft to reach the bottom!
Here we are deep underground about half way – it is pitch dark, the light is from the camera flash. Cathy looks as if she is really enjoying herself! (By the light of our small wind-up torch and carefully taking one step at a time, we did manage to find our way all the way to the bottom.)
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
The museum on site was full of artifacts found during previous excavations. All very well displayed. The site and its environs are still being actively excavated today. This is a replica of the gold death mask of “Agamemnon” found in one of the grave circles at Mycenae [The real one is in Athens and we are looking forward to seeing it in November.]
THE RETURN JOURNEY
Travelling by bus worked out pretty well, except when it came to the last leg from Galatas back to Methana. When we arrived back in Galatas at 4.30pm, the last bus had long gone, so we made the five minute hop by ferry across to Poros, thinking we might catch the Athens ferry back from there as it makes a brief stop at Methana. We found we’d missed that too, so there was nothing for it but to catch the water taxi back to Galatas and take a taxi. We liked the look of Poros and the new north quay, which is why we’ll be going there next – this time in Makarma!
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