View of the Old City as we climbed the castle steps

Today was a free day, meaning we didn’t have any scheduled tours, so we could choose our activities. First things first…we slept in! Then Mike and I went down for breakfast before climbing the steps up to the Palamidi Castle.

Palamidi Castle

Palamidi Castle, built in the early 18th C. by the Venetians, looms high above the port and the Old City. It has been occupied by Venetians, Ottomans, and the Greeks through the years. It was also used as a prison for nearly 100 years from 1840 on. There are 857 stairs up to the fortress and then some more up to the higher bastions. The views are spectacular and well worth the climb!

The entrance

The prison cell

The little Orthodox Church in the middle of the Fortress

At the very top….

And while it took us 45 minutes to go up (stopping for photos along the way), it only took us 15 minutes to go down!

After some snacks in the room, we went to the beach! Our driver in Athens had told us of a lovely sandy beach nearby, as most of the area beaches have rocky shores. So off we went to Tolo Beach.

We were all in our happy place, and we stayed late into the afternoon just as the rain clouds were rolling in.

Gail

Mike

Sophia

Then back to Nafplio, and the hunt for a parking spot in the public parking lot at the waterfront at 6:00pm on a Saturday evening. As we were parking where we thought we could park a woman walking to her car told us that we’d get a ticket in that spot, but that we could have hers, as she was closing her shop early with the rains coming in. What a gift as the lot was completely full, and it started raining by the time we arrived back at the hotel! After resting and showering, we headed out (in the rain) to dinner.