The Road to Ruins
We wanted to visit two (of many) noted archaeological sites near Nafplio, but my search for a guided tour had been fruitless. So we decided we’d rent a car for the day and do a self-guided tour. It would be our first road trip in over a year!
Renting a car in this small Greek city proved trickier than I expected. I found a reputable local agency and booked a car on their website., choosing one with an automatic transmission. (The last time Steve drove a manual car was in France in 2011, and I haven’t driven one since the 1980s!) The agency contacted me the next day with apologies - they had no automatic cars available. Here’s where being slow travelers paid off: a few days later, they said they’d have a car available during the next 24 hours, and I was able to say, “We’ll be there in the morning!”
It was a very nice car - a relatively new Audi SUV. And it was sunny and 70℉ - a perfect day for a road trip. With Steve at the wheel and me navigating, just like old times, we left Nafplio to see two UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
I guess I was out of practice with the maps app because I managed to get us lost right away. It was easily rectified, and our surroundings were so beautiful that we didn’t mind the short detour. This is what Argolis looks like - golden mountains, olive and citrus orchards, and hillside villages.
Our first stop was the archaeological site of Mycenae (or as the locals call it, Mikines), about 15 miles north of Nafplio. This ancient city was the center of a civilization so advanced and influential that they named a period of Greek history (1600-1100 BCE) after it. Mycenae was the home of King Agamemnon, the famed commander of the Greek army (and Helen’s uncle) in The Iliad. You can read more about our visit to Mycenae here.
Our next stop was Epidaurus (Epidavros to the locals), about 16 miles east of Nafplio. This was a famous healing center for ancient Greeks, with a temple dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. The remarkably well-preserved theater from the 4th century BCE has perfect acoustics and is still used for performances today. You can read more about our visit to Epidaurus here.
With our main mission accomplished, we continued east to see the Saronic Gulf. We made our way through narrow streets down to Kalymnios Beach, where there was a taverna with tables on the sand. The food was fresh and delicious, featuring fruit, olives, and olive oil from the adjoining “ecofarm.” The view from our table was spectacular!
There was a “sunken city” here: beneath the shallow water lay the ruins of a Roman villa from 2nd century CE. We couldn’t see the sunken city without a drone, a kayak, or a snorkel and mask, but it was fun knowing it was there, our third ruins of the day. That relaxing lunch with its postcard-perfect view was a lovely finale to our self-guided tour.
