Too bad we can’t translate the acoustics to the log. It was neat to hear good acoustics created just by rocks. You don’t think of acoustics when you think of rocks.

On the way back from Epidarros we stopped by an old Mycenaen bridge. I can't believe it was still standing after all of these years!

Eppidarros
 

 
 

Epidarros -- Επδαυροσ


 
Great seats, eh buddy!
The plan for the next day was to spend half a day at Epidarros, an ancient Roman amphitheater with, "breathtaking acoustics", and then relax the rest of the day, possibly by the beach. The drive to Epidarros was about 90 minutes. The site wasn't too crowded, and the theater itself was pretty dang impressive. I was more than a little skeptical that the acoustics could be "breathtaking". The guidebook described being able to hear someone in the focal point of the theater talk in a normal voice, clap, light a match, etc... from wherever you were sitting in the theater.

But I gotta tell you, they were right! We sat way up in the nose-bleed seats, and we could hear, clear as day, whatever the person in the middle was doing. It may have been because we were sitting so high, but I did feel my breath being taken away. As an added treat, a German choir group took up position, and sang a couple of very beautiful songs in full harmony. It was totally cool. If I had a chance, I'd go back and play Mrs. Jack's Last Stand by Adrian Legg on the guitar. The acoustics would be perfect.

Naphlion

 
Funny, doesn't look that easy to conquer
Back in Naphlion, we did make it to the beach (which was made out of rocks, by the way, and not sand), but the water was refreshing. I think we got about an hour's worth of relaxation in. Up above the beach was the striking facade of Naphio's Venetian fort, and we figured we should check that out before we left. The guidebook said, "Built over a three year time period, the fort was conquered by the Turks less than a year after it had been completed. You'll enter the fort the same way the Turks did: through the front gate." Going that way though necessitated climbing ~800 stairs, so we opted to conquer it by driving up the back way. The lessons of Acrocorinth are hard, and not easily forgotten.

 
Naphlion peninsula
Naflion looked even cooler from up in the fort. I felt bad for the Venetians, though. They spent all that time building this thing, only to lose it the next year.

On the drive down we saw a young couple starting to hike back down the mountain, and the images of Aegina and Acrocorinth once again came to us, and we offered them a ride down. They accepted, and all was well. They did claim that their names were "Helen" and "Achilles", and that they were from Athens, but I have my doubts. Seems a little too convenient.

 
I admit, I love that sunset mode
We had a nice hike around the city that night, and I got to use the Sunset(tm) mode on my camera again, getting some sweet shots of the harbor. I don't know what that fort thing is out there. But it was good at posing for pictures that night.