Corinth & Loutraki - Greece - 8th September 2006

Today we give Loutraki a try. The Lonely Planet book advises not to bother suggesting that Loutraki is tacky but we decide to give it a go.



Loutraki is a seaside town located 4 km North East of Corinth. It is largely a tourist town, and is well-kown in Greece for its vast natural springs. The name itself, Loutraki derives from the Greek word for Spring. Within Greece, Loutraki is also famous for its spring water, which is bottled and sold widely.

MAP OF PELOPONNESE - WE TRAVELLED TO LOUTRAKI, CORINTH, CORINTH CANAL, KALAVRITA, RIO AND NAFPLION







It turns out to be a nice little place, Richard manages to fit in a swim and we have lunch at Goodys. I wish there was a Goodys in Australia. It is fast food chain in Greece and the food is good



Loutraki is Greece's major producer of bottled mineral water and also home to Greece's biggest casino. We didn't go to the Casino as it was a few kilometres out of town.

Diakofto, Rio, Diakofto, Kalavryta, Corinth - Greece -7th September 2006 -

Today poor Richard had a hang over.

In the morning we made our way to the town of Rio to see the Rion Bridge.



It was similar to the Westgate, so no big deal. However the highlight of Rio was the Taj Mahal Cafe. It was about half an acre in size decked out in India style furniture. We stayed and enjoyed ice chocolates & cake.



We return to Diakofto by train to catch the cog rail system through to Kalaryta. The train took us through the Vouraikos Gorge. In Kalaryta we ate lunch at a Tavern and went to the site where on 13/12/1943 the Nazis killed all male inhabitants of Kalavryta over the age 15 as punishment for resistant activity. A total of 1436 were killed. The Nazis also set fire to the town. I'm sure they are not welcome back.



By the time we got to Corinth we had spent over 5 hours on the train. Both of us were tired and could not be bothered doing the next 2 hours via Athens to Pireaus. So we stayed the night in Corinth. Corinth is a plain town but the cake stores are open 24 hours a day. The cakes in Corinth are really nice too!

Nafplio, Corinth Canal, Diakofto - Greece - 6th September 2006

Today we took a taxi up to the Palamidi Fortress in Nafplio. There are 999 steps to get up there. After 6 weeks of climbing steps I no longer feel the need to exert myself!!!! We went down the 999 steps and watched other crazy tourists climb them!



We take the bus to the famous Corinth Canal. The Corinth Canal is a canal connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland and therefore effectively making the former an island. The canal is 6.3 km in length and was built between 1881 and 1893. It saves the 400 km long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 m wide, it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters. The canal is nowadays mostly used by tourist ships; 11,000 ships per year travel through the waterway. The low water depth of the canal is 8 meters.

All the photos of it look breathtaking but it is in the middle of no where. It is small place with some road side cafes. A major highway goes over the canal.



We catch a taxi back to the station and catch a train to Diakofto. For dinner we go to a Tavern recommended by the manager of our hotel/pension. At the tavern they take us out to the kitchen, show us what they have cooked for us to eat. No menu. No special requests here. God only knows how many times the food in the pots had been reheated. Food poisoning anyone? I refused to eat there. Richard told the Tavern owners I was too picky. We left on my insistence and ate at another tavern where Richard drank all the wine and got drunk.

Nafplio - Greece - 5th September 2006

Today it is out of the big brother house!!! I say that because there are so many people coming and going from Muma's house. She has a German couple turning up next week to stay. I don't know how she keeps up.

We catch a train to Athens, then a train to a station near Corinth, then a bus to Nafplio. This is a very pretty town and it was the first capital of Greece before Athens. All the houses are Venetian style. Nafplio is very similar to Venice and Lisbon and very unlike a Greek town or city.



There are three Fortresses here - the Palamidi Fortress, the Akronafplia Fortress and Bourtzi Fortress.

Today we explore the town and Rich takes a swim. The fish in the water are huge and bite so poor old Rich didn't enjoy his swim.