Today was a much more relaxing (and less educational!) day, as most of it was spent on the road to Delphi. So there were no archaeological sites to visit, or names of Greek gods or dates to remember today. 🙂
We left the hotel and boarded the coach, saying kalimera to both Aris and Yanni as our cases were stashed in the hold of the coach. Then we set away off, through the sunlit streets for our leisurely journey.
At about 9.45am we had a brief 10-minute stop for Yanni to refuel the bus; it also allowed us to use the restrooms and purchase anything we needed in the small shop. Then it was back on the road again; we would have a proper rest stop around 10.30am.
Presently we arrived at the famous Rio-Antirrio Bridge (officially called the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge), which is one of the world’s longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and a masterpiece of modern engineering. Spanning the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, it links the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula with Antirrio on mainland Greece. It was opened on 12 August 2004, beautifully timed to host the Olympic torch bearers right before the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
Before its completion, crossing the strait required a tedious 45-minute ferry journey often disrupted by bad weather. Today, vehicles cross via the four-lane motorway in less than five minutes, seamlessly connecting Western Greece with the Peloponnese and international transport links via Italy.
We had half an hour here to photograph the bridge and make us of the facilities. However, we never got a really good angle to view the bridge at all, which really should have been from the side. Instead, we climbed up a series of iron steps to the overpass above the toll booths, and took our photos from there.
Soon we were back on the road again, heading towards the picturesque and historical port town of Nafpaktos. On the way, we passed through towns and villages and rows of shops selling colourful souvenirs and clothing.
It was about 11.00am when the coach parked up at Nafpaktos, and we all alighted. Aris said we had an hour and a quarter to spend here; we could either go with her and she would point out things of interest and tell us all about this Venetian port, or we could use the time to do our own thing and re-convene back here at the stated time. As Trevor and I had already spotted an attractive little bar-restaurant that had tables outside, we decided to do our own thing, and enjoy a freezing cold beer. 🙂
We therefore took a seat at one of the tables outside, and ordered a pint of Alfa beer each from a passing waiter. From here, we could see an interesting stone-walled fortification which Google told us was built in medieval times to protect the city during Venetian rule, and the bronze statue honoured the Spanish author Miguel Cervantes (famous for writing Don Quixote) who fought and was wounded in the historic 1571 Battle of Lepanto (Lepanto is the Latin name for Nafpaktos). We decided to go and explore it once we’d finished our beers and used the loos.
It was a gorgeous day as we walked towards the fortifications, and we could smell the sea and hear the evocative sounds of the water washing onto the pebbly beach. As we approached the statue of Cervantes, Trevor stood below him and emulated his pose. Then we walked through an archway and onto the beach, before walking part of the way along the wall’s ramparts.
Soon it was time for us to meet up with the others and board the bus once again. We had a drive of about an hour and a half before we would arrive at the restaurant for a late lunch. We used the time on the coach to read, nap, browse the internet or just look out of the window; the scenery was stunning as we passed a huge reservoir.
At 1.45pm the coach parked up and we all made our way along the street for a short way to a large, airy restaurant called “Scala”. Aris spoke briefly to the proprietor and we were shown to our tables in groups of six. We hadn’t been in for long before other tourist parties arrived; obviously the place was popular and we were pleased to see that the restaurant was well-staffed, with plenty of waiters to take our orders. The menu featured the usual favourites such as Greek or Caesar salad, moussaka, pizza, fresh fish or chicken with chips.
While we waited for our food, baskets of fresh bread were placed on the table as well as small bowls of fresh olives and some cocktail sticks. We also ordered a large beer each, which, as ever, went down a treat. Then a waiter came round with complimentary glasses of ouzo. 🙂
My Greek salad was delicious apart from all the cucumber it contained, which I picked out. However, the tomatoes were ripe and flavourful, and the olives, onions and fresh feta cheese were scrumptious. As we ate, we watched the antics of a couple of stray cats who were slinking around the tables, hoping for a tasty titbit. The cats looked quite well-fed and looked after, so they obviously fared well from the visitors to the restaurant.
After we’d finished, we needed the restrooms, and this restaurant was unusual in that you had to go across the road to a completely separate building to use the loos. Once we were done, however, it was time to reboard the coach and continue on our journey; we should arrive at our hotel in Delphi for the evening at around 4.00pm, and indeed we did. 🙂
We were pleased to see that the hotel was one of the Amalia chain, so we knew it would have a good swimming pool. As with the other Amalia hotels we had stayed in, it was set in a gorgeous green setting, with lawns and lots of trees. Our room was large and airy and, as soon as we arrived, we were into our cossies and off down to the pool. Everyone in our party seemed to have the same idea. 🙂
Trevor and I procured a couple of sun loungers and made our way straight into the pool. One lady, who was not a confident swimmer, asked if the pool was deep but it was no good asking me, because even the shallow end (1.50m) was too deep for my 1.51m height! She gingerly entered the pool via a series of steps, but she said she had just learned to swim so she was a bit nervous. Trevor gallantly offered to help her, allowing her to hold onto him if she needed to while she tried a few swimming strokes with trepidation.
After our swim, we settled on our sun lounger with a cold beer. What an interesting day we had had, without having our brains overloaded with information. Dinner tonight was at 7.30pm, so we returned to our room where I got showered, shampooed and blow-dried my hair (as best I could) and changed into someone a little smarter.
We then headed for the restaurant and our usual delicious and plentiful Greek buffet dinner, washed down with local wine. On our table we had a lady called Carol as well as a bloke called Alistair. We all wondered if there were any nearby pubs or tavernas worth visiting as we were quite near the town, so I looked on Google maps and saw that there was a cocktail bar called Mr Rose, which was about a 15 minute walk away. It had good reviews, too.
Once we’d finished our dinner then, Trevor and I decided to try the cocktail bar, and Carol, who was a solo traveller, asked if she could come with us. We also extended the offer to Alistair, and he said he might pop down later on.
Trevor, Carol and I set off, using Google Maps to guide us to the cocktail bar, which was cosily and comfortably lit with a warm glow from various lamps. The decor was colourful with lots of cushions wooden tables, benches and chairs. A wooden stairway led to some more chairs, sofas and low tables on a mezzanine floor.
We took our seats and looked at the extensive cocktail list. I opted for an Aperol Spritz and Trevor had a beer, but Carol just ordered a bottle of water as she didn’t drink. We stayed in the bar for about an hour and a half, drinking and chatting, but Alistair did not put in an appearance.
Walking back to the hotel was uphill most of the way, and I puffed my way up slowly; I am not the most fit person at all. We arrived back just after quarter past ten and Carol said goodnight while Trevor and I just decided to go to the hotel bar for a nightcap. I just had a glass of wine, then we returned to our room around 11.30pm.
We slept well.