"A hybrid cruise ship in Nafplio's Harbour"

This morning I achieved the bastion of Nafplio. I am surprised by this. Lonely Planet gives stern warnings about "leaving early" and "taking water" before you attempt its 999 steps. I, of course, climb it on a whim with none of the preparations. Why am I surprised? I am surprised because I found myself at the top in only 15 minutes. I reckon I owe this to The Pink Palace. Its 129 steps between the Palladium and Reception have clearly put me in better condition than I thought. Imagine that, going up and down between the Palladium and Reception 7 times?

Sitting on the top gave me time to reflect and to have the ideas I am now putting on paper. Where did I leave off in my last mail? Sparta wasn't it?

From Sparta I took the long road to Nafplio. It winds and switches through the mountains of Pernonas right up into the cloud tops where I am anointed by my first Peloponnesian rain. The road almost peters out in places leading me into claustrophobic village squares and down cart tracks. It and I snake down the mountain, the tyres complaining on the reverse camber. Through forests and gorges; eventually we reach the sea. For the next 50 kilometers the road hugs the fractal, sinuous coastline and together we develop a rhythm turning left then right hypnotically. Causing my mind to wonder its own sinuous path.

Nafplio comes upon me quickly. It is a jewel, a miniature Naples without the coating of grime that seems to hang over everything in that once Castilian city. The narrow streets of the old town hide a myriad of shops and restaurants. You might stay for a month and not eat in the same place twice. Finding the hotel I meet two joyful French girls who teach me again the Way of the Ouzo. more...

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On the east side of the Peloponnesian peninsula, the beautiful town of Nafplion, Greece awards visitors with a rugged Mediterranean  coastline.  Located near a majority of Greece's most significant ancient civilizations, this town served as the first capital of modern Greece.  The beautiful old town is very reminiscent of the Plaka in Athens, with narrow, winding alleys filled with sun-drenched houses and small cafes.  Little tourism has allowed this town to remain virtually unchanged for decades.

Directly behind the old town is a large hill, and atop that sits the mighty Palamidi Fortress, built in 1714 by the Venetians.  To reach the top, we climbed an exhausting 999 steps but were awarded with spectacular views of the entire area.  I was able to find a hole in the wall that I could use to frame a beautiful photo of the old town, the harbor, and the mountains in the background.  The fortress seen in the harbor is called the Bourtzi, which has also served as a palace, a prison, and most recently, a hotel.

This month it struck me how beautiful the images of Greece are and how panoramic photographs capture the feeling of the vastness of the countryside and the Mediterranean. But we don't all travel with wide angle lenses and cameras capable of capturing this type of image. We can however, use multiple images and any editing program to create the same type of photograph with small amount of effort. I have chosen a program that is available on any PC with recent versions of the Windows operating system. Mac users, see below. more...

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