Greece Part 2: Athens and Nafplio

The Parthenon dominating the Acropolis. 

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Before we left for Greece in April, I dutifully purchased Anthony Everitt’s, “The Rise of Athens,” and carried it with me into the Grand Canyon and on the San Juan River. Despite reviews touting its readability, I never made it past the first few chapters. Greek history isn’t as compelling when you’re deep in the U.S. desert southwest looking at petroglyphs. But even more daunting for me, the list of “characters,” mythical and historic, mentioned in the introduction alone included: Alexander the Great, Phillip, Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, Odysseus, Homer, Chryseis, Apollo, Zeus, Hera, Athena, Paris, Aphrodite, Helen, King Menelaus, Briseis, Thetis, Aias, and many more, all interacting in complicated and magical ways while wandering through Athens, Sparta, Macedon, Phrygia, Troy, and Persia (another partial list), all places unfamiliar to me. And don’t even ask about the Ionic vs. Corinthian vs. Doric columns. 

So, with apologies to Greek historians, after two weeks of happy mindless climbing on Kalymnos, I stepped off the twin-engine Aegean Air prop plane in Athens with little knowledge of the city’s thousands of years of history, intent, along with the tourist throng, on visiting the Acropolis and the Peloponnese Peninsula, while secretly looking forward to a meal or two that was neither Greek nor Mediterranean. 

 

We stayed in a nice retro-themed apartment in the Kerameikos District of Athens (Kerameikos is the root of our word "ceramics") within walking distance of the Acropolis and set out the day after we arrived. The centerpiece is the Parthenon, the famous temple dedicated to Athena. It dominates the polished limestone fortress atop the famous hill even as modern Athens laps at it from all sides, a sea of white buildings fading into the distant smog. Despite the crowds, it’s breathtaking. 

Immediately surrounding the Acropolis are narrow streets lined with cafes, some serving cheeseburgers and fries. 

 

Although one could spend weeks exploring Athens, we knew better, having long ago probed our tolerance (low) for big cities, so we rented a car and drove two hours to Nafplio, a much smaller tourist town beside the Mediterranean, where the Peloponnese Peninsula meets the Greek mainland. Pre-trip research touted Nafplio as a convenient base for visits to ancient Corinth, the theater at Epidaurus, and the ruins of Mycenae, and it wasn’t lost on us that it is only two hours from Leonidio, another huge Greek sport climbing destination. An old castle looking down on Nafplio can be accessed from town by climbing 999 steps (I didn’t count), and Nafplio's narrow streets are packed with upscale shops, restaurants, and gelato stands. We spent four days in the area before returning to Athens to catch our flight back to Denver.

 

It's easy to understand why expats retire in Greece and climbers spend months there. The weather is mild, it’s relatively inexpensive, the food is good, and the people are genuinely friendly. Of course that’s a superficial view; Greece has seen more than its share of political and economic upheaval. But I can’t say that I was in a hurry to fly home after our short visit.

The pictures below are from our tourist week on the Greek mainland after Kalymnos, and I’ve included a little logistical info at the end.

A playground on Kos, where we spent a night after leaving Kalymnos before flying back to Athens. 

Ellen wading in the Aegean Sea on Kos.

Grafitti in Athens. In Kerameikos, where we stayed, every surface was covered, some more artfully than others. 

A metaphor for my knowledge of Greek history. This compelling relic is in the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos that we visited on our first evening in Athens.

"Acropolis" means a fort built on a hill, but The Acropolis in Athens is the most famous.

Ellen (left with black shorts) approaching the crowd at the entrance to the Acropolis. Even with the hordes, the site is inspiring. 

The Acropolis entrance with a small lobe of modern Athens in the background.

Cats are everywhere in Greece, and the Acropolis was no exception. 

Poppies near the Acropolis.

Just as we move our friend's heads around using modern photo editing software, the Greeks moved heads from one statue to another. 

Another head.

One of many streetside cafes below the Acropolis.

A boarded up window in Kerameikos perhaps speaks to the 10 years of economic crisis weathered by the Greeks. Many old buildings near where we stayed were abandoned and decrepit.

We stopped at ancient Corinth on the only rainy day we had in Greece and enjoyed the cloudy mood. Corinth is between Athens and Nafplio and has been occupied since 3,000 BC.

Flowers at Ancient Corinth.

Fallen columns (Corinthian??) at Corinth.

Nafplio viewed from the castle that looms above it. There's another castle visible in the harbor to the right of the peninsula. There's some climbing on the limestone on the left side of the peninsula, but it was too hot in the sun to climb there.

A citrus grove in a Nafplio courtyard. The town is surrounded by orange orchards and smelled of orange blossoms.

A doorway on a narrow street in Nafplio.

Ellen at the castle above Nafplio.

The ancient theater at Epidaurus is still used today. 

The Epidaurus Theater.

I'll finish up with a climbing shot--Ellen at Leonidio. Leonidio is mostly a winter area because most of the sectors face south, but there is some shady climbing. 

Logistics

Athens Airport to Athens: The airport is far outside of downtown Athens, but it's easy to take the metro. Follow the signs and purchase a "30-minute" ticket at the kiosk (9 euros, takes credit cards). A 40-minute ride took us to within walking distance of our apartment.

Athens: We stayed in the Kerameikos District which has lots of restaurants and places to stay and is within walking distance of the metro and the Acropolis. There are other popular districts close to the Acropolis. The Plaka area NE of the Acropolis is apparently nice but we didn't stay there. Our apartment was called Karamos Athens and was very comfortable. There are many lodging options.

Car Rental: We returned to the airport (metro) to rent a car and then drove to Nafplio via Corinth. The driving is easy on freeways the whole way (you don't have to drive through downtown Athens). Freeway tolls can be paid with a credit card or cash. Our rental car company (AutoUnion) turned out not to be at the airport proper (they shuttled us to their office). It would have been more convenient to have picked a rental car company that was actually at the airport, so pay attention to that if it matters to you.

Nafplio: Nafplio is touristy but enjoyable for a short visit. There are hundreds of places to stay there. We booked the Kallisti Pension which was very nice, centrally located, and served a huge breakfast every day (included). 

Leonidio: From Nafplio it was about a 2-hour drive to Leonidio, a smaller town on the coast to the southwest. Leonidio is another major Greek climbing destination (see Mountain Project or climbinleonidio.com) but we only spent a day there. There are 1,500+ routes on high quality limestone with steep tufa caves (e.g., Sector Mars). It's primarily a winter area since most cliffs face south but there are shady sectors. 

Greece Part 1: Kalymnos

Jack, Ellen, and Dana at a ruin guarding a climbing area above Emporios.

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The hills surrounding Emporios are infested with roosters. Jet lagged after a 30-hour travel day from Denver to Greece and the 9-hour time difference, I lay awake at 2 a.m., listening to them carry on. Across the harbor, a lone rooster crowed, far away and unobtrusive. Soon though, the rest joined in--all of them--including one just outside my window. After a few minutes, having established their territories, impressed their hens, or whatever the hell else they were trying to accomplish, they quieted down, only to crank it up again an hour or so later. As kids, we were taught that roosters crow at sunrise, but that's bullshit, at least in Emporios. 

A week passed quickly and jet lag was replaced by climbing fatigue, sleep came more easily, and crowing roosters became background noise, mingling with goat bells and the occasional car or truck passing on the road below. 

Emporios, where our friends Jack and Dana had rented a lovely stone cottage that they invited us to share, sits at the north end of the paved road traversing the island of Kalymnos from its largest town, Pothia, at its southern end. Along the way it passes through the climbing hub of Masouri, lined with restaurants and gear stores. Above the road, miles of limestone cliffs rise from the hillsides, drawing climbers from all over the world to thousands of bolted sport routes. Once known for sponge diving, Kalymnos and its economy were transformed in the last three decades by climbers renting rooms, eating at restaurants, drinking in bars, leasing scooters, and buying gear as the sponge economy waned and the larger Greek economy crashed and then recovered.

 

Kalymnos is one of many Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, itself closer to Turkey than Athens. Occupied for at least 6,000 years, the island is dotted with castles guarding high limestone outcrops and other defensive stone structures in the mouths of caves where the strongest climbers float up overhanging routes draped with tufas and dripping with stalactites. Themis, a taxi driver who drove us from the ferry terminal to Emporios when we arrived, told us (with an Australian accent—like many Kalymnians, she had lived overseas) that in the 7^th Century, pirate raids were common, and women and children scrambled to the castles to escape the plundering. For us, the castles, along with blue and white Christian shrines and seaside hikes, were places to explore on climbing rest days, which were few since we were only on Kalymnos for two weeks.

 

It's been a long time since I’ve been on a climbing trip. Though Ellen and I still climb, it’s usually a day or two here or a few days there, so it was fun to climb ourselves to exhaustion and then sit on our patio eating bread and cheese and sipping Mythos beer. Although Kalymnos rock draws top climbers, one source I found suggested that 90% of the visitors are 40-50 years old and climb mostly routes graded 5a – 6b (5.8 – 5.10 more or less). We’re even older (!!) and that grade range suited us just fine. I’ll spare you the climbing butt shots, so below are a sample of images mostly from rest days on the island. 

 

I've also included a little logistical info after the photos, though the climbing guide and many web sources have it more than covered. 

 

After Kalymnos, Ellen and I spent a week on the mainland in Athens and Nafplio being tourists (and climbing for a day at another popular destination called Leonidio). I’ll post about that part of the trip separately.

Dragging our tired selves to the ferry after spending a short night on Kos trying to recover from a 30-hour travel "day."

Our patio above Emporios at the Stone Calliope. 

Mythos, our default lager while on Kalymnos. And you thought they were just climbing shoes.

Sponges in Emporios. There are still lots for sale on Kalymnos, but as an economic driver, sponge diving has given way to tourism.

Dana (left) and Ellen contemplating the menu in Emporios and wondering, "How many do they have, anyway? Eight?"

A cove on the Aegean Sea during a hike along the coast from Kantouni Beach to a church.

The small church at the end of a rest day hike from Kantouni Beach along the Aegean coast.

A light at the church. What could go wrong?

Cyan and white are the colors of the Greek flag and these same colors were mandated for buildings in 1967 by a military government that felt that they supported their political agenda. They have become the iconic colors of Greece.

I have to include one climbing shot. Jack boldly venturing into 5.11 at Sector Arhi, stemming on huge tufas.

And one of Ellen at the base of a crag meditating on the climbing guidebook.

Chairs in Emporios.

Ellen chatting with one of the many cats in Greece, this one in Emporios. They are in every restaurant, hoping for a tidbit, and though feral seem to be mostly well cared for by people and restaurants. There's an active program on the island to neuter cats to slow their population growth.

Goats amongst the ruins of a castle. Many houses on Kalymnos have outdoor goat ovens, but this doesn't seem to concern the goats too much. They wander over the hillsides, many with bells, and word is that at some of the popular crags they will eat their way into your climbing packs.

The Chora Castle also known as Pera Kastro which commands a limestone knob above Pothia. 

Poppies and castle walls at the Chora Castle.

There are 9 churches within the walls of the Chora Castle, each dedicated to a different saint and most built in the 15th to 16th centuries.

The churches everywhere in Greece are full of religious art.

On a more hedonistic note, the sausages were pretty damn good.

As were the tuna. This one had just been caught for the restaurant down the hill from our house in Emporios on the day we left, sad that we couldn't order any of it.

Emporios Inlet as viewed from our patio. It’s hard to see the roosters, but there are a lot of them out there. 

Ellen and Jack on the ferry headed back to Kos, with Pothia receding. 

Logistical Miscellanea

Getting there: Most people fly to Athens and then from Athens to the island of Kos (pronounced with long-o) that is just south of Kalymnos. The Kos airport is close to the port town of Mastichari (taxi ride) where you can catch a short (45-minute) ferry to Pothia on Kalymnos. We spent the night on Kos before the ferry to get some rest after the long flights. You can buy ferry tickets at the harbor (no need to buy in advance) for about 10 euros.

 

Kalymnos taxi: We took a taxi from Pothia to our rented cottage in Emporios (35 euros). Most climbers stay in Masouri which is closer. Our taxi driver (Themis) was great – you can text her at +30 694 9854148 if you need a ride. 

 

Kalymnos accommodation: We stayed at a cozy little stone house for 4 people in Emporios called the Stone Calliope (contact Maria at +30 697 1790881) Emporios is quiet and has some advantages over Masouri in terms of proximity to the northern climbing areas, but it lacks the amenities that most climbers enjoy in Masouri and isn’t very social if that’s important to you. Emporios has restaurants, a small store, and scooter/car rental (very informal – no international license required, unlike in Masouri), but no gasoline and limited food choices. There are lots of places to stay in Masouri and all up and down the island which can be found online. Masouri also has many scooter rentals and you can walk from there to some of the big crags.

 

Transportation: Most climbers rent scooters and some rent small cars. Our taxi driver suggested that it’s better to rent at least a 125 cc scooter, which we did in Emporios (15 euros/day) with no need for a motorcycle license, but we were told by friends that in Masouri you can’t rent more than a 50 cc scooter unless you have the motorcycle license on your international driver’s license. It was very nice to have the more powerful scooters for climbing some of the hills, and they are less obnoxiously noisy than the little 50 cc 2-stroke engines. The closest gas stations are south of Masouri in Elies, so that’s an issue if you are based in Emporios but not a huge deal.

 

Food: There are LOTS of restaurants and taverns all over the place. The best meal I had (seared tuna) was in an upscale place in Masouri called Prego, but we had very good inexpensive food at Street Food (also in Masouri) and plenty of good meals at many other restaurants. The restaurants close to where we stayed in Emporios were good and had fresh fish. The biggest supermarket is in Elies (just south of Masouri) and is called the AB Market. There are lots of mini-marts in Masouri that sell groceries, beer, and liquor. We never figured out how to make good coffee at “home”, but restaurant cappuccinos did the trick. 

Climbing Guidebook: We used the 2019 guidebook which describes 3400 routes. There is a new edition coming out this year (2023) but it wasn't available when we were there. The guidebook is excellent.

Visiting the Past: Kashgar China, 2006

 

Window curtain, Kashgar, China. 2006

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Ellen, Bei, and I visited Kashgar in 2006, near the end of a year teaching and traveling in China (see blog). Tensions between the Uyghurs and the Chinese government were rising, but we were largely unaware, more tuned into tensions between Muslims and Americans during the Bush administration’s “war on terror” following 9/11. In a dusty desert town on the edge of the Taklamakan desert, a man lounging on a motorcycle asked me what I thought of Bush, pronouncing his name with a long-u, while drawing his finger across his throat. 

 

Kashgar sits on the western edge of China’s Xinjiang Province and was an important Silk Road hub linking China to Central Asia and Europe. The predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, native to Xinjiang, are one of 55 minority ethnic groups recognized by China. Historically, Xinjiang has been controlled by Mongols, Russians, Turkic people, and Uyghurs, as well as the Chinese, but the PRC is quick to suggest that China’s cumulative control lasted longer than that of others. 

 

In response to ethnic unrest in 2009 and partly under the cover of antiterrorism measures after 9/11, the PRC came down hard on Uyghurs, branding them separatists, terrorists, and religious extremists and enacting measures to “assimilate” them into Chinese culture. These included closures of mosques, reeducation, mass arrests, establishment of internment camps, and destruction of traditional Uyghur sections of cities including Kashgar. Like in Tibet, economic incentives have drawn Han Chinese to Xinjiang, diluting the Uyghur population and culture. 

In 2021, the U.S. State Department accused the PRC of crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang, adding to the growing tension between the U.S. and China. The Congressional Research Service published a useful summary of events leading to this determination, and detailed information is widely available online (e.g., here, and here), but in 2006 when we visited, much of this was in the future.

 

In Kashgar, we stayed at the Chini Bagh Hotel on what were the grounds of the British Consulate during the time of the Great Game when the British and Russian Empires vied for control of Central Asia and India. Bei was 5, and though keen enough to wander with her parents, eating lamb kabobs and visiting markets, I often left the hotel early to walk through the city with my camera. 

 

Most of us wish we could see with our own eyes what the world looked like before it was “modern,” a word applied to whatever age happens to be yours. Perhaps this nostalgia is more painful for photographers. Images of everyday life 25, 50, or 100 years ago evoke fantasies about the photos we might have made. Yet here we are, time rushing by, the envy of future photographers. Kashgar and the Uyghur culture was eroding in 2006 when we visited, but much remained that is now destroyed.

 

I recently ran across images by Carl Mydans (1907-2004), a documentary photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in the 1930s along with Dorothea Lange and later for LIFE Magazine, covering WWII and spending two years as a Japanese prisoner after being captured while working in the Philippines. His experiences left him with a keen sense of history. Mydans once said, maybe a little dramatically:

 

“All of us live in history, whether we are aware of it or not, and die in drama. The sense of history and of drama comes to man not because of who he is or what he does, but flickeringly, as he is caught up in events, as his personality reacts, as he sees for a moment his place in the great flowing river of time and humanity. I cannot tell you where our history is leading us, or through what suffering, or into what era of war or peace. But wherever it is, I know men of good heart will be passing there.”

 

I recently reprocessed some of my images from Kashgar in 2006 realizing that I never included them in my China blog. There are a lot of images here, but they capture some of the diversity and liveliness, and some of what is now the history, of the city and the Uyghurs. I’m grateful to have been there.

Uyghur man, Kashgar.

Kashgar evening TV.

Street scene.

Young woman, old Kashgar.

Kids in the old part of Kashgar.

Young friends (or siblings?).

Woman and window.

Naan.

Door and padlock. 

Old friends.

Women at the market.

Carrying brooms to market.

Woman in old Kashgar, early morning.

Buying vegetables.

Three generations at the animal market.

The grandmother from the previous photo.

Sheep shearing at the animal market.

Pushing sheep.

Smoker.

I'm not sure what to say about this, except that if these guys had been rock climbers, their boldness would have been legendary.

Early morning woman with hot water.

Woman at market.

Instrument maker.

Restaurant.

Towels and window reflections.