More of the Nafplio trip, April 17-21.

The town square was a traditional European style, with restaurants and coffee shops all around. As you can see there were vendors selling balloons and other children's toys, and kids were playing games, riding bikes and having fun. It's great just to sit and watch people as they

stroll by - both watching and strolling are great
European pastimes. Most of the cafes have
backgammon boards available, and we played a
few games at this cafe as we sat.

Nafplio has great shops and squares, but the natural beauty has to be the highlight. This paved walkway stretches along the coast from the port area. Kim and Martha aren't more than a couple of hundred yards from the hustle and bustle of the cafes, yet you don't even know it because the path curves away and you feel away from it all. In the four days we spent there, each day included at least one walk in a different location that Mark and Martha have found over their years going there.


I was fascinated by all the cactus growing out of the side of the hill. Obviously they aren't cultivated but they have developed rather well. Most of the ones closer to the path have been carved with people's initials or some other territorial marking. If people were more like dogs at least their markings would not be so permanently visible.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the places we ate, and we certainly did eat. We had a good
breakfast each morning at the hotel. Our other
meals were influenced by the Easter season. On Friday and Saturday we were still "fasting," so we had seafood. Easter fast for Greeks is not so much about less food but rather not eating certain foods. Like Catholics, fish is traditional. Being in a coastal town, and having seafood restaurants that actually have a view of the water, eating seafood is hardly a sacrifice but it is still a remembrance of the season, and most important a tradition. I absolutely love the connections between food and culture.


For Greek Easter, lamb is almost obligatory.
Tomorrow I'll post a short video of the service on Easter at midnight, but as I'm talking about the food let me explain. After the big moment when Jesus is declared risen, people head off to eat (mind you, this is 12:30-1 a.m.). The traditional meal is to ceremoniously crack the colored hard-boiled eggs and to eat those with a special soup. But, since this is one of the biggest events of the season for restaurants, and every seat is reserved, they can't make enough profit on just soup and eggs, so most offer a fixed menu which includes those items but they also have lamb, wine, salad, etc.


The soup that's served is very important. The main ingredient in Mayiritsa is lamb organ meat. As Mark pointed out, this is why it's important to go to a restaurant you know and trust for this meal. Great care needs to be taken that the meat is properly cleaned and prepared. We found that "great care" doesn't come cheap. Our 1 a.m. Easter meal was the most expensive meal Kim and I have had in Greece. I don't fault the restaurant at all, though. I understand this is his biggest night of the year, and he's only going to get one use of each table - he's not going to turn
the table at 2 a.m. and get more customers. I am
a little amused at the fact that Mark reserved, and has been coming to the same restaurant for years, but he didn't know what the bill would be. When we eat with Mark and Martha, we never look at a menu. Mark orders based on specialties, season and his tastes. It's worked out well for us so far.


This picture is just outside Nafplio in the village of Kefalari. The church in the background is from 1928, built on the site of a 1634 church, rebuilt when an explosion destroyed all but the
altar and icon of the Virgin Mary.


Especially significant is the cave behind the current church, used as worship space for centuries before. The cave had had a spring, which served both practical purposes and metaphorical ones. We ate our Easter Day meal (early afternoon) of lamb within sight of the church and cave. Of course the meal was lamb, but none of us were wanting a whole roast at this point so we opted for chops.


I'll close today's posting with a short video from
Good Friday. It's poor quality because it's night. On Good Friday a decorated casket is processed through the streets of town. Everyone has lighted candles. Some follow behind the processional while others line the streets waiting for it to pass. The video shows the elderly priest who was officiating getting out of his car. He's too feeble to make the long march anymore, so he is driven in a Mercedes behind the casket. They make frequent stops along the way so he can lead prayers and singing. Martha was shocked by him a few years ago when his Easter sermon was full of anger and hate. The following year his sermon was drowned out by fireworks and cheering - Martha believes because everyone felt as she did and did not to hear a repeat performance.

I'll post more pictures and video from Nafplio tomorrow.