Playing in the Greek ruins

So this is a few days overdue, but I've been busy resting and trying to recover after 10 days of craziness! :) 

On our last day in Greece, we hired a private taxi company to take us out to Ancient Corinth, Mycenae, Nafpilion, and Epidavros. We were really pleased with the trip. Our driver George was really knowledgable of both Greece history, culture, and had lots of interesting things to tell us about his country. Our first two stops were the Corinth Canal and acrocorinth. They are both quite the sight! We took pictures, walked around and headed to my favorite spot.... Ancient Corinth! I was surprised by the way the museum has the site organized. You can literally walk in and around all of the ancient ruins. I took A LOT of pictures for my World History lesson on Greece. :) The best part for me was being able to see the city as it must have been in Paul's day. The bema seat is there in Corinth, and you can walk up to the top of it. What an amazing thing to see my Bible come alive! I could picture the people in the agora and in the houses or temples and you could almost feel the buzz of what it must've been like at that time. I was so glad that I got to experience the city. 

We then jumped back in our air-conditioned Mercedes taxi  (It was about a high of 93 with humidity so we were really glad for the AC!) and headed off to Mycenae. In Mycenae we were able to see the ancient acropolis and climb up to the top of the palace giving us wonderful views of the countryside. After climbing the acropolis, we visited the tombs of the Kings of Ancient Greece. The beehive tombs are amazing. Their entrances are like tunnels into the ground, but when you go inside, you are in a cavernous room that is circular. 

The port city of Nafpilion was our next stop. We drove up to the top of the castle that's last additions were done in the 1700s. We climbed to the top for spectacular coastal views. The castle overlooks the harbor and an island that George described as the "the alcatraz of Nafpilion". We walked around but had worked up quite an appetite, and so we followed George's suggestion for a nice restaurant for lunch with a view of the harbor. 

Our last stop was  the famous amphitheater of Epidavros. This large amphitheater is known for its acoustics. This site is also the home of the ancient temple of Apollos' ruins. We walked around the ruins, grabbed a slushie lemonade and began the 2 hour drive back to Athens. 

It was the perfect way to end our time in Greece. While I could've used another day at least in Athens, I will have to add it to my list of places to go back to! :) 

We're now back "home". Groceries, laundry and rest have been on the agenda the last few days.