Top 2 floors, well landscaped, five-storey sea-front house across Argolid Gulf from Nafplio, a beautiful ten-mile drive around the gulf. 15 minutes from Astros 40 minutes from the ancient Epidavros theater or the beaches of Tolo.
From the spacious veranda there are amazing views of the ancient Argos fort and the Palamidi of Nafplio, the island of Spetes, outlines of the Mycenae acropolis, the ruins of ancient Tiryns. Much of Greek mythology is set nearby.
The sound of waves against the shore is continuous and fine swimming is accessible by walking down a flight of steps. The beach is stony but it is also private since it is hard to reach from public areas. The Tavernas of the village are a five-minute walk by a path along the water.
The house has wireless broadband. There is plenty of parking on the road in front of the house, which is built by a cliff so that the veranda in back is some 90 feet above the water while the apartment entry on the front side of the house is at road level.
Entertainment, Festivals, markets: Each of the towns in the area has summer events, from Astros around the gulf to Tolo. We have especially enjoyed going to the Argos theater, sliced out of rock to the west of the city during the peak of that city's dominance of the ‘known world’ around the 7th century BC. In recent summers the same productions by the national theater company that open in Epidavros have also been playing there, along with a variety of other pieces. Take your blackberry or iphone with downloaded text to follow along if you’d like. Both Argos and Nafplio have outdoor movie theaters that play films in English with Greek subtitles.
There are various outdoor markets. The Argos market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings near the central square is a picturesque opportunity to buy a huge range of items at a discount price, from clothing, to household wares, to Chanel perfumes (5 Euros for no. 5 marked originally at 85). There are one or two stands that sell “bio” or organic produce.
Telephone, internet, tv, cafes, supermarkets: We have a small tv, with antennae reception, and a dvd player. The house has high speed, secure wireless internet service. Blackberries, iPhones and IPads, as well as laptops (both Mac and PC) work well with our internet service. Kiveri has at least one cafe (Summer, along the water) with free WiFi, and Nafplion has a variety of cafes with free internet access, including Xenon and Noufara in the main square, and a number along the waterside.
In addition to the Village cafes and tavernas, and those in Nafplio, there are quite a few along the coastal road from Kiver to Naplio. In Miloi there are mainly souvalki tavernas; this is what the village is known for. Since we are not meat eaters, we can’t make recommendations there. More towards Nea Kios, there is a fish taverna right on the beach. The tables decked simply with table clothes are set on the sand with the water lapping at your feet; it’s tucked away, as if in a Fellini film, behind the fish market on the Nea Kios pier. Park your car and then take the narrow bridge near the Erasinos River leading from the road.
water --hot water and swimming, recreation: Hot water
There is a switch to turn the hot water on and off. It is in the electrical box to your left as you enter the apartment. It is the double switch in the middle row on the right. The “on” position is up and the “off” is down. A little red light will go on the water heater in the downstairs bathroom when the water heater us on. Give it about 10 minutes (or more) to heat the water, depending on how much hot water you expect to use. Be sure to turn it off when you leave.
The water directly below is very clear and clean and wonderful to swim in. It’s a rocky beach, and we find that it’s best to go in wearing swimming shoes made of fabric and/or plastic, easily purchased for a few Euros. You may find snorkeling worthwhile on one of the mornings when the water is calm
Much of Greek mythology occurred in nearby Nemea/ Argolid. A house from 2200 BC is two miles north in Lerna, where Hercules slayed the many-headed hydra. And the house is 1.5 hours from the Franchti cave, inhabited ca. 25,000 years.
