Photo review Corinth and surrounding areas

Hello everyone,

We had a day in port in Piraeus in September 2014 while cruising on the Celebrity Constellation. The ship was docked from 6am to 6pm. This was our third visit to Athens and this time we wanted to venture out into the countryside and leave the hustle and bustle of the big city behind. On a previous stop in Piraeus in 2013 we met a friendly and very knowledgeable taxi driver, whom we stayed in contact with. He made several suggestions for excursions away from the city. We decided to visit the Canal of Corinth and the surrounding areas. This is a very picture laden report of our day. Hopefully it will be helpful to fellow cruisers in planning their itineraries

Aris picked us up at 7:30 in the morning to get an early start. The cab comfortably seated 4 passengers.

After about 1 hour, we arrived at the canal. It connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegaen Sea. It separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, transforming the former peninsula into an island. The canal is 4 miles long and only 70 feet wide at it's base. Construction was started in 1881 and completed in 1893. Due to its narrowness and periodic closures to repair landslides from its steep walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic anticipated by its operators. It is now used mainly for tourist traffic.

We continued on to Ancient Corinth.

The archaeological site is dominated by the Temple of Apollo.

Some impressions from the site

We were the only visitors at this site, beating the buses by about 45 minutes. It pays off to get started early.

We continued on through the typical Greek landscape ....

...and started our ascent up to Akrokorinthos, which acted as a fortified citadel from the neolithic period thru the Middle Ages

We had to hike up the last part. From the parking area up thru the entrance gate and up to the Citadel is all on foot. The climb was very steep over very uneven terrain, but the views were incredible.

We hiked around the area's paths for a little while,

Then made our way to the temple of Zeus in Nemea.

The University of California is heavily involved in the reconstruction process and is honored by having a square named after them.

Nemea is also an area very famous for its wine production.

Grapes are being harvested by hand

We visited a very nice, family owned winery....

...tasted some of their wines

And received a lot of information on wine production. The Lady in the picture is cleaning out the storage tanks.

That's all that is left....

We also saw how raisins are laid out to dry.

After the wine tasting Aris took us to another bridge at the Canal of Corinth. This time we could witness how a bridge submerges to let tourist boat go through the canal.

Car traffic and pedestrians have to wait patiently for about 30 minutes until the bridge reappears.

Sea level view of the canal

After all the wine tasting we were getting hungry and what better place to eat at than a local seafood restaurant right on the beach in the small town of Loutraki.

The food was very fresh and delicious. Local Ladies on the table next to us told us what to order and how to eat it. Greeks share large platters of food family style.

After walking around the waterfront for a while, we continued back to Piraeus, where we arrived around 4:30pm. It was a great way to spend the day. No crowds at all.

Some impressions from the port of Piraeus.

Watching a beautiful sunset as we are sailing towards Kusadasi

Thank you so much for your review of your day trip to Corinth and area.

Love your pictures.

We were there in 2013, took the Constellation ship tour to Coriith, and canal.

I loved the museum at Corinth and the whole site. Our guide was great. It early Nov so we had no crowds either.

We did a similar thing except that our ship was small enough to go through the canal. Here are a few shots from down below.

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Thank you for adding the pic, zqvol! Great to have another perspective

Regards

Petra

Hello, Are you willing to share the contact info for your taxi driver and price paid? We are headed into Athens where we have already been and thought a trip to Corinth could be nice. Did the driver fill you in with info and facts as well or did you use a guide book? THANKS!

Ssislandgirl, may I ask who you used in Athens? We will be going for the first so we need to see the highlights but would love a guide that adds some personal touches (as yours seemed to do).

Btw, fabulous pics.

Chris

Hi KeyKeyVt and fcleiser3,

Thanks for your interest in this thread.

I am more than happy to share the info. Our cab driver's name is Aris Botsas. He owns Astron Taxi. His e-mail is astrontaxi@gmail.com. His website is astrontaxi.com

I can highly recommend his services. He is very reliable and knowledgable, but is not allowed to accompany you into the sites since he is not a professional tour guide. So, for our Athens visit 2 years ago and the excursion last year, I brought my guide book along to visit the Akropolis,etc at our own pace.

Here is a link to my blog for that particular day

http://pandbtraveladventures.blogspot.com/2013/12/september-30th-2013-athens.html

I apologize for the picture quality. I just had a small point and shot.

KeyKeyVt,

I don't recall what we paid, just that it was very reasonable

Loved your photos. Having done Athens on a previous cruise, we were thinking about Corinth on our Equinox cruise this September. We have definitely made up our minds! My h and I are both ancient history fans.