Military History Tours          On Tour - Greece and Crete Tour 26 April 2013

This morning we left Athens for our trip up country and into the battlefields. Our first stop was at the Corinth Canal where we discussed the action and the German effort to stop the bridge being destroyed. They failed and the bridge was blown. This gave some extra time for those moving south to the evacuation beaches to be lifted off.

Our photos first show the group leaving on the coach, then lunch in the streets at Navplion. A most important stop as it was here that the Ulster Prince ran aground and was finally sunk by air, thereby blocking the harbour and stopping further evacuations. The spot where the Ulster Prince met its fate is also shown to the left of the small fort in the harbour. To the right of the fort the water is very shallow, so shallow that in ancient times the Venetians used a chain to block the navigational part of the bay.

From Navplion we headed over the range towards the last of the evacuation beaches at Kalamata. Our group posed near the top of the range with Navplion in the background.

At Kalamata, we had a group photograph around the special memorial, laid in 1994 by veterans from Australia, for those lost in the evacuation from the area of Kalamata. We conducted a small but moving service as one of our members was personally involved in the area as her father was left on the beach when all evacuations stopped. He was captured and spent the rest of the war in Stalag 18.

We then pushed on to Olympia where we are to stay two nights and in the morning we will visit the Historic Olympic site.

Our accommodation at Olympic Asty, is excellent and we are always received well by George the owner.

Our tour guide Elena became an Aunty for the first time this morning and we toasted the new little girl with Pomegranate Liqueur, provided by Elena.