Leaving the Dolce Attica Rivera was difficult, such a beautiful Aegean Sea resort. Our shuttle driver dropped us back at the airport where we are renting a car for three days and collecting Justin from his African adventures. Trouble with the ATM created a slight delay but nonetheless we got on the road, after packing our little ‘LEON’ station wagon with more suitcases than recommended.
Jena is a great navigator, even found us a great little cafe on the way to ancient site of Delphi. What an awesome authentic place to eat a few Greek salads and Kebab’s. Little to no traffic interrupting our catching up on Justin’s climb and safari.
Following a seasoned blogger we choose to visit the ‘Dhelfi’ site in the afternoon, once the tourist busses had left. Walking amongst the ruins gives you an opportunity to envision what this really was thousands of years ago. Climbing the Sacred Path we passed the Monument of the Admirals and were amazed at the completeness, although reconstruction has happened with many of them, of the Treasury of the Athenians. Mathematically constructed the Polygonal Wall of irregular shapes is intact and has withstood earthquakes and time. It is covered in inscriptions and many refer to the emancipation of slaves, as this location was one of only a few that could make it official.
The Temple of Apollo, the God of Music who slayed Python here at Delphi, is somewhat visible with the floor and columns. On the architrave it reads (we are told that as it is in Greek) ‘Know Thy Self’ and ‘Moderation In All Things”. Those are two great ideals to live by even if they figured that out thousands of years ago and many still struggle the understanding of these wise messages.
As the paths winds up the hill we are distracted by different looking insects, an almond tree (Justin tries a raw almond) as well as fig trees. All new to us but equally entertaining. The ancient architecture is very interesting including the aquifer system or maybe just a gutter:) The theatre is magnificent, we cannot go beyond a rope but told the acoustics are awesome. Many people just sitting here and staring and its glory. Onward to the top through the small pine trees to a banked seated stadium 178m long. These seats too are off limits so we ad-libbed our runner’s stance.
We talked and envisioned how this entire state may have looked back then as we walked down the path. While fascinating, it takes a great deal of imagination to truly take in all that this place was about. The names alone will make you spin; Apollo, Python, Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Marathon, etc.
Following our historic visit we climb back out of the hills to the sea. Staying in a small little sea town, Galaxidi, certainly Instagram worthy and a must stop if you visit the ruins of Delphi. We were greeted by another of the most wonderfully nice Greeks and escorted to two rooms overlooking the bay, absolutely gorgeous. A downfall perhaps was the mosquito bites we accrued only because we wanted to keep the doors open to the sea as a peaceful lapping put us to sleep. Around 2:00AM we exchanged the closed doors for the AC, still a few little critters remained in the room:( Our hotel, The Galaxa Mansion, was the best. Beautiful views, comfortable beds and a hot shower that literally fills the bathroom (don’t leave your cloths on the floor or the toilet paper in its place).
Breakfast had all the best Greek favorites. This was the first time I had yogurt that was truly ‘Greek Yogurt’, it is not what you buy in Fred Meyer! Very deliciously smooth, great with honey, fruit, granola or just plain. Fresh squeezed orange juice sitting under a lemon tree really brings out that healthy feeling. A couple eggs made to choice, by the way an omelet is another way of saying scrambled and fried.
On to the Ancient City of Olympus.