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Ola Amigos,
So I'm back in Athens for the day before I take off to the Islands! My boat to Mykonos leaves at 8:00pm tonight, arriving on the island at midnight - so I am just killing time today as I only have $10 for the whole day (including food)...stupid bank!
Trying to think of where I was last time...in Tripolis! So yes, I finally got my bus from Tripolis to Olympia which took about 2 1/2 hours. It was the most insane bus ride you can ever imagine. I'm pretty sure that we climbed every single hill (mountain) in Greece on the way to Olympia, winding across the hills to these villages literally perching on the side of the mountains! And then we would be flying down this road with nothing around and then we would stop and pick up an old man on the side of the road, and I am just like, where could you have come from!? It was a gorgeous way to see the area...but man! The coach bus was flying around the hills, on a very narrow road with about 1 foot (less at times!) between on the road and instant death due to falling into huge gorges! And of course, the bus only went about 10 meters before it was a hairpin turn all the way up and across these hills. Needless to say, I was not feeling very good at all by the end! But I managed to stagger off the bus at about 10pm and make my way to my hostel. Which ended up being the most hilarious hostel ever - it is owned by this really old couple who live in the hostel with us! Like, right there on the same floor! I got there at 10pm, had to knock on the owners bedroom door and finally he comes out doing up his pants and gives me my key! His wifes comes out of her room later as I walk past, and she is pulling on her underwear! AHH! The hostel itself reminded me alot of a Queen's Ghetto house, put a Grandparent's version of a Ghetto house. It was only 10 euro for the night though, so really what can you expect?
Olympia was AMAZING by the way! :) Not only is it the site of the first Olympic games ever...but it is also a very spiritual place, a sanctuary to Zeus and the other gods. It is a pretty large area, and you can walk through quite a bit of it, imgaining what it would have looked like 2,000 years ago. The Olympics were held here for over a millenia! Also, a huge statue to Zeus was in the Temple of Zeus there that is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World...not that it exists anymore! And guess what, there is a track!! That you get to run on! And it is so well preserved - the marble start and finish lines are still there, as well as the judges seats..I got alot of pictures (exchanging camera duties with an Italian couple), and did my own little sprint - The track in 192 meters in length, on a dirt surface. Amazing. Epic. It just made me fall even more in love with sprinting - this is where it all began. Just bare feet (and bare bodies!) on a dirt strip..pure strength and the ability to give it everything you have in those few precious seconds. That is the purest form of athleticism. And you know what, no one knows how fast these people were. Maybe they would have left Mr. Bolt eating their dust! I really, really loved Olympia! (Also, I had the best Greek salad I have had yet at a cafe there).
After Olympia I took a TRAIN (Yess!!) to Patras, a city on the Northern edge of the Pheloponesse that leads to Central Greece across the Gulf of Corinth (possibly). I slept there for the night, and then headed to Delphi by bus. But guess what? I have figured out the secret to busses - sit at the front! (DUHH!). While these trips were MUCH less insane than the one to Olympia, I have felt totally fine...sitting in the front seat seeing every turn before it happens. Amazing. Why, WHY, has it taken me so long to figure this out! Its a whole new world (Knock on wood!).
Delphi is this tiny town perched on the side of a mountain..only about 4 streets in total, that looks over this huge valley and down to towns that are on the Gulf. And also happens to be the hottest place on the planet! I made my way to the Pension I was going to stay at and guess what? I was once again greeted by an old man doing up his pants as he came to let me in - what is this!? Maybe it was Siesta time...who knows! Very hilarious place though as well...the man would write the price of the room onto a piece of paper and show it to me. And then continued to explain the keys in Greek (maybe a French and Greek mix?), I just nodded...
I saw the Sanctuary of Delphi the next morning - the Sanctuary holds the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle of Delphi was located. People would pilgramage to Delphi to have a Priestess give them their prophocies - apparently the Oracle gave off strange sounds and vapours that the Priestess would hear and then tell the person who asked the question. There is no trace of this Oracle now, but the Temple of Apollo has had a few pillars re-erected so you can get a good idea of how huge the place was. And guess what else is there? A track! I love the Greeks! This one was used for an event similar to the Olympic games. You can't run on this track, but the seats that surround the track are very well preserved so it is a very impressive site. Random story: There are some other sites down the hill from the Sanctaury (the Thoros..the circular building that is on all post-cards for Delphi).But I was walking through the ruins, and no one was around which I was very confused about because it was prime tour bus time. So I walk through this whole area and upon leaving I am told that I was not suppose to be there because it is closed due to a fire (in progress? I don't know but there were fire trucks around!) A) I did not see any fire B) there were non-tourists (staff I am pretty sure) down there that saw me and didn't stop me C) the gate to the site (I think it was a lesser-used enterance) was totally open..Very strange, but oh well - I got to enjoy the place all alone!
By the time I got to Delphi I was feeling pretty lonely. It had been about 3 days since I had had an actual conversation with someone, and that can be very isolating. A Greek woman tried to talk to me on the bus to Delphi, but despite her persistence I was not going to understand any Greek that she said! So she just smiled, sighed, and patted my leg :) Anywho, so I decided to head back to Athens the next day - I was going to head up to Meteora which has monasteries apparenlty perched unbelievably on the top of mountains, highly recommended, but decided that that can wait. I headed back to Athens after seeing the Sanctuary, and from there planned what I was going to do next (and got to talk to people!!).
I have booked all of my ferry tickets from the next 2 plus weeks as they fill up fast - I didn't really want to have to do this, but this is high season and also sometimes it is hard to find ferries to and from certain islands. So I am booked for Mykonos (3 days), Syros (5 hours!), Rhodes (5 days), Crete (3 days), and Santorini (5 days). I wanted less time in Rhodes and more time in Crete, but the ferries just didn't work out - because I wanted to end in Santorini. I had planned on hitting up more islands, but there is a travel agency here and the guy recommended I limit it - this way I get to see more of the islands than just the port.
So I think that is about it! If anyone wants a Greek holiday, I would love the company :)
Miss everyone so so so so so so so so so much!
Kim :)
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