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Published: January 3rd 2023
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After a wonderful hike yesterday, it was time to leave our cozy Kaza guesthouse and head down the mountains to Olympia, birthplace of the Olympics. But first, we had to navigate the twisty-turny, barely two-lane roads down to the coast.
Ken took the driving duties and did a great job maneuvering around blind corners, with massive drops to the cliffs below. At one very cute village, hanging off the cliffs (a theme the past few days) we decided to stop, enjoy a coffee and check out the festive shops. In this area they are known for their honey, and surprisingly homemade pasta. We stocked up on both, including some jars of yummy walnuts and pistachios in honey.
While Google maps advised it was 1.5 hours to Olympia, it took over 2.5 (including the stop) which gives an indication the slow crawl down. No way we were going to be doing the suggested speed limit on the road!!
We arrived to the small town of Olympia, found a cafe for a light lunch and then walked to the ruins covering a large area. We loosely followed the Rick Steves walking tour, which gave good intel as to the history,
the layout and how to use your imagination as to vastness and opulence of the entire complex. the most significant building was the Temple of Zeus, where there is a lone column still standing. There was a hotel, training buildings and all the amenities needed to host the the Games every 4 years. Over 750 structures have been identified, with ruins of many still standing. One can't resist lining up at the starting blocks (still there and visible in the picture) to run a race!
The Games ran for almost 1000 years starting in approx 700BC, before the early Christians in approx 400AD decided the temples and the entire operation were pagan, and not only stopped the Games, but destroyed many of the buildings. In the museum, there are many statues and pieces of everyday life that have been preserved. They just discovered a new structure that actually predates the rest of the complex by several hundred years, so lots still under that ground!!
We had decided that for the evening we would drive the 40mins to the Agean Sea coast (we are on the Ionian Sea in Tolo). We arrived to a very modern, nice hotel up
on a hill, with spectacular views of the water. Unfortunately the air was super smokey, and Ken was convinced it was some nasty chemical plant that we could see across the water spewing nastiness. We eventually found out that it is the end of the olive harvest and the smoke comes from the farms (and a plant) burning the olive debris. Thankfully no chemicals, but still made for not the best breathing.
The evening was not the best experience. While the hotel was great, they had no food (except toast). We didn't want to go far, so we asked where in the little town just below, we could either delivery or go down to get take out. Um, that elicited a not positive response...so I started calling those I could find that were close. I ended with one lone restaurant, where we went down and got takeout. The restaurant was totally empty (of course it was early by Greek standards) and we got some ok (not on the list for a return) food that we took back to the hotel. The final issue was we couldn't get the AC working and the room was stuffy. We opened the doors,
which helped and then a dog started barking and did so for a good portion of the night, which meant for not great sleeping conditions.
We both woke up a bit weary, and started on the way back to Tolo. On the way, we stopped by Tselopos Winery (https://tselepos.gr/?lang=en) which produced the wonderful Merlot that we had a couple of nights earlier in Diminstana. We had a nice overview of the winery and then enjoyed some amazing wines, including the Merlot which of course went into our car!
The ride back was a bit hair-raising, and even more dramatic than coming down the mountains from yesterday. We went up and over some significant climbs, with more switchbacks and precarious drops before arriving on the coast overlooking Nafplio. While some of the trip challenged my comfort levels, overall it was a wonderful way to explore different parts of the Peloponnese!!
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Mary
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I have a picture of Gene with his feet on the starting blocks. that statue of "Apollo" is a woman