A very tardy update - Greece Continued - A very good argument

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We arrived in Athens (quite tired) at about 12.30am and were met by Dimitrios who picked us up and took us to our hotel. He is a very nice chap. After a bad night sleep (revellers and noisy bast**rds at the hotel), we were met by Frank (Fotis) for our tour around Marathon and Cape Sounion. Steve was very keen to see Marathon due to its significance in Ancient Greek history. He has been a very capable and knowledgeable tour guide for me. His private study of ancient Greece and Rome has been very useful.

On the way to Marathon, we stopped at the Marathon Lake (which is not that close to actual Marathon). It was good for me to have a stop - the lack of sleep had made me feel quite car sick and I was grateful for the break.

From there we went to Marathon. There is a great museum there with some astonishing artefacts from Egypt. There is also an excavation that is preserved in a large purpose-built warehouse. When we walked in we both immediately felt a very strong presence there. It was very evocative. There are preserved skeletons still in the ground.

We also visited the scene where the battle of Marathon took place in 490BC. The Persians had formed an extensive army and the Athenians fought valiantly to save their home land. They only lost 194 Athenians versus thousands of Persians. There is a very large tomb that is a grass covered mound where the fallen men were buried.

It was strange to walk around the site of a place of so much bloodshed. It just looks like a park covered in wild flowers.

On the map at Marathon, Steve discovered the name of a little town called Bala. Bala means ball in Greek. It is a fitting name for Misty, our ball-obsessed dog.

From Marathon we went to see the Temple of Artemis (Diana). The site was closed but was easily visible from the road.
We drove down the coast towards Cape Sounion. We stopped at a small beach that is popular with the locals. It was a lovely area but more entertaining (and disturbing) to see the portly older men playing a paddle and ball match on the sand in their speedos. They were very good at it but Speedo has a lot to answer for.

We had lunch at a nice restaurant next to the sea and then left to go to Cape Sounion to watch the sun setting at the Temple of Poseidon. On the way there, our driver received a phone call from one of the other guides to say that the site would be closing early. It was Good Friday in Greece (they celebrate Easter one week later than us). It was closing in three mintues and we were five minutes away. Our guide was hopeful that they would still let us in, so we made our way there. He was wrong...

We went straight to the gate and he asked the staff if we could be let in for 15 minutes because we had travelled from Australia (24 hours-away) and it would be our only opportunity to visit the site. They said no. Our driver and the two staff members then proceeded to have a loud, expressive and heated argument about it. He asked them to provide proof that they had the authority to close the site two-and-a-half hours early. They did not have papers. He asked them for their names. They refused to give it (although it is a requirement to provide it if you are a member of the public service in Greece), he told them that he would be investigating the matter and if they closed early without authority, he would be pressing charges. Of course, Steve and I could understand nothing of this at the time because it was all Greek to us. However, the argument was quite an experience to watch.

We climbed a hill across from the temple and took some nice shots from there. Our driver was devastated for us that we did not get to explore the site. Given the opportunity to explore the site or witness the argument - I think that in honesty we would pick the argument.
While we were on the hill, we noticed that they were arguing again. There was a man there who kept intervening and when our driver asked if he worked there, he would say yes and the two women would say no. This man ended up pushing another tour driver down a hill, so that chap called the police. The police came (and the man who had been intervening disappeared!). Our driver asked that they record the names of the ladies and investigate whether they had the delegation to close the site. One of the women then alleged that our driver had slapped her. He told her that he would go and collect us and we would verify that this was a complete lie. The police asked if she would like to change her statement and she had to admit that she had lied to the police.

All of this took well over an hour - which would have given us plenty of time to see the site.....

As it stands, the police are investigating the matter and if the staff took it upon themselves to close the site early, our driver is going to seriously consider pressing charges. He is going to let us know the outcome. I should point out that there was at least 50 other people from all over the world that were impacted by the early closure.

The next day we got up early and went to the Acropolis and Parthenon. It is amazing there. The Acropolis has incredible views of Athens city and the 360 degrees around. The Parthenon (Temple dedicated to Athena) is huge and there are a number of other temples on the site including the Temple dedicated to Nike (Italian for Victory).

Surrounding the Acropolis is a couple of ancient theatres, one of which is still in use today. There are a number of other archaeological sites there as well. There is a great view to the Hill of Muses (Philoppapou). After we climbed the Acropolis (once again, a good steady climb and steps a plenty), we also climbed the Hill of Muses to view the monument. We also visited Socrates’ Prison. This was a site that Steve was particularly interested in seeing and he told me about the fate of Socrates while we were there.

We were both feeling quite worn by this stage so we headed to Syntagma Square to have a coffee and use the free wireless available in the Square. It was here that I had to update our travel blog because a technical hitch had removed all the photos added since the beginning of April, so we had to load them all again.....

We viewed the "Changing of the Guard" at the front of the Parliament building. There are two guards there that protect the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They are meant to stand motionless for the best part of the hour and each hour they are relieved by a new set of guards. The ceremonial dress is quite unusual. Thick white tights, short pleated white skirt (with 400 pleats to signify the number of years under Turkish rule), pom poms on the shoes etc (see photo). The guards are young men who are completing their 12 months compulsory service and it is a great honour to be chosen to do this (apparently it helps if you know someone in parliament and are good looking in your quest to be a chosen one).

We went in search of a more comprehensive English to Greek dictionary and the last book in the Twilight series. It was difficult to find Breaking Dawn because it was Easter Saturday and most shops were shut. Many of the shops that were open had sold out of it. We happened to find it by chance in a small department store. All Greek version copies were sold out but I managed to get my hands on an English version. I read half of it by the end of the night (350 pages).

I wore my Kumf shoes specially purchased for the trip and unfortunately, they did not end up being ‘Kumfortable’ for climbing lots of steps and walking (limping) around town all day. I ended up with blisters on blisters that popped and then proceeded to rub raw. I am so grateful that I ended up bringing my hiking boots with me. They have been a Godsend.

We went back to our hotel where we met up with the Tour Director and fellow passengers for our Greek Odyssey Tour. We were the youngest couple of the tour. There was one other youngster (24) and the ages after that range from early fifties to 85! The 85 year old, Harry (or Charalambos - his actual name) is incredible. We did not find out Harry's age until half way through the tour and we would never have guessed it. He is spritely and fit and is quite an inspiration. His mind is extremely sharp too. He is a Greek American that was visiting Greece for the first time. This is a chap that fought in the 2nd World War....

We commenced our tour on Easter Sunday with an orientation tour of Athens before we headed north to Kalambuka, a drive of about 5 hours. As the sites of Athens were closed, we had a sleep in and did not start the tour until 9.15am. On the way we saw a Stork’s nest on the top of a church. The Storks fly thousands of kilometres each year to breed in that nest (see the photo).

We arrived at Kalambuka at about 4.30pm. Our hotel had views of the rocky outcrops that dominate the town of Meteora. We strolled through the town and enjoyed a drink (non-alcoholic, Kaz) in one of the town’s squares. Steve purchased a couple of books in Greek that he is hoping to be able to translate and read one day (he likes a challenge, that one!).

On the trip our guide, Amanda, told us some Greek myths and also told us about some of the history of Greece. One of the stories that she told us was about Oedipus (or as I said to Steve later - wasn’t Oedipus that bloke wot killed his father and married his mother?).
Dinner was with the group that night and we shared a table with an Australian couple from Perth - Peter and Marilyn McGregor. Peter is an engineer in the steel industry and Marilyn is a primary school teacher. They are a lovely couple. They have been travelling overseas about twice a year for the past few years and plan to do so for many years to come.

I stayed up too late finishing my book but I was lucky that we had another late start on the following day (9am on the bus). Our first stop was meant to be a photo stop only of the views and of a monastery that we were not actually visiting. However two members of our group did not listen to the instructions and merrily climbed their way to the monastery (Agios Nikolaos or St Nicholas) that had been cared for by a single monk (we found out that another monk had recently left one of the larger monasteries to join him), otherwise it would have been quite a lonely existence.

Our bus was about to drive off when one of the men’s wives (Sue) called out that her husband was not on the bus. We saw two chaps on the balcony way up in the monastery and Steve and another man (George) took photos. The photos revealed that it was our two missing members. The tour leader was pretty pissed at first and had the bus driver honk the horn and try to tell them to come down. They made their way down eventually...... a 5 minute break ended up taking 30 minutes. Some of the members on the bus were very annoyed about it, but we didn’t care.

One of the chaps that took off on his own adventure was called Richard (Steve referred to the two chaps that had the adventure privately to me as dopey bastards) - you will hear more about him later. Although his opinion of Richard very quickly changed as he was a highlight of the tour and is a very entertaining fellow.

From there we stopped at the first monastery that we were meant to be visiting (Varlaam Monastery). After climbing up 110 stairs, we entered the monastery. The cathedral there was awe inspiring - frescos and decorations that were 100’s of years old. Steve enjoyed them so much that I lost him for a time - he spent 40 minutes in there just soaking up the atmosphere. They also had a museum and other buildings to explore. Our next stop was St Stephen’s monastery (Agios Stephanos). This site also had a cathedral dedicated to St Stephen and St Charalambos. For Harry (Charalambos) the 85 year old on our tour, this monastery was incredibly special. One of the nuns took him to the picture of his Saint and had him perform the small ritual that Greek Orthodox followers undertake in their churches. He was visibly moved by the experience.

After soaking in the atmosphere of these two monasteries, we headed south to make our way to Delphi. On our way there, we crossed the plains of Thessaloniki, the scenery was beautiful. Much more lush and green than we expected. Very hilly of course.
We also stopped at the monument erected in honour of King Leonidas (King of Sparta).

The drive to Delphi was very mountainous, winding narrow roads. A few people on the bus were sick by the end.

Delphi is a lovely village - it only has three streets, an upper, lower and middle. A lot of people from the group were having a traditional Easter feast for dinner (optional), but as the highlight of it was lamb on a spit, we declined. We had dinner at a restaurant on the side of a hill, overlooking the valley, down towards the sea. Afterwards we stopped to buy our nephews a small present and got talking to one of the shopkeepers. She is an African American (her mother was part Greek and Jamaican) who fell in love with a Greek man and so relocated to Greece about 3 years ago. She was fascinating. She told us about her experience coming from America and adapting to the Greek culture. It was quite a challenge in some ways. The sense of commitment to time and schedules don’t exist. For example, if a local tradesman tells you he will do a job for you on Tuesday, he will. It just may be a Tuesday six months from now. Once you get used to that, it is much easier to deal with. She is thinking about writing a book. We have exchanged details and plan to keep in touch.

The following morning, we visited the ancient site of Delphi (the ruins) and the museum. In ancient times this place was known as the ‘Navel of the Earth’. Zeus released two eagles to fly around the world in opposite directions, where they met in the centre was identified as the centre of the world (navel) and this was meant to have occurred at Delphi. The local guide told us that they have found that natural gases were present at the site that were released in the temple. These would lead to hallucinations - which is meant to be why (scientifically) the Oracle of Delphi would have visions.

We wondered around this site in our garbage bags (travel raincoats). Steve ended up admitting that they were a good idea (he said that he wouldn’t need one at the time I purchased them). Our tour director told us somewhat exasperatedly that someone on the tour had said to her (not sure who), “you didn’t warn us it would rain”........ We followed the Sacred Way to the Temple of Apollo and also saw a theatre and a stadium and visited the muesum there.

After leaving Delphi we headed off to Olympia, crossing a bridge that was built only a few years ago to join two parts of Greece together. The gulf is expanding slightly each year and the bridge has been built to handle the expansions.

It was a very frustrating afternoon for me because when we stopped at a service station for a break in the afternoon, someone stole my prescription sunglasses off the table we were sitting at. I had taken them off so that I did not seem rude to the couple we were talking to. I was upset because they are the only pair that I had and would be no use to the person who took them, so they would probably just be thrown away. My eyes are sun sensitive and I had planned to get a replacement pair prior to leaving home, I just ran out of time. When we arrived in Olympia (which only has one street by the way), we went to some stores and managed to find a big pair of sunnies that fit over my normal glasses. Thank heavens. So if I look sillier than usual in some of the photos, now you know why!

The people on the tour were very sweet about the glasses and were very compassionate. We were very lucky to be travelling with a lovely bunch of people.

More updates to come......

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Photos

Temple of Poseidon
Mum - this was taken with your camera

Acropolis Athens
Reminds me of SSU