Greece 5 Delphi/Road jams/parking for motorhomes/Labour day tomorrow and it's a bank holiday

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When the heart grieves over what is has lost , the spirit rejoices over what it has left.



According to Greek legend Zeus (we have seen his home on Mount Olympus) released two eagles from opposite ends of the world . Where there paths crossed was considered to be the centre of the earth. The sky above Delphi was where that happened. We can understand looking at the place why the ancients considered it sacred. It was not hard to understand . Delphi was also known to be the home of the god Apollo. Thus making it the most sacred place in the classical world. Folks came to Delphi to worship and to consult the oracle to ask the gods what actions they should take in peacetime, in war. The power of Delphi just grew and grew in the 6^th century . As we approached the sacred city we climbed higher and higher up the mountain in Suzy. There was the danger of rockfalls, goats in the road, a wild but colourful landscape. Purple tassel plants nodded their heads on the side of the road. Yellow sedums hugged the ground and the rocks. The scenery was nothing short of inspiring and spectatular. We were coming to see the oracle . If we could get parked that is. First thought – what a lot of traffic. It is a Sunday and the world and his dog were visiting the site. It is a bank holiday weekend which makes it worse. Tomorrow everyone is closed for the day. Cars blocked the streets. At one point we had no choice but to try to do a three point turn and return to our base for the next few days Camping Delphi 4 km out of the city. I felt like Judith Chalmers doing a travel show telling folks where the should go and where they should park.




Parked up we found the perfect spot in a corner overlooking the largest olive grove in Greece which stretched from the snow capped mountains to the sea beyond. The site owner could not do enough for us. He ordered a taxi and we paid the 10 euros to get to Delphi. Parked up next to the Archaelogical site . It had been possible to catch a bus in but only two ran in the morning and two in the afternoon. Delphi site was open until 8 in the evening but it was a long wait to catch the bus and the taxi was an easy option. We paid our 6 euros each entry fee. Half price for EU member states for over 65’s. We both are over 65. The lady who gave us the ticket smiled .Only just she said – in two years Brexit and you will have to pay full price . Ok but a lot will happen before then. We walked through the Agora – the market place where votive offerings were bought to offer to the Gods. In some ways the laughing and talking crowds gave a bit of an impression of what the Agora must have been like in its heyday. Boy was it hot. It seemed odd to be walking in the footsteps of those ancients who made their way to talk to the oracle.

Walking up took our strength away from us. Uphill all the way sometimes steps , othertimes just a rough path. Up the sacred way where offerings were made. Statues lined the route. Some were pillaged and taken away, others are in the excellent museum complex. The numbers taken away just make you wonder what the site must have looked like in its heyday. 3000 of them all covered in gold and gleaming in the sunshine. Each member state trying to outdo its neighbour with the brilliance of its offerings. Don't come in the summer . It would be too hot walking all that way up. It was bad enough today and it is only Spring. Each step was purgatory.



Upwards past the Polygonal wall built of polygonal shaped stones. The spot where the oracle sat over her cleft in the rock inhaling toxic fumes that sent her into a trance where she uttered what possibly was utter rubbish before it was reinvented by the priests. Given they had a network of informants they stood a pretty good chance of working out the mood and telling the officials or the king what he or they wanted to hear .


Above this the 6^th century temple to Apollo the centrepiece of the site. Whistles blew as the guardians stopped the Japanese visitors from climbing over the ancient stones to take selfies. Much of what remains is the work of the French archaelogists who worked on the site in the 1890’s. Past the treasuries , we walked upwards amongst the large angelica flowers which were taking over the site. We walked past the Rock of the Sybil to the theatre which housed upwards of 5000 people . Built 2500 years ago it takes us back so far we just cannot imagine it at all. Britons were still living in mud huts and wooden buildings and here there is such beauty. The stadium here is the best preserved in Greece housing 7000 spectators. Yellow brimstone butterflies and long Swallowtails skimmed the grass of the stadium. We completed our walk to the top by viewing the Gymnasium used by athletes in the Pythian Games.



Once down hot and bothered we walked to the hot springs , the café was long closed . A sign of the Greek economy . Many buildings are half completed. Many shops empty. We walked down to the Sanctuary of Athena Pronea an area south east of the main sight . What a long walk in the heat and what a walk back. Not many folks get quite that far .




Next stop water stop and a granola before going in to see the contents of the museum. A fairly new building air conditioned it was a welcome relief. Fantastic – fantastic – second only to the treasures of the Acropolis. The place was fairly empty 13 rooms full of friezes taken from the temples , statues in bronze and marble and artifacts dug up by the archaelogists . We love the three dancing girls , the statues that looked almost Egyptian in design, the gold adornments from the statues and the guttering shaped like lions. There was so much to see we gasped with delight at each bronze helmut , at each piece of sword or armour and at each tiny piece of jewellery. Since this visit we have done the Acropolis museum and this is far better.




What a day – a hard day but one that we felt thankful we had managed to get round. It would have been murder if it had been any hotter. We were grateful to get back to our little home for the next two nights. We had views of the snow covered mountains , views of the sea where the Rio Antirrio bridge could be seen in the mist, where the battle of Lepanto took place. We could see where we would be going after Athens. We went for a meal Moussaka and rice filled tomatoes with wine . Homely cooking – an excellent host who told us about his and his cousins olive groves. How their grandfather had lived in the town below before selling 100 olive trees to buy a processing plant for olives and this land that we were standing on. The campsite had grown from humble beginnings in the 1960’s and he hoped his children and their children would continue the tradition of olive cultivation. He told us he had won 2^nd prize for his olive oil yesterday in a New York competition. He had indeed – I guess it must have been like Chelsea Flower show . So many oils gain the gold prize, one wins the coveted best in show and then others get a silver prize. He was delighted with his olive oil and felt that the 500 euros to enter was a fair price to pay for winning silver . He spoke of the EU – this area is right wing and it showed . He hated the euro and was not keen on being told what to do by Germany. He felt Greece should not have joined the EU. He envied us leaving and felt that we were being made to suffer to stop others following suit. This is what I like about travel off the beaten track . You get to talk to ordinary folks doing ordinary things .

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