Blogs from Delphi, Central Greece, Greece, Europe

A truth spoken before its time is dangerous… ~ Greek Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling southeast from Kalambaka to Delphi. We woke early and headed down to Hotel Alexiou’s stark dining area, where I enjoyed a fairly basic breakfast of yoghurt and muesli, bread and jam, and tea and juice. We checked out around 9am and settled into a very comfy and roomy minibus for the four-hour southward journey to Delphi. In less than a minute we’d left the small township of Kalambaka behind, and we were driving through its outlying rural landscape that featured cotton, tobacco and corn fields. As we travelled further south, hay bales lay neatly in fields, man-made dams glistened in the sun and distant hazy mountain ranges shimmered on the horizon. At times we drove parallel to a railway ... read more

The next morning, we got our second delicious breakfast at our hotel. Honestly, I was very happy with the Grand Hyatt; it was not cheap, but the roof top restaurant and pool have incredible views and that alone was worth it, plus they were so friendly. The included breakfast had many options and all tables had a view of the acropolis somehow. Anyway, we made our way via the expensive hotel shuttle to the airport where I had booked two small rental cars with Enterprise. After checking in, we walked about 500m to the lot where we encountered seriously the most friendly Greek of our trip. He was so nice! I thought I was in a different country somehow. But the cars were small! Poor Tyler! We drove along the nice highways, with lots of tolls, ... read more

Day 20 - Delphi We decided to only take one tour outside of Athens on this trip. Delphi is one of the more important historic sites outside of Athens. We booked a tour with George’s Taxi for a full day private ride and tour to Delphi. The driver, Stratos, drove us to the sites, gave us a bit of history and tips for the locations, booked us lunch, and even let us sleep on the way back. The price was very reasonable and over all we think it was the best way to do the trip. It was about a 2 hour drive to Delphi so we started out at 7:25 AM. Stratos had a 30 min video to watch on the way that gave us a bit of background on the site. It was very ... read more

Thursday 18thMay The weather has got even worse. It is cold and wet. Yesterday we drove up to Korinthos and then round the Korinthos Gulf to Delphi high in the mountains. We are in the Parnassos ski area and there is still snow on the peak. We drove through a small town which wouldn’t have looked out of place in the french alps. The campsite is a couple of kilometres from Delphi and there is a touring group of cloggies (John’s affectionate name for the Dutch) taking up all the places with the coveted panoramic view down the valley to the sea. Not that you can see anything at the moment as the sky is black and the low clouds are obscuring any views. My knowledge of ancient / classical Greece is limited but my understanding ... read more

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 ... read more