Sept 27
To Delphi
We had arranged to have a rental car brought to us. The driver was texting as he came, saying he couldn’t get here, because the one road into the area happened to be the road where the explosion happened the other day, and it was crowded with police and the press. He finally found a way around, which involved a bit of walking. He was a lovely young guy who learned to speak English by playing games and watching movies. He drove us to the edge of town so we didn’t have to negotiate Athens traffic. Brilliant! The company is Swift, if anyone’s interested.
Carol and I made an agreement that she would drive on the first day, getting us out of Athens, and I would drive on the last, taking us to the airport. Either one is a bit scary, but Carol was masterful driving standard, which neither of us has done for several decades.
After long, green flatlands in wind and some rain, we wound up into the mountains and the sun came out. At the end of the 180 km drive, we came upon a long line of parked cars and buses, all parked for visiting the ancient site. We carried on into town and had fun parking. Lots of fun.
We were too early to check in to the Hotel Leto, so we grabbed lunch — dishes are made for sharing here, and our Greek Salad would have been enough for three or four people — and wandered the town, which consisted of two streets of hotels, restaurants, and trinket shops. Yes, the Trinket Cartel is here.
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| Steps lead between the lower road and the upper road in Delphi |
We checked in to our room with a view out to the distant turquoise Gulf of Corinth and down to a lively street below. We took our mandatory afternoon rest, deciding that we’d do better to see the Delphi Archeological site and museum in the morning to beat the majority of the crowds, which come up here by the busload on day trips from Athens.
We bought mini-bottles of white wine in the lobby of our hotel, and drank them at sunset on the rooftop garden, then finally had an actually good dinner tonight just across the street, a pastitsio that was as creamy and subtly spiced as I remembered. We have gotten into the habit of eating late, like the locals, and so we stumbled off to bed right after dinner.
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| Wine from the bottle -- more attractive than the glasses they offered |
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| Good night kitties -- at the hotel doors |
Sept 28
Delphi
The Greeks pronounce it Delph-eye, that is, with a long i. It’s hard to get used to saying it that way. Anyhow, we had breakfast with a view, then checked out of the hotel, loading our stuff in the car which was parked a hilltop away, opting to walk the kilometre to the ancient site rather than risk not finding parking any closer, or anywhere. It was a beautiful morning, and the views down the valley were stunning.
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| Between the town and the ruins |
We didn’t quite beat the tour groups, but we managed to weave our way through them to get ahead for a relatively peaceful climb through the site. It consists of a couple of small reconstructed buildings and a lot of partial pillars outlining once magnificent structures. These places require some imagination on the part of the visitor.
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| The Treasury, the only standing (reconstructed) building at Ancient Delphi |
Delphi is known for its oracle, to which the ancients made pilgrimages in hopes of obtaining her blessings or advice. The oracle/priestess was an old woman, or likely a succession of old women, who sat atop a tripod over a fissure in the earth within the inner sanctum of the Temple of Apollo. Pilgrims would pose their questions (after sacrificing an animal or two), and she would answer in gibberish, which the priests would translate into some kind of cryptic message. I suppose one would interpret however one wanted. I believe mistakes were made of a magnitude that changed the course of history.
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| Bronze pillar in foreground, Temple of Apollo behind. You can see the ramp leading into the temple, once climbed by some rather famous pilgrims seeking advice. |
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| The Temple of Apollo. The sanctuary would have been where the broken stone platform appears. |
Above the Temple site is a beautiful amphitheatre and a stadium that hosted the Pythian Games, lesser games to the Olympics. These were impressive, but I would say that the most impressive thing about Delphi, aside from its historical importance, is its setting on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. Magnificent.
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| Amphitheatre above the Temple of Apollo |
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| Stadium, the site of the Pythian Games, one of the Panhellenic Games, some 2500 years ago |
We made our way down to the road, to the museum, which holds sculptures, friezes, and other artifacts once found in the site. I’ve come to realize that nothing other than large buildings is left in situ anymore; rightfully, all the impressive pieces are held in museums for their protection.
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| A sphinx who once sat upon a very tall pillar. I don't generally associate the sphinx with Greece, but I have seen several examples in museums here |
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| The remains of sculptures from the pediment of the Temple of Apollo. Tour guide included for scale. |
The most recognizable structure in Delphi, the circular temple with three standing (reconstructed) pillars, is in the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, across the highway from the main site. This area is closed to the public at the moment, due to some concern about rockfall. This is disappointing. I have a memory of wandering about that area, but if some of my other “memories” of that time are an indication, that may well not have happened.
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| The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, viewed with a telephoto lens from a great distance away |
We walked back up through the town to get the car. It was my turn to drive, and while the stick shift felt like second nature to me, I managed to drive us in a full circle on tiny one-way roads before getting out of town. We hairpinned down to the sea, then followed the coastline to Nafpaktos, next stop on our trek. The highway was good. The speed limit was 60 most of the time, but I drove a comfortable 70, because 60 seemed too slow for the road, and the Greeks drove about 100. The double lines in the middle of the road are just a suggestion, apparently.
The fun really began when we got to Nafpaktos and discovered that the road we needed to use to get to our apartment was closed, the pavement having been torn up just today. We circled several times, trying to find some route that would get us close, and finally settled for what looked like the only acceptable parking spot in town, on a street that I hope we can find again. We walked and climbed our gear the three blocks or so to the apartment, where we were welcomed by a view that made the hassle worth it.
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| Welcome sight |
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| And a gorgeous bathroom, but the shower never did get warm |
By this time, we were sweaty and exhausted and when we let ourselves into our spacious apartment, we collapsed for a good hour. Hunger for lunch had long-since passed, so we decided to get a double scoop of gelato instead. We explored the Venetian port, far tinier than we expected, wondered at the mega-yacht anchored just outside the harbour walls, gazed at the Peloponnese across the gulf. Carol dipped her toes in the sea and reported that it’s the temperature of a warm lake.
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| Gelato eases all distress |
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| Archway through the walls of the Venetian Port. Note my super-yacht in the background. |
We had a beer at one of the many harbourside establishments, and stayed on for a sunset dinner, sitting among mostly locals who weren’t anywhere near ready for dinner yet. As it got dark, we made our way home, plugged in our devices, and settled for a well-deserved sleep.
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| Refreshments! |
I can't resist posting a bunch of sunset shots in the Venetian Harbour of Nafpaktos, where all the tourists are Greek.
