April 26 Thursday Meteora

Thursday, April 26

Another good breakfast buffet this morning, and we hit the road at 8:00 for a longish ride to the town of Kalambaka and the monasteries of Meteora.  Here are our tour director, Emmie, and driver Dimitri.  She isn't yelling at him, although they speak Greek, so maybe she is!

Emmie greets us each morning with Kalimera  "Good morning" and teaches us a few other words.  Thank you, she says, is a little difficult, so we should say "Harry's Toe", which sounds close enough that Greeks will understand what we are trying to say.  Of English language's 170,000 words, about 58,000 of them have some association with Greek, especially medical and technology terms.

Today's discussions on the bus range from Healthcare in Greece, to Schools to Gypsies, and Foods. According to Emmie, there are many excellent doctors in Greece but there are some issues with other staffing and nursing care. The nurses are wonderful and hard workers but they are spread very thin, so that it is almost imperative to have a friend or family member with you in the hospital to do what we would normally think of as nurse's or nurse's aides' duties.  They are beginning to build some facilities to promote Medical Tourism, or Medical Vacations, as costs are much lower than in the U.S. so perhaps services will improve.

 The scenery is gorgeous through mountains with lots of S curves and switchbacks.  Many bee boxes along the way, as honey is used in many foods.  We also see many small shrines, which you find all over the country.  These are sometimes made in memory of someone who died nearby, or just as a memorial or "thank you" for surviving an accident.  Most of them have some sort of religious icon (not statues as Orthodox do not use statues) inside as well as a small oil lamp.  Some are kept burning and there is usually oil left there so that others can re-light the lamp if it goes out.  (We haven't seen any with a light yet).

We see many olive trees and Emmie says that from the high spot in Delphi you can see 2 million of them.  They are harvested in November through February and some now are just beginning to get blossoms.

 Greece is third in olive production after Italy and Spain.  We pass some very tall mountain peaks but Emmie said only mountain ranges are named here, not individual peaks (with a few exceptions like Mount Olympus).

Mountains with olive trees in front

We go through a farming area called Trikala which is well known for grapes.  Farmers are becoming much more ecologically aware and "going green".  We see banks of solar panels once in a while and occasional wind turbines. 

Next is a discussion of Icons.  These are 2 dimensional paintings of which we will see many at the monasteries in Meteora.  This is because Greek Orthodox do not believe in statues or 3 dimensional presentation of the human body.

We reach the town of Kalambaka where we are on our own for lunch.  We can see the towering rocks of Meteora from here.

 We walk around a bit, then settle at a family restaurant called Meteora with Diane and Doug (who are from Hershey PA).  We go to the kitchen where "grandma" shows us dishes from which to choose.  We share a salad and veal meatballs w/potatoes.  Potatoes seem to be very popular with most meals and I love the roasted ones!

Hermits were the first to occupy these towering rock formations and they lived in caves.  The monks came here to find isolation.  There are six remaining monasteries, dating back to the 1600s.  First one we see is St. Nicholas.













We continue on to Varlaam Monastery where we meet our guide,  Filipa,

and climb quite a few stairs to reach the building.  Women must have shoulders and knees covered, and pants are not allowed, so we are loaned wrap-around "skirts" to make ourselves presentable.

There are several buildings that remain private, but we go into the church, which was overwhelming!  The walls and ceilings are covered with icons in various media.  A lot of gold and silver both in icons and in candle holders, oil lamps and other items.  Most are depicting the life of Christ and various saints.  Since most people were illiterate at the time,  many paintings tell a story.  No photos are allowed inside, but there are several beautiful icons in a room that is a kind of vestibule
.

The other buildings and gardens are quite lovely.

Some of the other monasteries are visible from Varlaam and the road to St. Stephen's.  I think this one was the one featured in the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only", which we watched before this trip.  That movie also had scenes from Corfu (Keykera in Greek).

You can see a basket here that they use to bring supplies up to the monasteries.  Can you imagine how much work and dedication it took to move all the building supplies up there?!  The only way to get up there originally was in a lowered basket - or climbing.

We travel to St. Stephen's Monastery, which is now a convent with 32 nuns.  The old St. Stephen's church is being renovated so is closed, but a newer church is open and is also quite elaborate.

  Once again, the women must put on long skirts.

 Some of the paintings are copies of those we saw at Varlaam.  Beautiful.  Outside there is a place to light candles, which many people do at all the churches we visit. There are also lovely grounds.

We are staying at the Amalia Hotel here in Kalambaka, so we head there.  Shower and dress for a group dinner at 7 PM.   A dinner is included with the tour about every 2-3 days and other times we are on our own, usually meeting up with a few others from the tour.  Tonight, we are on our own, but Emmie arranged a dinner near the rocks of Meteora for tonight for anyone interested.  A lovely spot.  Unfortunately, our order gets overlooked and then we are served a poor version of baby lamb in wine.  Oh well.  The salad was good and we shared a nice selection of cheeses as an appetizer. And you can't beat the atmosphere!

April 25, Athens to Delphi

Wednesday, April 25

Breakfast at 6:30 this morning, and the bus leaves at 7:30 for Delphi which was the ancient home of the Oracle where people went for predictions of their futures.

Emmie tells us about some of the Greek customs, such as: when you give a Greek a compliment, they may spit at the ground nearby.  This is to keep evil spirits from becoming jealous - or, today, protection against negative energy. She also mentions the numerous stray cats and dogs we have seen in the city, but says there is an organization that cares for them, giving them inoculations, chips and spaying or neutering them.

In preparation for Delphi, Emmie recounts the story of Oedipus whose father went to the Oracle and was told that he would have a son that would kill him and marry his own mother.  When a son was born, they gave him to a shepherd and told him to kill the boy.  The shepherd didn't kill Oedipus, but handed him off to someone else in a distant area.  He was adopted by royalty and grew up thinking his adoptive parents were his real parents.  When he went to the Oracle to find his future, he was told he would kill his father and marry his mother.  He fled from what he thought were his real parents to avoid that fate, but of course he ended up killing his real father in battle and later, for his exemplary bravery in saving a kingdom, he was allowed to marry the widowed queen, who was his mother. Got that?

We are headed west northwest on nice toll freeways with major signage in both Greek and English. There are quite a few solar panels and a few wind turbines as well - even an astroturf soccer field at one school! Leaving the city behind we get into hills and mountains.

 Greece is 70% mountainous and some of the roads are quite windy. A few folks take dramamine and the front of the bus is reserved for anyone who feels ill (one taker).  Beautiful countryside which has some skiing in winter and there is some snow on the highest peaks. There is little humidity most places and freezing temperatures are infrequent.

Between the mountains there are fertile fields with agriculture and many of the them have just been plowed. There are goats and some sheep, but lamb is rather expensive and is usually reserved for holidays and special occasions. Very little cattle because there isn't room for grazing.

We pass this monument to the Greek fighters of WWII who harassed the Italian and Nazi troops here with guerrilla warfare tactics.

Then we arrive in Delphi and meet our guide, named Penny, who is excellent.  Until the late 1890's, this area was filled with homes and a regular village.  When the French, along with Greeks, began excavation and discovery of Delphi, it took a long time because they had to first re-locate those who were living here.  From ancient writing they were able to find and restore many things, though excavation and restoration is ongoing and expensive.  Some of the ruins had inscriptions which also helped them establish the location and layout of the ancient site. Over 3000 statues and 5000 bronzes have been discovered here!  Many things had been hidden following earthquakes ( a large one occurred in 373BC) and other natural events.

Climbing past an amphitheater to the top of the mountain gives a terrific view all the way to the Aegean Sea.  Greg was one of 5 or 6 of our group that made it to the top!

There is a small but well done museum at the base of the site which houses many of the items discovered here, some dating back as far as 1400-1050BC.

 This was decoration from the exterior of one of the treasury houses.

 Many  items with gold and ivory were found.

This is one of the statues I especially liked. They don't know who he was.

The Charioteer is a well known bronze discovered here.

On the way to our hotel in Delphi, we stop in a quaint town called Arachova, where we stroll through the town and meet our bus at the other end.

 The town was named for a woman who was an excellent weaver and challenged Athena to a "weave-off" after which she was turned into a spider. Arachnophobia anyone?  Emmie frequently points out English words that are based on Greek words. Nice flowers, fig trees and shops along the main street and we see some folks in costume who are getting ready to celebrate a festival of St. George, their patron saint.  The Greek language was the "universal" language for many years.

We stay at the Amaila Hotel in Delphi.

 Some opt for an excursion to Arachova for dinner, but Greg and I are not very hungry and instead opt to walk through Delphi. Lots of houses have flowers and greenery around them.  There are only two roads, one is one way into town and the other one way leaving.  Several shops, bakeries and restaurants.

 There is a river and lake nearby and the view is very pretty, though a little hazy.  We walk and browse in a few shops and then share some calamari and a Greek salad at a small restaurant called Phivos.  They also brought us bread and olives and a small honey cake for dessert so we had quite a feast!

 Calamari.  Our waitress warns us that it isn't the rings (frozen) but sliced fresh.  We have learned just a few words of Greek, but English is taught in all of the schools so most people under 40 know enough English to get by.

 There are a ton of fresh tomatoes under the feta.  Yum!

 We walk back to the hotel after sunset and call it a night.

Tuesday, April 24 - ATHENS

Tuesday, April 24

Six o'clock wake up for showers and getting ready.  We head downstairs at 7:00 for a wonderful breakfast buffet.  Everything from cheese, pastries, nuts, yogurt, various styles of eggs, bacon and sausage and more. I especially liked the dried figs.  Definitely a super start to the day.

Our driver, Demetri, picks us up and we meet our tour guide Angeliki.  We do a drive-by tour of the highlights of Athens, like the Olympic Stadium from 2004 (built of marble!),

Hadrian's arch, the Temple of Zeus, Syntagma Square, and other landmarks, and the National Botanical Gardens.  We end at the Acropolis. The Acropolis towers over the city of Athens and its 4.5 million residents.

  It's a beautiful day, in the 70's already as we begin the climb through olive groves,up to the Acropolis.

Our guide, Angeliki,  is helpful and thankfully we have earpieces to hear her, as the area is very busy with other tourists.  Tour guides are licensed and must have university degrees in history and/or archeological areas and several years experience.

The Acropolis (meaning top of the city)refers to a high rocky outcropping which holds  3 structures: the Parthenon - temple to Athena

- the Erechtheion

 and Temple of Athena Nike.

 Built of locally mined marble in the 5th Century BC, these monuments are huge and amazing.  When built, they included color and statues of gold and ivory.

 Much was destroyed or looted over the years, with many pieces now in the British and other museums. The maintenance and upkeep is a constant issue.  Amazing to think of how they moved and carved these massive pieces of marble!

 Our afternoon is free after the tour.  While some opted for an excursion to Sounion by the sea, we have decided to explore a bit more of the city.  Map in hand, we walk back to Hadrian's Arch

 and the remnants of the Temple of Zeus.  Only six columns remain of what was once a wonder of the world.  No remains of fallen columns because the other ten columns were taken away or re-used.  Note the yellow taxis - different cities have different colors.

We meander through some of the  nicely maintained National Botanical Gardens where quite a few families and individuals are walking and strolling.  Lots of bitter orange trees which bear beautiful but inedible fruit, mulberry trees and some familiar plants like pittosporum, bougainvillea, and oleander. Quite a few beautiful roses throughout the city too.  We then find our way to the Parliament Building where we watch the quite elaborate Changing of the Guard ceremony which happens every hour.

They are guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier.

From here, we decide to wade into the Plaka area, a very busy commercial area with occasional ancient monuments or buildings. Fruit stands, souvenir sellers, antiques, pottery, jewelry, etc.   Quite the contrast of ancient and modern!

 The Tower of the Winds, one street over from the above square.

We check out the beautiful Athens cathedral (Orthodox christian)

 and have lunch at Thanasis - a huge sprawling indoor/outdoor restaurant that Kim back in Houston recommended.  We share a gyro plate which is quite delicious...not much beef on menus here, but lots of chicken and pork.  There is pita bread under all of this. Tasty seasonings!

 We browse some of the shops as we gradually make our way back towards the hotel.  Farther from the busiest part of the plaka, things look less well maintained with some vacant buildings and graffiti.
We've been told not to worry about crime, as there is very little violent crime, just watch for pickpockets but we don't offer any easy pickings and have no problems.  We do see some police presence in the very busy areas.

 In addition to the graffiti, (which Angeliki says is not gang-related, but an expression of anger and frustration of the younger Athenians, about 40% of whom are unemployed), there are also many murals painted on the sides of buildings.

 University education is free to those who qualify, but is very competitive and produces a great deal of pressure and stress on the young.  It is paid for by taxes but often, those who complete degrees then leave the country for better jobs.  They refer to this as a brain drain and is a difficult problem. We also learn that if you qualify for University by excelling in tests, the university chooses the students it wants to accept and pretty much tells them what they may major in.  A student who wants to be a doctor but doesn't have the highest test grades may be accepted as a vetrinarian or nurse instead and really has no recourse.

Later our tour director spends quite a bit of time talking about the economic situation and how and why it came about.  She is American but lives here about 7 months of the year, speaks fluent Greek and has many interesting stories about mythology and Greek history and culture.

Back at the hotel, we shower and relax a bit.  Then wonder across the street to The Bread Factory  to share a spinach pie and baklava.  We sit and people watch as we eat, then head back to the 9th floor for some night photos of the Acropolis.  My phone tells us we've walked over 6 miles today and it feels good to stretch out in our comfy beds!