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.