Athens & The End of Greece

Tuesday morning we loaded the bus for the drive to Athens. We were on the road a good three hours, again with some breaks. It’s odd to see huge, six-lane motorways with hardly any traffic. But with more than 20% unemployment and $10/gallon gasoline, Greek drivers aren’t as numerous as one might expect. Even the traffic in Athens is not too terrible.

Hadrian's Gate in Athens

We arrived at the Acropolis Museum about noon for time on our own. Mary and I walked to Hadrian’s Gate and the ruins of the Temple of Zeus. Then we returned to the Acropolis Museum and spent a couple of hours there.

Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

Our hotel was perched a good ways up Mount Lycabettus, the highest hill in Athens. It has a restaurant on the top floor with an excellent view of the city. After our farewell dinner at a restaurant across town, we went up to see the view of the city at night, before retiring to our rooms.

Long lens view of Acropolis from Mt. Lycabettus

Fortunately, we did not have to join most in our group for a 3 a.m. ride to the airport to catch a plane back to the U.S. Instead, we elected an extra day on our own, and enjoyed breakfast up on the top floor. The day was bright and cloudless, and the morning light on the Acropolis was stunning from here. But we changed hotels for our second night as, once our tour ended, they wanted way too much for the room.

Breakfast view from the hotel.

The Metro was not difficult to figure out, and it was only three stops to our new hotel, which we found without difficulty. The new room was old and not deluxe, but every bit as serviceable as that at the expensive hotel.

Library of Hadrian, Athens

On our own we visited the Library of Hadrian, which was a huge place housing 17,000 scrolls in its day. Then we negotiated a few blocks of old city streets to reach the ruins of the ancient Agora. The Agora consisted of several “stoa,” or pavilions, for shops or traders. These were long and narrow, under roof, supported by columns. One has been rebuilt as a museum. Of the others, only the bases of columns remain.

Reconstructed stoa in the Agora of Athens

One temple, the Temple of Hephaestus, remains mostly intact. Other temples, altars, and monuments are ruins – Ephesus provided a better picture of what it probably looked like. At the south end is Mars Hill, where according to Acts, St. Paul preached a famous sermon. We skipped it. I’m sure we were in the footsteps of Paul all over the Agora.

Agora with Temple of Hephaestus in the distance.

We left this site to find the Roman Agora, an expansion of the area that was built in Roman times to accommodate expanding trade. This area was smaller but somewhat better preserved, especially the “Tower of the Winds,” a time-keeping observatory, at one end.

Temple of Hephaestus

By this time the sun was getting hot, and we’d had enough old stones, so we made our way back to the Metro station to head for the Archaeological Museum. The Museum is actually within walking distance of our new hotel, but were a bit surprised to see that it closed early, at 3 p.m. As it was already 1:30, we were almost ready to come back tomorrow, but the clerk said we could buy a ticket today and come back tomorrow at no extra cost. So in we went.

Roman Agora, Athens

Some of the most rare pieces in the museum are right on the ground floor. Mycean-era pottery and jewelry from around 5,000 BCE was breathtaking. Going farther, we saw some statues from the Classical period (ca. 500 BCE) that were remarkably preserved, even with the paint colors still quite visible, and the fine detail of the workmanship exquisite.

Famous statue of Hercules,
Archaeological Museum of Greece

When we returned the next morning, we had the place almost to ourselves until around 9:30 a.m., when the hordes from the cruise ships and the school groups descended. We saw as much as we could, but after awhile, one clay pot starts to look like another, even if they ARE 2,500 years old.

Statue of a goddess. The delicate patterns
and remnants of paint in her dress are still
visible after nearly 3,000 years!

One exhibit stood out, however. It was a featured temporary exhibit, that had just opened, of The Antikythera Shipwreck. This was a wreck discovered by sponge divers in 1900 off the coast of the small island of Antikythera. Some artifacts were raised in 1900-1901. Then, Jacque Cousteau went back in 1976 to uncover more.

The ship dates from 60-50 BCE, and it was laden with tons of luxury items: sculpture, glassware, jewelry, and other artworks. It truly was a treasure ship! Portions of statues left exposed to sea water were rather badly corroded, but those buried in the silt were exquisitely preserved. Some statues were partially buried, and therefore are partly damaged and partly pristine, making for an interesting effect.

Portions of the Antikythera Mechanism

As if that were not enough, also discovered was The Antikythera Mechanism – the earliest preserved portable, mechanical astronomical calculator (sometimes referred to as "the world's first computer"). Only recently, with the advent of CAT x-ray technology, have the corroded gears and dials been fully analyzed and reproduced.

It displayed the positions of the Sun and Moon, lunar phases, and the positions of the five planets visible to the naked eye in the night sky, over a period of years. By turning a crank, any date in the past or future, within the 20 year range, could be selected, and the planetary information displayed for that day.

Scientists' reconstruction of the Mechanism.

Apparently, this ship was equipped with the latest GPS technology of its time! And remarkably, the extent of this navigational information was greater than was commonly thought to have been available to seafarers of that day. Unfortunately, it must not have saved this treasure ship from its fate.

Having had enough museum, we walked back to the hotel at a leisurely pace, gathered our things, checked out, and walked up the street toward the Metro station. Before continuing underground, we stopped at another café for our last cheese pie while in Greece, and did some people-watching as we ate an outdoor table.

Digs at and under the Acropolis Museum

The flight was on time, with great views of Greece, and later of Venice and the Alps. It was smooth until final approach to Gatwick, where high winds made for a lot of bumps. We had plenty of time to get to our 7 p.m. bus to Nottingham. That, too, arrived ahead of schedule, so even after a 10 minute wait for the local bus, we still arrived home before 10:30.

Delphi

This morning we visited the ruins of ancient Delphi. We got a fairly thorough walk-through with our tour director, then climbed farther up to the Roman-era stadium at the top of the hill.

Our guide explains Delphi

The views were tremendous, and the restoration is thorough enough to allow one to visualize what the complex must have looked like.

Theater at Delphi

I had not realized that the oracle had been in operation from pre-Hellenic times through the Roman period. She had a good run – almost 1200 years!

Ruins of the Temple of the Oracle

The village of Delphi was actually moved by the French archaeologists in the 1870s. They paid the villagers to relocate so that the dig at the temple site could begin. The village is just up the road now, in a spot equally beautiful with full view of Itea and the sea.

Mysterious passageways remain in the ruins

After lunch we visited the museum associated with the Delphi site. It isn’t large, but some of the items there are quite amazing. So much of the statuary was nearly intact when found, and some of it hauntingly beautiful, such as the bronze charioteer.

Bronze charioteer

Also of interest was a stone in which a hymn to Apollo had been carved, but not only the text, also musical notation for both choral and instrumental musicians. It’s the earliest notation system known to date, and it has been sufficiently deciphered by musicologists that they are reasonably certain that they have reproduced the tune.

The Stadium at Delphi

Before leaving the area, we visited the ruins of the temple of Athena. This is a separate temple complex down the hill from the oracle and temple of Apollo. This temple is dedicated to Athena, goddess protector of women in pregnancy and childbirth. This was all very fascinating stuff.

Hymn to Apollo with musical notation.

The bus then drove us into the little village of Arachova, to which we had walked the night before, in order to take in a bit of local color and more of the St. George celebration. Our tour director took us into one of the very traditional coffee shops, where old men were drinking Turkish coffee or ouzo.

Temple of Athena at Delphi

They seemed rather startled by our invasion, and the tour director explained that such traditional coffee shops are almost exclusively male bastions – women almost never enter. But she bantered with them in Greek, introduced them all to us, and bought them drinks, so we were welcome. Even the old Orthodox priest showed up briefly, in his black robes and tall hat, and gave us a little welcome speech, which was interpreted for us.

Wine and deep-fried cheese. Wonderful!

Along with our wine, we were served a plate of local cheese fried in olive oil, along with bread, an olive spread, and a tomato. It was excellent, but may have raised cholesterol levels several points for each of us with each bite.

A long way up to the upper village.

On our own, we climbed about 100 steps to reach the church of St. George at the top of the hill where yesterday’s procession had begun. We were surprised at how much town was up this far, including charming homes and some restaurants. We were also impressed by the view, across the valley, all the way to the Corinthian Sea.

The winner of the footrace really gets my goat.

Returning down the steps, the celebration continued with the finish of a five mile running race by young men of the village. The winner received a live lamb, that was placed around his neck by the priest!

Little dancers did a great job.

We sat in an open air café to watch folk dancers in the square. They were all in costume and better than dancers we had seen before. The little kids started and did impressively well, then junior highs, then high school, and finally adults. Unfortunately, by the time the adults were dancing, it was much too dark for photos. But it was a fascinating exposure to something unique to this time of year.

Saint George

We drove south today. Our first stop was an icon workshop only a half hour or so from our starting point. The tour was brief, and the buying long.

Steps in producing an icon.

As it was Sunday morning, we stopped briefly at a Greek Orthodox church where services were being held. It was a “low Sunday,” the Sunday after Easter for the Greeks, but the church was packed with people of all ages. We arrived near the end of the service, and they were putting out tea on the veranda outside the narthex. A man there really wanted us to stay and have tea, but we had to get back onto the bus.

A wide, flat, fertile valley.

Driving on through a flat, fertile plain with mountains all around provided some interesting scenery. As we began climbing out of the valley into the mountains, the views became spectacular! At a roadside rest stop in the mountains, our tour director surprised us with wine and a snack as we snapped pictures of the view.

Thermopylae monument.

On the other side we came to another plain with the Aegean at one end. We stopped briefly here at the monument to 300 Spartans who died fighting invading Persians at Thermopylae. Then we continued climbing another mountain pass, this time coming down to the Corinthian Sea, where we had a lunch break at Itea. The sea was as beautiful on this Ionian side as it was on the Aegean side.

Seaside at Itea.

Continuing inland, we drove through the Plain of Apollo, possibly the cradle of Greek civilization, and home to more than 3 million olive trees – the largest planting of olives in Greece, and possibly in the whole Mediterranean region. Although the plots are owned by hundreds of families, the boundaries are subtle, so the appearance is of a single, huge expanse of olive trees going on for miles.

The "Easter Tree," a variety of lilac that blooms
at about Easter time.

The Plain of Apollo rises toward Mount Parnassus as one goes inland, reaching its end at the ceremonial site of Delphi, which we passed today, but will visit tomorrow.

The Plain of Apollo with Itea and the Ionian Sea.

We drove higher yet into the mountains to the village of Arachova and our hotel. The view from our room balcony is breathtaking. We rushed through the evening meal a bit to get into the village. A three-day celebration began this evening to mark the day of Saint George (the same slayer of dragons who is so popular in England) who is the patron saint of the village. We had been told that the celebration would begin about 8:30 p.m. with a procession of the saint’s icon being carried from the church, high on the hill, down to the town center.

St. George's Day parade

We found a spot on the parade route. Hundreds of people of all ages – virtually the entire village population – came down the street in two parallel lines, all dressed in traditional Greek costumes. Near the end came the priests in full vestments, including one who was probably the local area bishop, and finally, the icon, carried by four guys.

The icon of St. George is carried through the village.

After all of the costumed folk had passed, other town’s people or spectators joined the end of the procession. Mary and I walked with it a ways, but it appeared to be never-ending, so we used our little flashlight to find our way back to the hotel in the dark.

Meteora

We boarded the bus for the trip up into the rocks that have been used by religious hermits for hundreds of years. Views along the way were spectacular, and the bus stopped several times along the way for photo opportunities.

Religious hermits established monasteries
atop the rocks

We first visited a convent called Saint Stephen’s, which had an interesting little museum and a typically Orthodox chapel. It is now quite easy to get to, thanks to a bridge built across the gorge, on which the founders of the order would no doubt have frowned. Women had to wear skirts, even if they had slacks on underneath.

View of the valley from St. Stephen's

Next we visited a monastery that now has only six remaining monks. One can now cross a bridge and climb 130 steps to get to it, but until the steps were built in the 1930s, there was only a treacherously narrow path or, alternatively a ride up in a rope cargo net attached to a line being pulled up by a team of four monks running a primitive wooden spindle winch. It was said that if you weren’t at prayer already at the bottom, you would be before you reached the top!

A rope from the balcony used to be the main way up!

We got to have a Q & A session with one of the monks in their chapel. Among the relics to be found there were the preserved feet, in little silver shoes, of the founding hermit. Apparently the saint had lost his footing at some point (ba-dum-pah!). These were in silver caskets under glass, and we watched several pilgrims come kiss the glass and cross themselves there before moving on into the church.

Now a bridge and 130 steps provide "easy" access.

The bus dropped us back in the center of Kalabaka, where most of our group went to a little restaurant run by a 90+ year old woman who cooks big pots of food each day. We feel as if we've been eating so much, we passed on the buffet and went to a bakery down the street.

This is just the foyer before entering the church.

After lunch, Mary and I set out on our adventure of the day. We decided to find the local government health clinic and get Mary’s stitches removed. We asked at a nearby pharmacy, where the pharmacist spoke passable English, but gave directions that were slightly vague. We asked several other times along the way, sometimes having to point to Mary’s head and make scissor motions with our fingers. Apparently, “clinic,” “medical,” “doctor,” and “physician” are not words with Greek roots to be readily understood.

A steep walk up hill the Paul & Betty's house

After a half hour or so we found it. Lots of people were sitting around doing nothing, but no one was waiting for service. The nurse, doctor, PA, or medical student who came out to us spoke a bit of English. She did not exude confidence in the removal of the stitches, but got the job done. After finishing, they asked her name, country, and year of birth, which they wrote in a large ledger book -- no computer. That was it. No charge.

Paul and Betty with their young nephew

In the evening, the bus took us to the center of the village (which was larger than it had appeared to us on foot in the afternoon) where we met three families who would be our hosts for home meals. Our group climbed up hill quite a ways to the home of “Betty” and “Paul,” who is also known as “The Captain,” because he is a retired cruise ship captain.

Beautiful sunset from Paul & Betty's front porch

Their lovely home is one of two they occupy -- an apartment in Athens in winter, and this house in summer. Both of them spoke English pretty well. Paul is a private pilot, so we talked flying, ships, family and the Greek economy. Betty was quite a cook and we had an excellent meal that was over much too soon.

Athens I

An early morning bus took us from the port at Piraeus into central Athens, where we were able to visit the Acropolis and Parthenon.

Acroplis from below

We had it nearly to ourselves, as most tour groups didn’t show up until about the time we were leaving. The winds the night before had cleared out the usual pollution, so the views were incredible!

The Erechtheum

After being given a guided orientation by our tour director, we got our photos and walked down to the huge amphitheater of Dionysus, which is now being restored.

Theater of Dionysus

Then it was onto the bus for the long ride to Kalabaka (Meteora), in northern Greece.

Parthenon

We passed through mountains and flat agricultural areas. The farther north we traveled the less prosperous things began to look. In fact, the towns became downright shabby. But as we entered the valley near the “forest of stone” rock formations we came to see, the Greek reliance on tourism as an economic engine became obvious once again.

Ancient Greeks

The area around Kalabaka once again looked very prosperous. The snow-capped mountains to the south came down to a river valley reminiscent of the Platte River of Nebraska – a mile wide and an inch deep. The setting sun bathed the rocks, and we could see at least one of the monasteries perched on top.

Meteora

The hotel was a few miles out of town, but quite nice. We walked a muddy path through the woods and farm fields back into the little village nearby. It had rained a great deal earlier in the day, but it was very pleasant and sunny. The frogs in the mud were making an awful racket that we thought, at first, must be some sort of large bird. However, despite the noise, we never actually saw a frog.

Syros and Tinos

The ship set sail during breakfast for a run of about two hours from Naxos to Syros. Even though it was a gorgeous day and the wind had died down, the swells were still deep and we had quite a roll. Fortunately Mary, now on her second sea-sick patch, rode through it without ill effects. She really has her sea legs! But the patch continues to make her feel “funny” and to affect her depth perception, so I hold onto her when we are out walking, especially on stone or uneven ground, of which there is a lot on these islands. They use white marble for everything – even for paving streets and sidewalks. It’s very beautiful, but it can be slippery and uneven.

The ferry docks at Syros only briefly

Immediately upon arrival at Syros we were given the option of getting on one of the big commercial car/truck ferries for an excursion to Mikonos, one of the scheduled islands we had to miss. The only catch was that the ferry would take over an hour to get there, and there would only be an hour before it left again.

Another option was that the same ferry stopped on the island of Tinos both ways, so instead of going to Mikonos, we could get off at Tinos after only a half hour, then get two hours on Tinos before the ferry returned. We opted to skip Mikonos for a little more time on Tinos.

Promenade along the shore on Tinos.

The ferries are huge ships, and are the life-line of these islands. They dock, unload, and load very quickly in a well-choreographed procedure. When the gate opens for loading, it is best not to tarry, as the ship doesn’t wait long. As people board to one side, motorcycles, cars, buses, ambulances, etc. come roaring past. Tractor-trailer rigs go on last, but the tractors come off. Only the trailers are left. Everything takes place in minutes.

We were amazed at how much smoother the ride was on the ferry – but about eight of our ship would easily fit aboard the ferry. The ferries are much faster, too. But they belch a lot of fumes -- it’s hard to guess what huge amounts of diesel fuel they must burn.

The carpet on the right side of the street goes
all the way to the church at the top of the hill.

Tinos is known for an Orthodox church housing an icon of the Virgin Mary that has been linked to many healing miracles. Pilgrims come here from all over the world – the tour director described it as the “Lourdes of Orthodoxy.” There is a strip of carpet extending from the port all the way up the hill to the church – probably a kilometer or more – and then up the steps into the church. Pilgrims come on their knees all the way (we saw a few).

A pilgrim moves toward the church on her knees.

The streets are lined with shops selling icons, candles, medallions, and other “Jesus junk.” One big seller was empty bottles that could be used for collecting and saving the holy water distributed at the baptistry of the church (many in our group got a bottle, we declined).

Orthodox church of the Virgin Mary on Tinos

Upon return to Syros, we climbed to the big Orthodox church high on the hill above the city, and found that there was a group of women scrubbing the floors, so we couldn’t really go in. They were laughing and saying something in Greek that appeared to be offering to let us come in and mop with them if we wanted to get inside. We smiled and laughed, but did not mop.

Scrubbing the church on Syros

The trip down was a bit more direct, as it was easier to navigate the streets from the top down than from the bottom up. Along the way we saw the government buildings for the administration of all the Cyclydise Islands, which is located here, along with the local government buildings. It was a good hike, and we felt we needed it as we’ve been doing a lot of standing and moseying, and a whole lot of eating, but not much real exercising.

Mountaintop view on Syros

I went to the internet café to catch up on email while Mary returned to the ship, which was docked right across the street. Small ships dock in close, if one can stand the rough seas in them. Tonight was the farewell dinner aboard the ship, and it was an excellent, five course affair.