We were greeted this morning by a wonderful sunrise over this mountain-side village. Of course we were interested in the geological formation seen here in the upper left. We can’t be sure without more investigation but it’s possibly evidence of stretching in continental plates, even perhaps a “basin and range” formation.
After breakfast we checked out of our hotel, loaded the bus, and traveled the short distance to the Delphi site. After visiting the museum yesterday we had at least a passing understanding of what we would be seeing, but it was Really Cool to walk the pathways of this “center of the world.”
At the entrance to the site we were greeted by this elaborate Roman wall.In the lower level of the site we found a Stoa.Phil Rogers standing next to the actual “navel of the world.” Interesting to know that the earth has an outie.Climbing a little farther we came upon the partially restored treasury of the Athenians – a storehouse for gifts brought to the oracle by people from Athens.Pride of place at the site is owned by the temple of Apollo, patron god of the Oracle. Pride of place, of course, doesn’t trump the impressive rock formations above.We were here.The high point (in terms of elevation) of our tour was the theatre.Which gave us a view of Apollo’s temple from above.Descending back from the theatre we proceeded up the road a bit to the Castilian spring. This is where Apollo killed the python. It’s also where priests and the oracle cleansed themselves before their work.Finally we hiked downhill a ways to the temple of Delphic Tholos. Note the main Delphi site in the background.Back on the bus we set out for Kalambaka (at the foot of giant stone pillars with monasteries on top.Along the way we stopped at the monument to the battle of Thermopylae.I know I promised not to bring it up again, but when you are standing on the site of the actual battle it’s pretty impressive.
Leaving the battlefield we continued on to Kalambaka and our hotel for the evening. We slept, we listened to Michaela, we told jokes and (some of us) sang along to Sponge Bob songs. You know, road trip. It gave me a few minutes to think about things I haven’t told you.
Much of what we’ve seen out the bus windows so far has been hillsides and olive trees. Today we came out of the mountains and onto the plain of Thessaly. Here farming operations look very familiar.Something we’ve noticed all over Greece are buildings (both commercial and houses) with unfinished story’s. The buildings have obviously been occupied for some time and it’s often possible to see concrete staircases in the unfinished parts. One of the most striking examples was one I saw early in the trip. The cars were parked in the unfinished ground floor. The second floor was empty except for the staircase and the third floor was living quarters.Eventually we arrived at Kalambaka. Here’s our first view of these monastery-topped giants.And here’s the view from our hotel room balcony. Pretty cool!
Tomorrow we visit two of these monasteries before our last road-trip (to Thessaloniki).
Tonight we sleep,
R
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Note: Cheryl was reading the blog and noted a mistake on Day 6 (1/17/2020). I identified a statue as Venus. It’s actually Athena. I have corrected the post. Sorry.
Note: Cheryl was reading the blog and noted a mistake on Day 6 (1/17/2020). I identified a statue as Venus. It’s actually Athena. I have corrected the post. Sorry.
Ohhhhh that hotel room view is nice!!!!