Day 21 - Ligourio & The Sanctuary of Asklepios & Epidavros

Day 21 - 30 September 2016

What a mouthful, but it was lovely.

Got up and had breakfast. It was just as good. When I paid my bill, Nikos said that breakfast was on the house. Rather generous I thought. He asked where I was off to so I told him. Phoned Yannis to take me Isthmia station. I really didn't want to spend 2 hours trying to get there. I booked out (€90.00 for two nights). It took 20 minutes and cost €20.00. I thought it was worth every cent. Bought my ticket to Ligourio (€6.20) and went to check out the Isthmus. Thin, narrow and you wonder how those huge ships pass through.

My bus was supposed to be there at 10:25. Well by 10:35 I was a bit concerned that I had somehow missed it. It eventually arrived and off we went. Beautiful trip. Pine forests, blue seas. Really scenic. Got to the outskirts of Ligourio and guess what? Change buses! I asked the driver where my hotel was. When he saw it, he dropped me off at the front door. I'm the only one staying there. It's big and clean and has a huge pool. Once I had settled in, I wanted to go to the sanctuary and the theatre. I walk out and the owner asks me where I'm going. So I tell him I'm going to get a cab to go to the theatre. Nonsense he says. My son will take you. The kid didn't really want to, but he did. This was at 13:00. There was a bus back into town at 15:40 so I was covered.
The complex is huge and there were archaeologists reconstructing pillars.

When people go there, they tend to just go to the theatre and skip the ruins, so there were very few people in the sanctuary itself. The sanctuary was dedicated to Asklepios, the god of medicine. People came from far and wide to be healed and the entire complex was geared toward the processing of people to be healed. Something I never mention is how sweet the air is. There are flowers all over and the entire area was abuzz with bees.

Did the ruins circuit and then went to the theatre. It really is impressive and the acoustics are astounding.

The second Mrs de Winter may have dreamt of Mandeley last night, but all I dream of is steps, steps steps!

When you sit at the top, you can hear a cat meow as if it's next to you.

Took the bus back and had a coffee at the hotel. I also had some mastic ice cream. Really weird. Tastes like pine. Still don't know if I like it. I am the only person in the hotel and I think also the only tourist in town.

I was going to have dinner at the hotel, but being the only person there, I went to the pizzeria down the road. Had a rather tasty pizza and came back to the hotel. Creepy being in that huge building all on your own. Had visions of The Shining. Off to bed now.

The Isthmus

The Actor Hotel

The Sanctuary of Asklepios

The Theatre of Epidavros

Ligourio

Day 20 - Ancient Corinth & Ancient Nemea

Day 20 - 29 September 2016

I decided to have breakfast today as it was only €5.00. Wow, you can't believe the size of the breakfast: Bread, boiled egg, ham, cheese, yogurt & honey, fruit and biscuits and cakes and water, fresh orange juice and coffee. On helluva spread. I only had what I could, but I must say the yogurt and honey (the honey comes in a jar and you decide how much you have!) was delicious.
Niko, the owner of Pegasus Rooms organized a taxi to take me to Ancient Nemea and bring me back for €40.00. I took this option based on the time it took to get to Ancient Corinth. Yannis, the taxi driver picked me up at 09:00 and off we went. It was a 30 minute drive to get there. Every time you take a corner and see the remains of a temple, it just takes your breath away.

Nemea was famous for two things - the first being the Nemean Lion that Herakles had to kill. This was task number 1 of 12. Of course he managed to kill the lion by wrestling it to the ground and skinning if using its own claws. Herakles forever after wore its pelt. That is why you can always identify a statue as Herakles. He's always wearing that lion. The second was the Nemean games. With the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games were held both the year before and the year after the Ancient Olympic Games and the Pythian Games in the third year of the Olympiad cycle. Like the Olympic Games, they were held in honour of Zeus. They were said to have been founded by Herakles after he defeated the Nemean lion another myth said that they originated as the funeral games of a child named Opheltes. However, they are known to have existed only since the 6th century BC (from 573 BC, or earlier). The winners received a wreath of wild celery leaves from the city of Argos.
The archaeological site was really interesting. Three of the pillars have remained standing since antiquity.

What they have done is reconstruct four more pillars. There was an interesting exhibition on site that showed exactly how this is done. You can check the photo album. After all that, I went to the archaeological museum. There were some really beautiful Mycenaean gold work. No photos. They had been stolen and eventually recovered in Miami. Stored in really state of the art cases. After that, it was off to the stadium. Once again I was the only one there. The modern Nemean games are held here every 4 years. I walked through the secret tunnel that the athletes used thousands of years ago.

Once I was done, Yannis took me back to Ancient Corinth. I gave him €50.00 because I felt safe the entire trip.
I did my washing!

The room with the washing - that's mine!

Part of the service at the hotel was free use of their washing machines. Got that up to date and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the courtyard reading. Had a late afternoon nap, went for a walk. Had an ice cream. Relaxed some more, had dinner and off to bed. A really lazy day, but all I had planned was Nemea.

Ancient Nemea

Pegasus Rooms

Ancient Corinth- Roman Theatre

Ancient Corinth - The Town

Day 19 - Ancient Corinth & Acrocorinth

Day 19 - 28 September 2016

What a beautiful little town, but let's backtrack because I still need to get there.

Up at 06:00 this morning. I wish it was as easy when I'm working! Got ready blah blah and went to book out (€70.00 for two night). While I was booking out, the manager offered me a coffee to go. Rather nice of him and it was really good filter coffee. Got the the bus station and bought my ticket (€14.10 for a 163km trip). The bus left on time, at 08:30 and we got to Isthmia at 10:30. Hint: keep an eye on the timeline. Now I need to get from Isthmia to Ancient Corinth, a distance of 14km. Well the next bus was at 11:00 so I stood around and waited. It eventually arrived at 11:15 and off we went (€1.80 per ticket). The damn bus stops in Corinth and we all have to get off and wait for the connecting bus (another €1.80) at 12:00. It eventually arrived 10 minutes late. I eventually got to Ancient Corinth at 12:40! It took me longer to get from Isthmia to Ancient Corinth than from Sparta to Isthmia! If I'd known that I would have splurged on a taxi. I'm staying at the Pegasus Rooms. Very nice accommodation for €45.00 a night. My motto this holiday has been 'if you rest, you rust' so after a quick change into cooler clothes off I went. We are just above sea level and I wanted to go to Acrocorinth which is 574 meters above sea level. I took a taxi to the top - €10.00 for a 10 minute drive, but worth it. Acrocorinth towers above Ancient Corinth and has been a fortress for millennia - Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader and Ottoman have all occupied it at some time in its history.

It is also here that there was the temple to Aphrodite where the temple courtesans plied their trade. What was a lonely sailor to do but worship at the temple of Aphrodite! This income made it one of the most wealthy and powerful Greek city states. Due to various political miscalculations, it was eventually sacked in 146 BC by Lucius Mummius and all the statues and works of art were carted off to Rome to furnish the wealthy Romans homes. It's fortunes changed when Julius Caesar revitalized and rebuilt Corinth. He would, because the Julian's were direct descendants of Aphrodite. I looked for the temple, but couldn't find it. What I did find was the fountain. Once, many years ago, Pegasus landed on the rock and stamped his hoof on the rock. A spring gushed forth that flows to this day. It was his favorite drinking spot. Along came the romans and built a room around it.

No freeloading horse, wings or not was going get their water! It was so high and so hot, that I was actually relieved when they closed at 15:00. I walked down into town. A very pleasant 50 minute walk. By this time I was famished so I had a toasted cheese sandwich and a latte (€6.00) but worth every cent. Fortified and rested, I was off to the archaeological site and the museum. Smack bang in the center of town, about 5 minutes walk from my room. A very nice museum with mostly Roman remains, but also some earlier Greek finds from the surrounding area. The two Kore were quite amazing.

They could have been from two brothers grave as they were found next to each other. Walked through the site and marveled at the Temple of Apollo.

As I said previously, Roman ruins only. By now it was 18:15 so I went back to my rooms to relax and shower before dinner. Now that that is out of the way, it's off to bed.

Pegasus Rooms

Acrocorinth

Ancient Corinth Archaeological Museum

Ancient Corinth Archaeological Site

Day 18 - Sparta & Mystras

Day 18 - 27 September 2016

OMG what a day it was today.

First thing today was Mystras, founded in 1249 by William II of Villehardouin. It was to play an important part the the history of the Byzantine Empire until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1460. First came to fort right at the top, and gradually houses, churches, palaces and monasteries grew up around and down the hill.

When modern Sparti was founded in 1834, people started moving out of Mystras with the last people being moved out in 1953.
The entrance is at the bottom of the hill (ticket cost €12.00) so it was all uphill, and the paths were not so great. I think that the altitude had something to do about it as well. Fortunately it wasn't too hot, but I really took strain. There was a surprisingly large amount of people there, but I was the only one that was not part of a tour group. We climbed those steps and stopped to admire the view, but more to catch our breath than anything else. It really was a spectacular visit

and I would have liked to spend more time, but I had to keep an eye on the time. The bus back was at 11:50 with the next one at 15:40. I really didn't want to sit there for that long.

Those steps were a killer.

I got back to the bus stop at about 11:35 which gave me a bit of time to cool off. It was the same driver. He flicked his head for me to get on and off we went.
He dropped me off at the archaeological museum. There is very little left of Classical and Hellenistic Sparta. There were many roman statues and mosaics however. There were a couple of really elegant romans statues in the gardens outside the museum. It's such a pity that they are so dirty.

After that I took a walk across town and took a look at the statue of King Leonidas.

He of the Battle of Thermopylae fame. Onwards to the archaeological site. Set in the middle of an olive grove, the most impressive ruins were the roman theatre that seated 16 000.

After all that, I went for a late lunch. Had two starters (€10.70) one excellent and the other mediocre. Saganaki (fried cheese) is fantastic.

I could have it every day. After lunch I went back to the hotel to relax. Much later I went out for a walk and dinner. The restaurant I chose didn't have any of the Greek specialties on the menu tonight, so I had a gyro (€6.50). To console myself I bought some Kourabiedes

and a latte to go. Off to bed early tonight. I'm off to Ancient Corinth tomorrow morning and the bus leaves at 08:30, which means I need to be there by 07:30 to ensure a good seat.

Sparta

Mystras

Statue of Leonidas

Archaeological Museum of Sparta

Archaeological Site of Ancirnt Sparta

Day 17 - This is Sparta!

Day 17 - 26 September 2016

Not much to write about today. Spent the day on buses and in bus stations:

Olympia - Pyrgos. There was supposed to be an express at 08:20. No bus until 08:40. The fare was €2.30. Can't understand why it cost €4.00 getting there.
Pyrgos to Kalamata. Got to Pyrgos at 09:10 and bought a ticket (€12.10) and waited for the bus. It was supposed to leave at 10:00 but eventually left at 10:16. Don't know why I am complaining. Had a delicious latte and cinnamon again. Toilets were disgusting.
Kalamata - Artemisia. That was only at 14:30, so I had a 2 hour wait. Bought the ticket (€2.50) and waited. It left on time! A really winding pass through some really spectacular scenery.
Artemisia- Sparta. When we got to Artemisia, we all got off the bus and waited about 10 minutes. A bus arrived from the opposite direction. All of the passengers got off and into our bus and we got into theirs. Bought the ticket (€3.50) and off we went. Some truly hair raising bends going up and down the mountainside. The entire trip from Kalamata to Sparta really was stunning. In the Artemisia file is a short clip of us negotiating the bends. Made it to Sparta in one piece at about 17:30. Booked into the Hotel Lakonia and then walked around for a bit, had dinner, explored some more, updated blog and now off to bed!

Artemisia

Hotel Lakonia

Day 16 - Ancient Olympia

Day 16 - 25 September 2016

Plan and artists rendering of Olympia

Awake at 06:00 again. Dozed on and off until 7:30 when I went to shower. Had breakfast and off to the archaeological site. Ships must have been in port today because by 08:30 there were four tour groups there already.

The spot where the Olympic flame is lit every four years

That's OK. The site is huge, so you don't notice them at all. I started to the left hand side and basically worked my around, leaving the Temple of Zeus for last, but always skirting it because it's so big and is in the center of the entire complex. I'm too lazy to describe everything, so I have included this excellent link Ancient Olympia  that I used as the basis of my walk through the site.

Starting block in the stadium

It really is like a park. There are trees all over and each building has a plaque with its description and where it sits in the complex.

I really enjoyed the experience because I could do it in my own time. I eventually left at 13:00 and went back to the hotel. Headache from hell. Too much sun and too little hat. After 4 disprin I started to feel better. Went back to the museum to take some photos that hadn't taken yesterday.
Later I went out for dinner. Was rather tasty. I had gigantes

(broad beans cooked in tomato sauce), in a word delicious. For a main, I had pastitsio. Really tasty concoction of macaroni, minced beef and bechamel sauce. Had pistachio ice cream for dessert and off to bed. All that for only €15.00!

Ancient Olympia - The Archaeological Site

Archaeological Museum of Olympia

Day 15 - Olympia and Bassae

Day 15 - 24 September 2016

Olympia and Bassae

Yesterday I arranged with a taxi to be taken to Bassae. He was to fetch me at 09:00, take me there and leave me to my own devices for an hour and then bring me back to Olympia. All for €90.00.
I got up at 07:30. It really was weird because by force of habit, I was awake at 06:00. Showered and went to breakfast. Cheese, cold meats, egg, bread with honey and jam, and cake. Very light, but also very filling. Finished off with some coffee. At 09:00 exactly, my taxi driver, Christos was there. The temple is only 65km away, but it took us 1hr 50min to get there. The entire route was through the mountains, ever upward. The temple is 1 310 meters above sea level. It's so isolated, that is was only rediscovered by 'archaeologists' in 1767 who proceeded to loot it. You need to go to the British Museum to see the pediment decorations and the metopes.

A word about the temple: it was designed and built by the same architect who designed the Parthenon. The people of the valley prayed to Apollo to spare them from a plague that was ravaging the area. Somehow they escaped unscathed and had the temple built on top of the mountain top. Today we know it as The Temple of Apollo Epikourious, or Apollo the healer. With the advent of Christianity, the temple fell in to disuse and earthquakes did the rest.

There have been conservation attempts since 1902. In 1987, a decision was made to cover the temple with a tent in order to protect the ruins from the extremes of winter.

I was so happy to be there, I took a selfie!

The temple has now settled and it is being dismantled piece by piece down to the foundation which is then leveled out and it is then rebuilt, with new pieces inserted in order to steady and anchor the temple. It's slow painstaking work that will still take many years and a lot of money.

It's a breathtaking site when you duck under the flaps and see it in its enormity. I would love to see it without the tent, but this is the only way to see it at present. Talk about isolated - there were 2 other people with me and as I left, 4 more arrived. It is very much off the beaten track and not many people go there. On the way back, Christos stopped at his mothers cafe and we had Greek coffee. Strong, but really good. I met his mother, his wife and brother. All very nice people. And then we were off again. I eventually arrived back in Olympia at 13:20. Much later than I expected but I really didn't mind.
He dropped me off at the pension. I paid €120.00 which I know is the going rate if I had simply gone down to the square and looked for a taxi. I freshened up a bit and then I went to the Museum of the History of the Ancient Olympics.

Bonus - all museums and archaeological sites are free today and tomorrow! The last weekend in September are European Heritage Days. I saved €18.00 today. Back to my day. By this stage it was 15:50 and I was starving! I had a delicious toasted baguette and a sprite (€4.50) at a very nice cafe. Tummy full, off to the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. It really was interesting. I'll go back tomorrow to take photos. By that time it was 18:00 and I went back for a rest before dinner. At 20:00 I went out. Had vegetable marrow cakes with yogurt for a starter and for my main I had Papoutsakia which translated means little shoes. With a sprite, it cost €13.00

It's eggplant stuffed with ground beef and tomato and covered in a cheesy bechamel sauce. Baked in the oven and served. It was delicious. Once I'm done here, it's off to bed as I need to be at the archaeological site at 08:00 tomorrow morning to avoid the crowds.

Bassae - The Temple of Apollo

Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity

Day 14 - Olympia

Day 14 - 23 September 2016

Ancient Olympia

I can't believe that I have been here for two weeks today. I've done so much that it feels like I've been here for ages. Booked out of my hotel (€120.00 for two nights) and went to the bus station.
The journey from Patras to Olympia is in two stages. The first is from Patras to Pyrgos at 09:30 (€12.60). It's only 97km but we eventually got to Pyrgos at 11 :40. It stops EVERYWHERE to pick up passengers. It really was a busy little bus. Jumped off the bus as the bus to Olympia left at 12:00. Just had time to pick a latte with a dash of cinnamon - my new favourite drink. the ticket to Olympia is only €4.00 as Olympia is 25km away. Stopped everywhere again. A lot of the locals had done their weekly shopping and wanted to go home. Not complaining, just so interesting to see how the locals go about their daily business. The driver was fantastic. Some really old people got on and he was so patient with them. waited until they sat down and were settled in before driving off. In PE they simply shoot off and you have to hang on for dear life. We eventually reached Olympia at 12:40. My pension, the Pension Poseidon, was a 5 minute walk from the station. It really is a compact little town. When I booked in, I asked the owner of the pension about arranging a trip by taxi to Bassae. He phoned around and got a deal for me. €90.00. I'll be driven there, the driver will wait an hour and drive me back. I will be collected tomorrow morning at 09:00. I spent the afternoon walking around town

and checking out where to go and where the museums are. I'll hit them from tomorrow afternoon. According to Geōrgios, the pension owner, there were about 5 000 tourists today. I counted 37 tour buses at the museum. A lot of the tourists are on excursions from their cruise ships. The question is where to eat in this town. All the restaurants are geared towards tourists i.e. very expensive. I eventually went to the Taverna Orestis, two blocks up and away from the main tourist area. You get delicious toasted bread with olive oil, salt and dried herbs.

I had fried feta and honey for a starter.

Lamb chops and chips for a main

and semolina cake for dessert (on the house).

Throw in a sprite and the bill came to €13.00. Very reasonable. I'm going back tomorrow night to try the Greek specialties. I went to a small side street cafe for a coffee. Geōrgios was there because it belongs to a friend. It cheap and the locals go there. When I wanted to pay, he said don't bother because he had taken care of it already. All I could do is say thank you. That's my day done and dusted. I'll update tomorrow again.

Olympia

Day 13 - Patras and Aigio

Day 13 - 22 September 2016

Patras & Aigio.

I woke up at 06:30 this morning in order to have breakfast and then catch the 08:00 bus to Aigio, a smallish town about 40km outside Patras. The hotel serves breakfast, but it costs €8.00 per person. Skip that and sort out your own breakfast Keith! Anyway I reset for 08:00 because there was no rush. There's a bus every hour on the hour. I got to the bus station at 08:40 which gave me time for a cheese pie and latte for breakfast (€4.00 sit down). I bought my ticket and off we went. It was a very pleasant drive all along the coast. We got to Aigio about 70 minutes later. The bus back to Patras also leaves every hour on the hour. I walked around the town and down to the sea. Went to the museum. Very small considering the long history of the region. Only one photo allowed.

There was a beautiful old church that was held together with scaffolding. There most probably isn't money to restore it. After that, I walked back to the station and bought some fruit for lunch along the way.

It cost €0.65 and I was really shocked. I really thought it would cost more. The grapes were so sweet and the peach was just, well, peachy 😂. When we got to Patras, I was dropped off at the archaeological museum. It's a huge modern building with some really stunning mosaics displayed vertically instead of on the floor. This way you could really take a really good look at them. The main displays were basically divided into private life, public life, warfare, religion and death. All very interesting and informative with numerous TV's showing short clips detailing the history of the area. Once done, I walked back to the hotel. That was a good half hour of me feeling lost. All I knew was that I had to go down towards the sea and then left. I just walked until I got to my hotel. By this stage I felt crappy. Too much sun and eye strain from the museum. Before I could do anything, I had to sort out my washing which had not arrived as promised. The young lady at the front desk phoned the laundry man and he had it there within 10 minutes. The luxury of clean ironed clothes. It was now 18:00 and I decided to lie down for a while.

Sunset over the Gulf of Corinth

At 20:00 I went for dinner. To make it easy, I went to the same place as the night before. The waiter greeted me like an old friend. The Greek people really are so friendly and go out of their way to make you feel at home. I had grilled chicken with tzatziki, onion, tomato and pita.

I'm so full I could burst. Off the bed!

Aigio

I also updated Patras and Food.