Day 11 - Delphi

Day 11 - 20 September 2016

Delphi.

Didn't tell you about dinner last night. Walked around and eventually chose a restaurant. The choice is unbelievable - there must have been about 15 restaurants in a row. I ordered the spinach starter. Mediocre, warmed up in the microwave. For the main I ordered veal and onions. Now that was more like it. Chunks of veal and cocktail onions cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. I'm so glad there was bread to wipe my plate clean.
Today I used the other half of my ticket and went to the archaeological site. It opened at 08:00 and I fully intended being there. I eventually got out of the hotel at about 08:20. The hotel is very basic and does not have a breakfast option. There was a very nice coffee shop across from the hotel, so I went there. Had a cheese pie and a latte to go (€4.00). Walking to the site was so quiet. All you could hear was the birds singing and a shepherd taking his flock out to pasture as shepherds have been doing for thousands of years. When I got to the site, there must have been about 10 people. Obviously people who had stayed overnight.

The tour buses only start arriving from 10am. The site basically follows the sacred way all the way up to the stadium right at the top. It's a long and winding path that takes you ever upward, past the Sanctuary of Apollo, the theatre and various commemorative buildings. The Treasury of Athens has been restored to give an idea of what it must have looked like.

As I have said before, Delphi must have looked magnificent in its day. There are lots of shady spots along the way and plenty of seats. There was such a lovey cool breeze blowing that it was a pleasure to just sit down and enjoy the scenery. I'm afraid I was trigger happy and just could not stop taking
photos. When I eventually got to the top, I had the stadium to myself. Couldn't enter. So just sat there in the shade and just revelled in how fortunate I was to actually be there. I slowly started making my way down to the exit. The buses had started arriving. I left the site and continued down the road to the Castalian spring. The spring was the sacred source of Delphi, and its water played an important role in the cult and procedure of the temple and of the oracle. This is where Pythia, the priests and the temple staff washed, and where the water used to clean the temple came from. The theopropoi - those wishing to consult the oracle - were also obliged to wash here in order to purify themselves.
The water is pure, so I washed my face and also drank some. Ice, ice cold. There were offerings of flowers and fruit as well.

After that refreshing stop, I continued down to The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia which was partially restored in the 1930s. The whole area really is beautiful.

After that I had to walk back to Delphi, about 2km uphill. I had arranged with a taxi driver to collect me at 12:00 to take me the the Monastery of Hosios Loukas.The Monastery of Saint Lukas of Viotia

It's a 35km drive from Delphi through some stunning scenery. He dropped me off and gave me an hour to go through the Monastery. This proved to be more than enough time to see everything, but not to loiter much. The crypt of Saint Varvara really is something special, while the two churches are astonishing. The remains of Saint Luke reside in a glass case in the church. If you want to know more about the monastery, go here:
Once my hour was up, I bought 2 frappe and went back to the taxi. Constantinos, my driver really appreciated it. Everybody in Greece is frappe crazy, but it's just Nescafé granules with cold water and milk. Tastes like coffee granules in cold water. I just don't get it. The excursion cost €60.00 in total.
Once I was dropped off, I went back to the hotel to relax. Relaxed a bit too much and woke up after 7. Went out and had a very mediocre supper that cost me €18.00. The yogurt and honey for dessert was really good. On the house the waiter said. Didn't make up for the crappy grilled chicken (I so wanted some roast chicken!). The wild boiled greens with a dash of olive oil and lemon juice that I had as a starter were really tasty. The olives were also very good. Just the main that was forgettable.
Got back to the hotel and no internet! The absolute horror. I felt so alone and isolated. So I watched the movie Hanna (2011) starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett. Went to bed. I slept with the French doors open and the shutters closed. Cooled down the room very nicely. Internet was up and running this morning.

Delphi

Ancient Delphi

Ancient Delphi - The Sanctuary of Apollo

Ancient Delphi - The Treasury of Athens

Ancient Delphi - The Castalian Spring

Ancient Delphi - The Sanctuary of Athena

The Monastery of Hosios Loukas