Greece: Diakuw of Delphi
Getting out of Athens
10:30
Travelling light with no checked baggage has several drawbacks. Everything is carefully organized and it is a bit of a pain getting it back into place each time I use anything. I don't have everything I want with me. And the few things I have for clothing need to be washed several times during the trip. Honestly, I should have been okay with just washing clothes once, but it has been so cold (for Greece) that I've been wearing all of my long sleeve shirts and sweaters, so they get dirty and I don't want to wear shorts or a T-shirt.
All this to say, we found a laundry mat and had coffee while we waited (twist my arm).
I also too the opportunity to find the perfect photo opportunity to show you a standard street set up for Athens. I don't know if I mentioned the traffic in my last post, but it is bad. The streets can be incredibly narrow usually two cars wide, with a row of parked cars on one or both sides. Sometimes only wide enough for 1 vehicle to squeeze past a single pedestrian.
After laundry, we made our way to the airport on an electric rail/subway system. Standing for 45 minutes while getting nauseous was not great. we saved 20 euro, but it probably wasn't worth it. We grab our rental car, gird our loins for the terror of driving in a foreign country and head for enlightenment.
The drive is only a little frightening. The roads and freeways out of Athens feel familiar enough that I feel pretty confident. As we get farther out, the roads become more and more twisted and increasingly narrow. Speed seems to change at random and the signs are completely ignored by the locals who drive at ANY speed and pass regardless of the presence of a few solid lines of paint or hairpin turn.
By the time we get to Delphi, Brad has stopped asking, "don't we already have a picture of that bird yet," and I have not wet myself out of fear. I will consider both as wins!
The next day
The Oracle at delphi: a UNESCO world Heritage Site.
The Greeks considered the region around Delphi to be the centre of the world and so it is religiously speaking very powerful.
We took a walk up to the temple of Apollo where, once upon a time, Pythia, the high priestess would tell fortunes to the rich and famous. It was a priceless ascent up stone steps toward revelation or doom. Above it all, the well preserved remnants of seating for a two thousand year old theatre with an incredible view of the entire valley.
What kind of performer would I be if I didn't take this stage when I had the chance?
It is such a perfect spot. It makes sense that the ancients would want to build a temple to the gods here. Just taking a breath and looking into the bay makes me feel stronger, more at peace. In the photo above, I'm sitting and looking down the hill to the temple of Athena
Also, 4 birds added to my life list:
- Yellow-billed Chough
- a flock of these black birds with vibrant yellow beers careened off the cliff high above and circled back in an endless dizzying circle
- Western Rock Nuthatch
- hopping around on the ruined marble and trying to smash open some sort of large seed pod
- Blue Rock-Thrush
- European Goldfinch
Temple of Athena
is the outlet of a spring that has been used for drink and cleansing before paying homage by visitors to these shrines for thousands of years. Seemed like a good opportunity for a little head dunk :)
Down the hill a ways (past a perfect "hermit cave" is the temple of Athena. There was no one here except for the UNESCO security personnel and a family of cats.
Did you spot the cat in the photo above? It's a crossover from Cat's of Athens. If you haven't been there, you are missing out.
Hermit Cave
Not in the guidebooks or anything, but seemed like we should investigate. Goats were hanging out just above.
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