After leaving the cruise we have a couple of days to ourselves before our mainland tour of Greece begins.

Our hotel is nice but I’m not sure of our surroundings. In the words of Shania Twain, “That don’t impress me much.” The store pull down shutters are graffiti covered and not artistic at all. There seems to be a shoe shop on every corner! The Greek women must love shoes as much as Ruthie. Amongst it all I did find a barber shop for a Greek hair cut. The uneven pavements are mosaic tiles, many broken and an ankle injury waiting to happen. The brutal heat ensures the radiant heat can’t be escaped. In fact Greece is under an Orange warning for heatwave conditions. 

On the positive side, our hotel pool is very nice and cooling. It has a very nice view of the Acropolis. It’s just unfortunate that every child in Greece is in it playing Marco Polo. 

Another day and we braved it into the centre of the city. This was more like it. The tourist area was more widely spaced and definitely less graffitied. We happened upon the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier and the only time of the week they do the full routine. A walk through the shaded national gardens cooled us and encouraged us to walk a bit further. 

We stumbled upon the Acropolis and Parthenon. That entailed further climbing and because our tour will take us there, we just confirmed the ruins are indeed ruins, so settled for a refreshing Aperol Spritz instead. Just what the doctor ordered.

Google maps does not discriminate. Walking home it took us through some back streets where we encountered a group of homeless, drug and alcohol affected people. Very sad and possibly the worst we’ve seen on our travels! Another swim and a Souvlaki for dinner.

A positive of the hot weather is that our hand washing when hung on our balcony dried our dripping wet clothes much quicker than our clothes drier at home!

DAY 2 

Our breakfast buffet was full of Greek delicacies including Ouzo (with tobasco and lemon) and Prosecco. We had 2 tour leaders, 1 Spanish and 1 English speaking in a tour group of 24 Spanish and 9 English. We were indeed a diverse group. The English speakers came from Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, India, Alaska and us Aussies. There were teenagers and very young children amongst us. We’re already understanding some of the Spanish tour guide so may be bilingual after this!  

The Greek population is approximately 10.4 million and it felt like most of them were in Athens. So it was nice to escape Athens. We were soon tracking along the coast with the Aegean Sea on one side and mountains on the other, divided by huge olive groves in the middle. Pencil pines were very popular also.

Our first stop was in the seaside town of Kamena Vourla, a very popular holiday stop. We were having a quiet morning coffee but it wasn’t long before we had an incident! My phone went off and it was Ruthie. “Help! I’m stuck in the toilet! Urgent!!” Johnny to the rescue, stand aside, into the ladies I went. Well, I couldn’t budge the door. The small little greek waitress came in. My English no…. and then proceeds to mutter “What the F**k!” I told her, her English very good. It took a sturdy Greek lady to nearly rip the door off the hinges and Ruthie emerged all hot and sweaty. There was definitely no air in that cubicle. I was thinking of the headline “Australian lady suffocated in Greek toilet cubicle.”

A quick photo stop at the narrow mountain pass where the battle of Thermopylae took place in 480BC where the Spartans and Greeks fought the Persians. 

The bus meandered through rich agricultural land that get’s its water from underground. Then suddenly, there it was. Wow! Just when you thought you’d seen everything, the Meteora Monasteries appeared. The Meteora consist of towering sandstone rock pillars, many which rise over 400 metres above the surrounding plain.

In the 14th century, monks built monasteries on top of these cliffs to find solitude and safety. At its peak, there were 24 monasteries and today, 6 are still active.

We were fortunate enough to visit one of these and take in the breathtaking views. It’s hard to imagine how they were able to engineer and build these on top of the seemingly inaccessible cliff tops. Meteora means suspended in the air or hovering above the earth. Very fitting. We really enjoyed seeing these remarkable buildings. 

Our accommodation for the night was in Kalambaka at the base of the Meteora. It had reached 40 degrees today so it was nice to take an evening stroll in the night air. It was probably still 35! The cliff faces of the Meteora were highlighted by spotlights.  A very remarkable and spectacular place to visit.

DAY 3

The following day our bus took us through the winding mountain range until we arrived at Delphi. It was believed to be the centre of the world and also made famous because of the Oracle of Delphi. We walked along the Sacred Way, inspecting the ruins and searching for the Phrophet Oracle in the heat of the day.  I’m sure I heard her tell us to “turn back as it was too bloody hot!” The history and scenery is fascinating.

You know when you go on holidays and you see all churches or temples or mosques or castles, well we’ve seen so many ruins that I think we’re all ruined out. Don’t get me wrong it is amazing to see things from antiquitie cities of long ago but was it this hot back then? Or has climate change had something to do with us losing 2kg from sweating every time we step out of the bus. 

However, they also have some magnificent artifacts and statues in their archeological musuem. On top of that, it’s air conditioned!

Our last stop for the day was at the Hosios Loukas Monastery, a beautiful example of Byzantine architecture from the 11th century. The fires from 2023 reached the edge of the monastery, destroying everything around it.  The towns we drove through also lost many lives during WW2. This monastery has survived in all its glory for many centuries completely unscathed in the original condition we see it in today. 

DAY 4

Today we’ve started the day with a city tour of Athens. It was a small group of 10 and proved very enlightening. From visiting the port to visting the stadium where the first modern Olympics were held in 1894, everything was starting to feel familiar.

Our final stop was at the Acropolis. This ancient city is perched high on a hill overlooking all of Athens and features the Parthenon. Having survived many periods of Greek history, it attracts millions of visitors each year. It stands as the greatest surviving symbol of Ancient Greek democracy, art, architecture and philosophy.

The evening finished with a Greek dinner and show. Whilst we may not have been adept at doing the Zorba dance, Ruthie certainly knew how to smash the plates.

DAY 5

First stop, the Corinth Canal. It joins the Ionian and Aegean Seas avoiding the long trip around the peninsula. Finished in 1893, it is too narrow for todays ships but quite an engineering feat.

We were headed to the south of Greece and lunch was in the small town of Tripoli. The weather had turned quite mild and we even had a drop of rain, a far change from the scorching weather we have been enduring.

The highlight of the day was the stop at Olympia, where the first ancient Olympic games took place in 776BC. Our guide was a smallish Greek lady who was very passionate about her Greek history. Her knowledge was astounding! We were in awe of the way she jumped between English and Spanish. We dared not cross her. Neither would her granddaughters school teacher! The grand daughter would continually correct her with her Ya Ya’s facts! It was men only back in those days competing naked to show off their muscled bodies. Women could not enter the stadium either to watch or compete. 

It was surreal to be standing next to the cauldron where the flame is lit for every modern Olympic games before it is carried to the host country.

Our hotel for the night was in Patras, the third largest city in Greece and a big port on the Ionian Sea. Dinner was enjoyed overlooking the Gulf of Patras and another beautiful sunset. 

DAY 6

Leaving Patras we crossed the Rio-Antirrio bridge, a spectacular cable stayed bridge.

We were soon in the small town of Nafpaktos. The Christian and Turkish forces clashed here and the famous Cervantes lost an arm.  Obviously not his writing arm as he was able to go on and write Don Quixote. I think I could live in Nafpaktos. Not too busy, by the seaside, clean, lots of cafes and tavernas, fresh fruit and fish, it had a really nice vibe. I could visualise me riding my Vesper down for morning coffee or going out for a morning fish.

Our bus tour continued along the Gulf of Corinth to Mycenae. Mycenae is one of Greece’s most important archaeological sites, offering a remarkable glimpse into the origins of Greek civilization. Even though these earliest buildings (1600 to 1100BC) were simpler than following civilisations, they still seemed to have all the home comforts e.g. wine cellar!

We have come to our last stop of the tour before being returned to Athens, the fortess of Acrocorinth. At the top it commands 360 degree views around the peninsula. Ruthie and I did very well to climb as high as we did but had to turn around before the gate was locked. It remains one of Greece’s finest examples of a fortress that reflects the influence of multiple civilizations over the centuries.

The time has come to say Hasta La Vista baby to our new Spanish  speaking friends mainly from Mexico and Argentina. 

Now some time for some much needed R&R on the Greek Island of Agistri. (After we navigate the Greek Island Ferries that is!)

We have found a little jewel in the Aegean Sea. Now to Eat, Sleep, Drink, Swim …. Repeat