EuroTrip: Day 20-Olympia

We woke up docked in Katakolon, Greece! We definitely slept well! That fan Jackielou found us on day 1 has been a lifesaver.. besides the cooling aspect, the noise it makes-ah that sweet white noise that keeps your head from feeling like it’s going to pop off-Completely necessary!

We had to be up and at breakfast by 8 so we could be at our meeting spot by 8:45 for our tour. Breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, and toast which I made into a sandwich, because-why not? Afterwards we walked down to the meeting spot on the ship to get our number for our shuttle bus.

We followed everyone in our group to the bus outside on the dock area. Our guide, Helen, was an older woman, maybe in her 60s, with white/gray hair. She was hysterical! She taught us a few Greek words throughout the day and had us all laughing. I think she’s been my favorite tour guide yet 🙂 and yes, she does give the best hugs. She kept calling herself out greek mama.

She took us to the ancient Olympian ruins. Without her there to explain things, honestly it would have looked like a bunch of piles of rocks to me. She showed pictures of what it would look back when it was created. She explained the gymnasium area, the bath houses, the entrance to the stadium and the temples of Herra and Zeus. The temples would have been incredible to witness in their prime, today only pillars here and there stand, some of which are only there because they have been restored.

The stadium, where the athletes (like Hercules) competed, was very underwhelming overall. Helen says that was because they didn’t need the stadium to impress the Gods, they needed the athletes to impress the Gods with their abilities. Each distance ran always ended at the same area, so the athletes would cross the finish line by running towards the temple of Herra, to run towards the Gods, in order to be seen. You would never finish a race with your back to the Gods, as that was bad luck. Also, for the record, if you were first, you were the winner, if you were second you might as well have been last. Hmmm.

There were no grand stands around the stadium floor, just grassy hills for the spectators to sit on, and during the Olympic Games, only men were allowed inside. The athletes competed naked, covered first in olive oil and then with dirt so they wouldn’t get sunburnt and wrestlers wouldn’t be too slippery to make contact with their opponent.

History says (by history, I mean Hellen, because I don’t remember much of this from school haha) that the first people that settled in Olympia abandoned the valley after an earthquake destroyed the city, along with flooding from the river through town. The second group of people to resettle in that valley were Christians, because they built a church on top of what used to be a workshop. Archeologists could tell the timeline by the different ways they built their buildings, even if the christians reused the same marble and limestone from the original Olympian people.

Apparently they were wiped out or abandoned the area due to the same thing as the original settlers: earthquakes and floods. It seems they left by choice because they haven’t found human remains left behind from the natural disasters.

From the ruins we went to the actual town of Olympia and had a little snack and walked around the shops. It was a quick break before getting back on the bus and heading towards the “farm” for lunch. We’d be eating at another winery! I knew I’d be happy with that (which is probably why many of the tours I’ve booked include lunch and a winery lol).

The grounds of the farm were stunning, like a movie set from the 1800s. The buildings had vines and roses climbing the walls, and peacocks, turtles, and dogs roamed the grassy paths between them. It is still too gorgeous to even begin to describe adequately. We got to see the old farmhouse that they’ve turned into a museum filled with all of the tools the farmers used to tend to the fields. We also got to see the old ways of turning grapes into wine and olives into olive oil.. and the new way, too.

We ate our lunch out in the gardens with the sea peaking out behind the trees. It was truly lovely. We had a charcuterie board each, filled with salami, cheeses, tomatoes, and cucumbers.. plus white and red wines. Mom tried to like at least the white-but no go. I’m just happy she tried!

Hellen took us back to the ship and we changed into our bathing suits and B lined for the pool. We got to lay out for a couple hours before going to get ready for dinner. At dinner, when they went to sit us at that awkward middle table again, mom asked the man if we could literally sit anywhere else.. he seemed real nervous about it, but went and got his manager anyway. Amor happily sat us at a table for 2 just under the window. We could see the sea from the very back of the ship and we got to watch the sunset. It was magnificent.

While none of the food has really been outstanding, none of it has been bad either.. it’s just hard to really love it after the incredible flavors from the meals we were eating in Italy-even the little cheap hole in the wall places were mind blowing. So, we liked the food-we just didn’t find it as amazing as the other foods we’ve eaten. As a matter of fact, they aren’t really memorable at all. But that’s ok. We’re definitely not going hungry here. Hahaha

We went back to the room and I changed into running clothes to knock out my mileage at the gym. I’ll be honest, even though I was and am so excited about this gym on board, I really despise the treadmill. It’s a perfect means to an end but man does it suck! And on a ship, it can get a little wobbly. Even still, I got it done, before they close at 10pm no less. Thankfully, I had already gotten my 10k steps so I didn’t have to do anything afterwards but go back to the room, shower, and get ready for bed.

Tomorrow we will wake up in Santorini! I’m so excited, it’s my favorite excursion I’ve booked, so I’ve been looking forward to it since the day I read about it-back in November 🙂 Goodnight!