Daily Journal for Greece 2004

Tuesday, May 25, 2004:

   Well, I’m getting ready for my 3^rd solo tour in 3 years—southern Italy, Portugal, and now Greece!  Got to the airport at 7:15am, 3 hours before departure to JFK, then on to Athens.  It only took around 25 minutes to get my ticket and get through security.  Fast for post 9/11 airports!  Had to take my shoes off again but didn’t have to open up/turn on my camcorder.

   I wasn’t very excited in the days leading up to this tour like my last two trips.  But standing in line for my ticket it started to hit me—I was headed out for an adventure in Greece.  Going through security added to the feeling.  It really hasn’t hit me that I’m out of school for 11 weeks yet, much less on a European vacation.  It did occur to me that leaving the very next day after school is out can be good and bad.  When I arrived at my Rome hotel 2 years ago I just about broke down from the fatigue and a sense of loneliness.  Then last year I was up 36 hours straight on a much harder/longer trip to Salema, Portugal, and I was just fine and excited to be there.  But I started that trip a week after school let out.  So I was better rested and specifically on guard for jet lag and long travel fatigue.

   I’m at a table at DIA having huevos rancheros and listening to CNN talk about Bush’s speech about getting out of Iraq while writing in my journal.  I thought it might be best to east a little before my flight.  I usually never eat in the morning.  I’ll head out for my gate in a second.  I have about 1½ hours before my flight to JFK, during which I plan to read my journal logs for southern Italy and Portugal to get in a vacation “frame of mind.”

   Time is just flying by, and now I’m on my flight to Athens.  Really bad luck though-my seat won’t recline as it’s broken.  It was really uncomfortable but I managed even if I was a bit stiff and sore.  The flight was long, nearly 9 hours.  Portugal would be 3 ½ hours shorter, and Rome 2 hours less.  The food was really poor and I usually like airline food.  Is this the result of 9-11 and/or higher fuel costs?  I had chicken lasagna (ha, ha) for dinner.  The in-flight movie was “Paycheck,” which I’ve wanted to see for a long time.  It was a very muddled movie.  Sat next to an interesting ambassador’s son who just finished his 1^st year at U. of Maryland.  He went to an American School in Athens as a teenager for 2 years and got to do lots of traveling in Europe for sports-what a lucky guy.  He had lots of stories to tell about his travels.

Wednesday, May 26:

   I arrived in Athens at 10:15am, on time, at the “new” Athens airport.  It was much nicer, newer and safer than the old one.  The old Athens airport was one of the most dangerous in the world for take off and departures.  One benefit of the 2004 Olympics, I guess.  I quickly got my bag, thank god!  (Seven years ago I just waited and waited for bag, to learn than it had been sent to Athens, Georgia, in the US.  It took 5 days to get my bag that trip.)  I easily found a taxi to my Hotel Poseidon for the “correct” 25 Euros fare as suggested by the desk help at the Hotel Poseidon.  I’m so used to a tour bus picking me up at an airport that actually finding my own taxi was a bit suspenseful.  I was supposed to get a “taxi ticket” in the air terminal beforehand-but I didn’t know and the driver said no problem.  Took 1¼ hours in stop and go traffic to get to my hotel.  I was in my room by noon-my new home for 4 days.  I decided to come 2 days before my Cosmos tour started to get some extra time in Athens and the beach.  Fortunately, they speak good English at the front desk.  My room is quite plain, but at least it’s a double room and not a single room the size of a closet.  Already things are a much nicer start than Italy two years ago. 

   It’s cool here.  On arrival it was in the mid 60’s  and now it’s in the pleasant 70’s.  It’s much cooler than I was expecting.  The cooler temp is great as there is no AC here at the hotel yet-that starts traditionally on June 1^st in Athens hotels. The rooftop pool has a great view and the top floor dining area has a spectacular view of the coast of Paleo Falero and the port Piraeus.

   I crossed the very busy Possidonos Street to get to the “hotel” beach and sat and people watched and had a couple of beers.  With jet lag and 2 beers in me I managed to stumble going up the beach-steps on my way back to the hotel.  Jeez, what a wimp!  I changed into my swimsuit and returned to the beach and got some sun and read for a couple of hours.  Read using my new prescription sunglasses.  They worked well with little eye fatigue.  Then I returned to the hotel and slept from 4 to 8pm. 

   That night I dined at the Hotel Poseidon rooftop restaurant to celebrate my arrival in Greece.  I had tasty well-cooked pork tenderloin with a beer and orange sauce and a Greek Mythos beer.  My table was right next to a window.  The view of the beach, the bay and the port, already panoramic from the rooftop, was even better with the red sun setting over the port in layered pink clouds, all reflected in the bay.  After dinner, I took a long 1½ hour walk around the hilly neighborhood.  I saw lots of flowering trees, cats, and Mourning Doves.  Was in bed by 12:15.  It was really a great first day in Greece.

Thursday, May 27:

   Got up at 8:15, and had an unusually good included hotel breakfast while writing in my journal and reading about the Acropolis.  I left at 11am on foot for the Plaka and Acropolis areas.  Big mistake-the road was under construction; there were no signs or pedestrian sidewalks.  After about an hour of exhaust fumes and cars screaming past I decided to catch a cab the rest of the way to inner Athens.  About 15 minutes and 2.75 Euros later I was at the Acropolis.  Live and learn-next time I’ll take a cab and save my energy and enthusiasm for my destination. 

   At the Acropolis, I slowly walked up to the top and visited all the buildings slowly and at MY leisure.  The crowds ebbed and flowed, as busloads of tour groups would unload, quickly look about and take a picture, and then get herded back down the hill.  I found the “old” Acropolis Museum open to my surprise.  I thought it was closed for the Olympics while the “new” museum was being built below.  The Parthenon was still breath taking and still covered with scaffolding.  Surprise, surprise.  The temperature was cool and breezy, unusual from my experience. 

   I walked down the “back way” and visited the two amphitheaters-The Odeon of Herodes and the Dionysus Theater.  Next, I walked to a park-like area west of the Acropolis called Philopappos.  I walked up a broad trail, paved with stone, to the top of a hill where I found the Philopappos Monument.  From this vantage I had a postcard perfect panoramic view of the Acropolis and the city of Athens.  Next, I walked in the quiet and peaceful tree covered “woods” to a surprising outdoor tavern and coffee/ice cream bar.  Had a large Mythos beer and relaxed a good 45 minutes, enjoying the birds and the quiet calm of being among some trees and not dodging cars and busloads of tourists.  The bar was shady and cool with a great view of the Acropolis through the pine trees.  I continued my walk through the woods and came upon an old, but not ancient, “Observatory” where I was chased by 2 wild dogs.  After calming down from my unexpected run I walked on to the Agora area, on the opposite side of the Acropolis from my starting point.  Not much left of the Greek Agora except the small well-preserved Theseion Temple and the Stoa of Atticus.  Next, I went to the neighboring Roman Agora and the Library of Hadrian. 

   Then I went to the Plaka, the “old town” and now main tourist area of Athens.  On the way I saw the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  The Plaka was its usual maze of gold shops, pottery shops, souvenir and clothing shops, and restaurants.  There is a new “bad” area in the Plaka with dilapidated shops catering to scary and rather grungy street people.  My books say to definitely avoid this area at night.  Also, they say this area will soon be razed and excavated in the near future to uncover new Acropolis related ruins.  It’s also called the flea market area. 

   I wandered about various Plaka shops looking for THE wooden box adorned with a silver cover depicting the Karyatids, for Kim.  While searching I had some lemon, raspberry and pistachio gelato, 3 scoops in a cup and just good as in Italy!  I luckily found the exact box Kim has wanted for 7 years now, the one Kim spotted but failed to acquire on our Greek cruise years ago.  I amazed at my luck!   I stopped and ate dinner at an umbrella and tree line restaurant in the Plaka that Kim and I ate at on our prior trip.  Food was disappointing this time.  To my surprise there were several tables of singles around me at this family and tourist place. 

   Had problems getting a cab to the hotel from the Plaka.  One cabbie told me it was “crowded down there” near my hotel and we would get caught in bad traffic and he would have to charge me 30 Euros for the trip.  I told him that was too much.  When he asked what I would pay I told him 10 Euros.  He said no, so I got out.  Finally got another cab.  This cabbie was an American movie buff-his favorite actor was Marlon Brando.  He got me quickly to my hotel for less than 5 Euros!  I tipped him 2 more Euros.  Traffic was heavy, but not that bad—30 Euros!  That cabbie was truly trying to scam the tourist.  I should have reported him.

   Got back to the Hotel Poseidon at 9:15pm, showered and rinsed out some clothes so I could start the tour with clean clothes.  Now it’s 11pm, time to relax and read some on my new book.

Friday, May 28:

   Ugh!  Read till 2am, then up at 8:15-crazy me.  I woke up kind of shaky but feeling better after breakfast.  Maybe I took it too hard yesterday-10 ½ hours on the go so quickly after arrival and in the full sun?  My face is red from the sun as usually happens on my vacations.

   The rest of my tour group should arrive today and check in.  There are no planned tour activities so I’m taking it very easy today.  I’ll get some cash and some groceries for snacks and breakfasts.  Maybe a short walk somewhere and/or a swim at the beach sound good to me.  Maybe I’ll eat Italian tonight?

   I did get some cash and water and snacks.  Then I spent 4 hours under an umbrella at the hotel beach reading on my new book.  Funny thing-the beach is the hotels, and it’s right in front of the hotel, but you must walk a block down to a stoplight to cross a very busy 6 lane street/highway, then a block back.  It doesn’t feel like it’s the hotels beach.

   I met my tour group at 6pm in the hotel mezzanine.  Get this-12 people cancelled at the last minute and there are only 16 people on this tour.  As I recall there was a non-terrorist bomb set off in Athens 2 to 3 weeks back and this group of 12 cancel.  There are 7 couples, me, and another single from Britain.  Everyone is middle aged except one couple in their early 20’s who appear to be in shock (or just jet-lagged?)  [Boy was I wrong!  Both are in their mid thirties.]  Since there must be at least 15 people for optional tours this small size might be a real problem!  Also, the tour director is an Italian rookie—rookie is bad enough, but not even Greek!  Give me a break Cosmos!  Things don’t look so good to me, but we’ll see.  Only 16 people will board and depart the bus quickly, and hotel check in will be quick.  Also, doesn’t appear to be any really old folk with canes like my last tour; and thank god, no Elvis impressionists.    ( …I’m not kidding)

Saturday, May 29:

   All right, the first day of the tour!  I slept till 8am, made my own coffee and was ready to go quickly.  Since the hotel net wasn’t working I walked a pleasant 6 blocks west to an Internet café and spent an hour (3 Euros/hr) and wrote a long email to Kim, Sunnie and Bob.  Then I grabbed a 2.90 Euro turkey sandwich and hung out at a tree shaded pedestrian area and ate and people and “Greek–watched”.  I returned to the hotel and we left for my first optional tour of Cape Sounion.

Sunday, May 30:

   The real tour starts in earnest today.  Up at 4:30am to leave for an included tour of the Acropolis at 8am.  This afternoon we leave directly from the Acropolis for Kalambaka/Meteora for the longest drive of the trip-275 miles, and the first of 5 one-niters (Kalambaka/Delphi/Olympia/Tolon/Athens).  This is the first half of the “Jewels of Greece and Cycladic Islands Tour”, which is the land/ancient ruins part.  The second half is 3 two-niters on the Greek Cycladic Islands (Santorini/Paros/Mykonos).

   Yesterday’s Cape Sounion tour was quite scenic, and a pleasant drive in the countryside.  The winding drive took us along the coastline, where we saw the old Athens airport at Glynfada(?), which was just 3 km from our hotel. Also, we drove past several of Athens coastal suburbs, and small coastal towns with tourist/resort hotels and restaurants.  I took 1½ hours each way to Cape Sounion, with 1½ hours at the Cape.  The main structure there is the Temple to Poseidon built in 479 B.C., rising 60 meters above the sea.  This fortress was early warning station of a sea attack on Athens.  Some of the earliest examples of Kouros Boys statues of Greek Art from early 6^th century B.C. were found here.  (They are now at the Athens National Archaeological Museum.)

   We arrived back at the hotel at 5:30.  Then I was out looking for a place to eat at 6:15.  I passed on the 48 Euro optional My Big Fat Greek Night dinner.  Walked a large loop around the neighborhood but couldn’t decide on a place to eat.  I ran into one of the Aussie couples on my tour and then another.  We all went to La Funghi, an Italian restaurant, where I ate the night before.  They all four ate the Scaloppini w/Gorgonzola sauce, my dinner the night before.  I hate recommending a dish to strangers as we all have different tastes.  They all seemed to like it, thankfully!  I had veal again-but Scaloppini Saltimboka this time.  I started bonding with one of the Aussie couples, Gus and Rhonda, that night, and the other couple, Paul and Jan, later in the tour.  We had a 2^nd Mythos beer at dinner and a 3^rd at their hotel room.  I had wanted to get to bed early, but things got a bit crazy, and I really enjoyed getting to know Gus and Rhonda that night.  We bashed Bush and praised Clinton, and discussed similarities and differences with our systems of taxes, political parties and governments.  Why do most Euros and lots of Aussies like Clinton and dislike Bush?  It seems just the opposite at my work and home in the States.  I have to go to Europe to find people that like the same politicians I do.  Very frustrating.  We also talked of people fearfully not traveling after 9-11, and of the 12 people dropping out of the tour we were just starting.  I got back to my room and to bed by 10:30.  Oh, we also talked and compared problems with Aussie Aborigines and the American Indians.  I think the Abos follow their own mind and culture much more than Indians.  Both can’t seem to tolerate liquor.  Very interesting conversation.

Monday, May 31, Memorial Day:

   Yesterday at 8am we left the Hotel Poseidon on our first day.  With a great local guide we saw several “heads of state” homes, the changing of the guard, the Olympic Stadium and its Flame.  This was the original site of the stadium built in 335 B.C. by Lycurgus for the Pantheatic Festival.  The site is between 2 hills right next to the river Ilisos.  The original had only wooden seats for priests and politicians, and bare hillsides for others.  By the 2^nd Century A.D. Claudius had enlarged the stadium to hold 50,000 people and it was constructed of Penatelic Marble.  It was the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896.  We saw several “important” buildings and museums.

     Then off to the Acropolis.  We started our included tour at the “back” down at the Theater of Dionysos and wound our way up to the top to see the Parthenon.  The guide was good.  We saw all the major structures with a quick explanation.  I was very glad I saw the Acropolis on my own just a couple of days back.  It was Sunday but the Acropolis was very crowded with tourists, busloads of tourists.  We returned to our bus at 11:45 and then left for Kalambaka/Meteora.  Nearly the entire drive was along an arm of the Aegean Sea.  The drive became mountainous as we neared Kalambaka.  Also, it clouded up and rained.  The Scottish Broom, a yellow brushy flower, was beautiful--fat and succulent and very bright yellow.

   The Hotel Edelweiss in Kalambaka was plane but quite roomy.  Dinner was a nice buffet with bread, green salad, tomato salad, veggie antipasto, pastitsio, potato puffs, pork loin and pork meatballs/croquettes.  Everyone was seems quite pleased with the better than average included meal.   Unfortunately, it upset my stomach that night—too much oil?  There was a net café right across the street; so about 30 young smoking teenage boys and I were there on the net.  I sent Kim, Sunnie and Bob a second email.  I’m keeping all the emails and will cut and paste them into my daily journal for my class and U of Pacific.

Tuesday, June 1:

   Today we will visit two hilltop religious centers/monasteries that Meteora is world famous for-one with monks, the other with nuns.  While the monasteries have been around for centuries, nuns have only occupied these hilltop sanctuaries for around 100 years.  These ancient rock-walled monasteries are impressive in their isolation atop narrow thumb shaped masses of solid rock jutting up from the valley floor.  Only large buckets hauled up by sturdy rope and winches accessed the ancient monasteries; or scary narrow steps and handholds cut in the rock.  Now in safer and calmer times there are wide steps, trolleys and even paved roads that access the monasteries.   Today is a religious holiday in Greece and many many local people have made a “pilgrimage” to these ancient holy places to worship for the day.  Our tour director, Ennio, has to make last minute changes in our itinerary as many of the monasteries we were to visit are filled to capacity with the pilgrims.  Actually, the problem was the tiny hilltop parking lots were filled to capacity--with especially no room for a large tour bus. 

   Meteora and the monasteries were really amazing-quite old, built in medieval times.  They are well protected situated high above the surrounding landscape.  We saw and visited the monasteries of St.Stephens, St. Nicholas and Holy Trinity.  The monasteries all had museums, gift shops, housing for priests, medieval chapels and spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.  The chapel walls were covered with medieval paintings depicting good and evil and the horrors of hell and damnation.  The museums tended to have huge wooden wine and water barrels, ancient tools, and the old gears and winches used to haul people and supplies up the hundreds of feet to the monastery from the valley floor below.  Also, we saw collections of old medieval icons, hammered silver Bible/book covers and holy ceremonial clothing.  From all the monasteries there were huge panoramic views of rock walled monasteries with tile roofs balanced on slivers of rock backed by broad green valleys with meandering tree-lined rivers flowing lazily to the hazy distant sea.  No point in Greece is more than 65km from the sea. 

   I recall a quote from our tour director concerning Meteora:  “Something of the inner struggle of a hermit’s life-his loneliness and discomfort and his moments of awe and illumination-are reflected in the landscape of Meteora.”  I believe him; this area would inspire illumination in a person.

   We return to Kalambaka for 1½ hours of shopping, exploring and lunch on our own.  We went to an authentic local café for lunch and had the toughest lamb souvlaki I’ve ever eaten. 

  Next, we take off for a 3½ hour drive to Delphi through beautiful green mountains.  It’s been a rainy spring in Greece and the flora is lush this summer.  I slept most of the drive; I was queasy from the oily dinner last night.  Our hotel in Delphi, the Hotel Acropole was really cute, just off the main drag.  My comfortable but small room had a tiny balcony with another panoramic view of a large river valley below with an “ocean” of green olive trees planted in neat rows that stretched on and on to the hazy sea in the distance.  It was great!!  I had a beer with my new Aussie buddy Gus, and then paid up my optional tour money.  Then I took off on a walk with the tour director, Ennio, to try to get a picture of the ruins of the Temple of Athena in the setting sun.  Ennio tells me of his recent and unhappy life history, but at least he is pleased with the telephoto shot he takes of the Temple.  I realized on this walk that Ennio is a sensitive and caring person who will take good care of us on our tour. 

   I meant to get to bed early as I didn’t feel too well most of the day.  I ate alone, by choice, at a modern pizza/bar with a beautiful view of the green river valley.  The café deck was just hanging on the edge of the high bluff that Delphi also clings to.   The pizza was some of the best I’ve ever had, and the draft beer tasty.  I just sat and ate in peaceful solitude with a colorful sunset and the wonderful view reflecting on my trip so far, and what was to come.  I felt like a lucky fellow to be on the tour that night, and wished Kim could have been there with me.

   The tour left our hotel at 8am and walked 5 short blocks to the ruins of the Oracle and the Temple of Athena with our local guide.  Wow, the days are starting to blend together, too many one-niters.  Our guide, Penny, was truly fabulous.  Penny was one of the brightest and most personable local guides I’ve ever had the pleasure to have.  She will set a standard that no other guide on our tour will come close to.  She was very cute and smart and used very good English.   I suspect she is a graduate student somewhere.

    We have a beautiful day and the hike to the stadium on top of the hillside is pleasant and cool.  The path has changed in 7 years, it’s now a rock paved “highway.”    Before, the path was a dirt trail in the woods with steps made of small tree trunks.  Also, the new museum is gigantic, beautiful and worthy of the Delphi ruins.  Another benefit of the Olympics and all the extra money associated with the Olympics.  The museum is so new that only 2 rooms are open so far-one room houses the famous bronze Charioteer and the silver bull, the other houses a “naval of the universe” and a statue of Adonos.  I hope to return someday and see the completed museum.  It is so close to completion, in just a few months it will be ready for the Greek Olympics. 

   I note that on this Delphi tour, Penny really emphasizes the Oracle complex and the games of the upper ruins while just mentioning the Temple of Athena of the lower ruins.  Seven years back, our guide emphasized just the reverse. I tend to believe Penny’s version.  Penny said that the Temple of Athena was just a temple on the way to the Oracle complex of many buildings.   But the most recognizable scene of the Delphi ruins would be of the 3 reconstructed columns of the Temple of Athena rising from the temple’s circular marble base.  If a person were shown just one photo of the Delphi ruins, it would be of the Temple and the 3 columns.

    Our tour left Delphi at noon and drove for half an hour to our lunch destination.  I wasn’t hungry so I walked to the nearby gravel beach and enjoyed the surf and the wind.  I met a small red-haired lady on our tour from Canada, Jeannine, who really likes Cosmos tours as I do.  She has been on many of their tours with her husband, Roger.  I guess Jeannine wasn’t hungry either.

  Next, we are off to Patrus to take the ferry back to the mainland.  Greece has almost finished a 3.8 km ultra-modern bridge across this waterway.  I guess the ferries will be out of business soon.  We drove under the bride on the way to the docks and I saw giant pistons, both vertical and horizontal, that allowed movement and held major bridge platforms in place in the event of an earthquake up to 8.8 magnitude.

   We arrive in Olympia by 6pm.  The town has changed in 7 years.  It’s now a quaint picturesque town with hotels, gold shops and restaurants instead  of an under-construction dirty mess.  Reminds me of a street in Aspen, Colorado.  Our hotel, the Hotel Olympia Palace, provided us with a happy hour of complementary ouzo on ice and snacks of olives and zucchini with yogurt sauce.  A good start for Olympia! The hotel included buffet dinner later that night was quite notable for a budget tour.   There were only 16 of us in the hotel eating that night.  Ennio told us that 2 weeks back on his practice tour there were 4 full tours of nearly 180 people eating in the hotel!  We wonder why there are so few of us this night.  The hotel was a plush first class hotel built almost entirely of white marble. 

   After dinner, Gus and I bought cheap .5 L bottles of Mythos beer for only .80 Euros.  We walked down the main drag in Olympia as the dusk deepened, talking and people watching and just enjoying the calm of the evening while the ladies shopped for gold jewelry.  The hotel wanted 4 Euros a bottle for a .33L bottle of Mythos so Gus and I thought we were quite the bargain hunters.  Olympia was not crowded, the temperature was pleasantly cool, and it was fun to walk with new tour friends for a couple of hours.  This diverse group is really bonding together quite nicely and much faster than a larger and typical 45-person tour group.

   Poor Ennio didn’t get to see his movie “Troy” as he wanted to so badly.  The bus driver backed out on him.  I guess the driver had better things to do than drive 20km to the 3½ hour movie and get back to the hotel at 1:30 am. 

   People in our group seem very pleased with the tour.  Everyone feels quite happy with the last 2 hotels, the towns, the local tours, and the food.  Delphi and Olympia just 7 years back had only a couple of hotels each.  Now both areas are small towns with many nice hotels, sidewalk cafes, and tourist and gold shops.  There are many Olympic related souvenirs in the shops.  Back to the hotel and in bed by 11pm as we have an early day tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 6:

   Today is the halfway point in my Greek trip.  Damn if I didn’t wake up to stomach problems again.  I’m getting really tired of my stomach being upset.  I wonder if there is something in the food, like the cooking oil, that is causing my problems.

   Up early and ready to go for our included tour of Olympia at 8am.  The guide was just a little dull with a constant monotone.  I thought it got a bit boring.  I guess I’m comparing her to Penny, our guide at Delphi.  There have been many changes and upgrades here at Olympia.  The ruins area now seemed more complete and organized--less helter-skelter parts of ruins laying about where they were left by the last earthquake.  There was a new and fancy public bathroom in the back area of the park that resembled an ancient building.  

   On the opposite side of the park there was a beautiful tree lined and shady walkway leading to the new huge ultra-modern museum complex.  Another benefit of the Olympic money.  It appears they will move the main entrance and parking area next to this new museum.  The new museum is state of the art with careful artistic lighting and lots of natural light windows.  There were fantastic displays of pottery, weapons, helmets, leg and chest shields, and sacred cauldron tripod legs/handles.  There was an entire room dedicated to the pediment of the Temple of Zeus, and another to the famous statue of Praxiteles with “Hermes”.  

   We are lucky again, the day was cool, partly cloudy, and the ruins nearly deserted.  This trip I took a much closer look at the ruins, taking in the athletic meeting hall, thermal baths, Phidias’ workshop, and the small grass covered arena.  At this arena, Greeks would have had natural grass seats, the Romans would have built marble seats. 

   While wandering about I saw some ancient wells with water in them about 30 feet down.  For some reason this helped me get a more concrete feel for life back 2500 years ago.  I could just imagine someone using that well in his or her daily life, slowly drawing a rope held bucket to get their daily water.  It was easy to daydream among all theses ruins.

   Our local guide told us that all of the politics and wars of the “world” stopped every four years during the Olympics, from 400B.C. to 400 A.D.!  This is almost unbelievable from our “modern” perspective.  The ancient Olympics were considered sacred by all.  They were dedicated to the Greek ideal of striving to improve the mind and body.  Later, the Christians, with a much different mentality, eventually conquered the area and stopped all these noble pursuits around 400A.D.  This made me stop and think about the Christian faiths, and all those that have died during the many holy wars fought in Europe later on.

  We leave at noon for Tolon, with a slight change in hotels to the Flivos Royal.  We have another great buffet dinner with a view of the ocean.  Checked my emails—still no word from Kim??  Bob tried to send an email but all I got was a blank letter.  I went for a long walk that evening, Tolon is a poor little town compared to Olympia and Delphi.

Thursday, June 3:

   Today we head for Myceneae for the morning, and on to Athens for our overnight stay and a 6am departure for our ferry to Santorini.  The tour will abruptly change pace from the fast one-niters of the land/classic ruins first half of the tour to easy paced two-niters on the 3 islands on the second half of the tour.  I am looking forward to the change of pace, and lots of relaxation and sun on the islands.

   I again got up early for our 8am departure.  It’s only a 25 minutes drive to Myceneae with the famous Tholos (“Beehive”) Tomb and “King Agamendon’s” Fortress.  Our local guide was very good—pleasant, informative and to the point.  We started with the huge rock Tholos Tomb, which everyone admired greatly.  Then on to the new multistory museum at the main ruins which opened less than a year ago.  Another benefit of Olympic money.  The new museum was very nicely done and impressive.  Great exhibits, careful lighting and windows, and good info in English made the museum a hit with the tour.  Greece has done her major classical sites proud with these new beautiful museums! 

   At the Fortress we saw the “Lion’s Gate” entrance.  This Fortress was located on a hilltop with a commanding present and view of the fertile valley below.  In the distance, on the horizon, our guide pointed out the “sleeping profile” of King Agamendon.  We then climbed to the top of the hilltop ruins and saw “King Agamendons” palace rooms.  I noted several areas where current excavations were occurring at the Fortress.  I also saw workers building a paved walkway around the backside of the hill to the new museum.  It appears the site will have one-way foot traffic moving from the parking area up through the Lion’s Gate entrance, then to the burial excavations and then up the hill to the “Kings” rooms on those slick rock steps.  Then people will proceed down the backside of the hill via the new paved pathway that leads around to the new museum.  From the new air-conditioned museum it’s an easy walk back to the parking lot.  Sounds like a good plan as explorers will only have the travel the slick rock steps once, and people will not be colliding when new arrivals meet those who are trying to leave.

   Everyone in my tour seemed to enjoy this site, even after saying just the night before they were getting tired of ruins.

   Next, we are off to the Corinthian Canal, which was impressive.  It’s so straight, and deep!  Just to the south of the main bridge over the deep canal area, where the sides of the canal are just a few meters high, we had a pleasant lunch at a shady local café located right next to the water.  Also, right next to the café was a bridge “over” the canal that lowers instead of raises to let boats pass.  I’ve seen lots of bridges but never one that lowers under water.  I got a good video of the bridge lowering.  I had mousaka with a glass of wine for lunch today.  Then our tour group took group photos.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a professional group photo.  Each of us just lent our camera to the tour director who snapped a quick photo.  My group shot was blurry and distant.  Oh, well.

   We soon head back to Athens to our new hotel,, the Acropolis Select for an arrival by 3:45pm.  The hotel is just one block from the Plaka, and the group is excited about being so close to the Acropolis and the many restaurants of the Plaka.

   At the hotel I managed to sleep, read and repack my bag for the “islands half” of the tour.  Then I left for dinner at 7pm.  Our gang of friends has become really tight.  We are always laughing and joking around, having meals together.  I’m amazed how quickly this small group has made friends, and how close the friendships are.  One of our group, the other single, a Brit named Anton, is leaving the tour tomorrow, so we are having a “farewell” dinner for him.  Anton is an Aussie, who now lives in Britain for the government, took only a one-week tour, so no second half, the “Islands half” for him.  So Gus and Rhonda (Aussie), Paul and Jan (Aussie), Anton (Aussie), myself (US), Jeanine and Roger (Canada) and Margaret and Don (UK) all had a happy dinner together at a great little outdoor restaurant in the Plaka.  I had a great pizza (again), but the others were not too impressed their food.  Greeks make good pizza.  We all shared beer, olives, bread and yogurt dip to start.  Many folks had chicken gyros.  We all got a free after-dinner drink. 

   Dinner was a favorite memory of the tour, lot’s of laughing at stories, especially Anton’s “Edward Scissorhands” story of Anton trying to buy an adult film for his friend’s 40^th birthday, and impressions and funny comments about our tour director Ennio, dubbed “Khadafi.”  I somehow am “Lionel Ritchie.”  (Our director, Ennio, was greatly liked by all.  He worked quite hard to make the tour successful.) This crazy group even crossed arms, held hands and swayed back and forth singing “Auld ang sein” (spelled wrong, I know-that’s why I teach math not English) for Anton’s departure. God, everyone was staring at us at the café, but no one cared as we were having too much fun.  This dinner had the feel of a really good tour farewell dinner, where folks have bonded together, yet we were only halfway through our tour!  I think the Aussies are a big part of the reason why-they are very open and fun loving people.  On the walk back to the hotel I had a gelato, and then a final beer with Anton and Gus at the hotel bar.

  I stored my large suitcase at the hotel for a week and used a large carry-on for the islands half as there is no portering on the ferry and islands.

   Up at 3am for a 6am departure for the ferry station.  We caught our 1^st class ferry at 7am, and should arrive at Santorini by 3 or 4pm, with four islands stops on the way.  There are no more early morning wakeup calls the rest of the tour except for the airport departure!!

Friday, June 4:

   On the ferry we have the 1^st class section on the upper deck in the front.  Half the area was nonsmoking, the other half smoking-so we smelled and inhaled smoke the whole trip.  The ferry crossing was scheduled for 730am to 330pm.  This was a long 8-hour trip and it was unfortunately boring after the first hour.  I did get to catch up on my sleep, journal writing and reading though.  I’m getting a sore throat and I’m losing my voice.  I have colored phlegm.  It now hurts to talk.

   We arrive at Santorini and catch a bus to our hotel, the Hotel Santorini Image.  This is a huge fabulous hotel with a large pool and nice view of the ocean.  The rooms are like small cottages and duplexes.  They are quiet, clean and luxurious.  The buffet dinner was really a treat, lots of salads and deserts.  Ate at 7 and was in bed by 830.  Ennio moved our afternoon boat ride from 2pm to 9am, so I’m up at 530am drinking coffee, throat hurting-instead of sleeping in!  I did get 9 hours sleep, but I wanted to sleep more to try to recover from my cold.

Saturday, June 5:

   I can barely talk this morning.  I wish I could have slept in.  My behind-the-ear motion sickness patch is working well.  I haven’t felt even queasy yet.  I wonder if the patch is causing my sore throat?  Several others in my tour group have a cold/cough, and I noticed other sick people on the ferry.  It’s quite breezy this morning and I imagine the sea should be quite choppy, which isn’t good for me.  To my surprise I didn’t get motion sickness.  The patch must be working.

   We have the optional Santorini Boat Tour at 9am.  We start the tour by a quick drive to Oia, a very small town at the end of the steep rocky “crescent” of the island.  Oia is postcard picturesque with lots of beautiful panoramic views of high cliffs with sheer drops to the ocean.  The small town is barely clinging to the top of the steep cliffs with its whitewashed boxy buildings with their blue trim and doors.  We shuttled 10 at a time down to the very small dock for our boat.  First stop is the island of Thessirea for 30 minutes.  There was not enough time to do more than visit the dock area, and not the main village area on top of the cliff. We did walk to a seaside café and had a quick beer and an interesting talk with the Greek owner, a former tanker captain.

    Next, we boated to an area of obvious recent volcanic activity to swim at a hot springs.  About half of our group swam.  The ocean was quite cold, and with my cold I didn’t go.  Next we traveled to the town of Thira.  This is the main docking port of Santorini.  This dock is famous for its location at the base of steep cliffs below Thira.  From the docks you can ride a smelly donkey up the steep 512 steps cut into the cliff, or take the tram.  On top, in Thira, we just walked around the very pretty and very touristy streets.  There were lots of clothing and jewelry shops and restaurants just hanging on the edge of the cliffs-similar to the Plaka in feel, except for the panorama.  I had an omelet for lunch and couple of Mythos.  We returned to our hotel, the Santorini Image, by 4pm.  I got an hour of sun by the pool and had another couple of beers-not good for my cold, I’m sure. 

   The dinner both tonight and last night were really nice buffet meals.  There were lots of salads, veggies, decent tasty main courses of fish, pastitsio, spaghetti, turkey; and a huge selection of pastries for desert.  In bed by 10pm.

Sunday, June 6:

   Got up at 8am and had breakfast at our hotel.  Nice buffet breakfast with Americano Coffee.  My cold and cough have moved into my chest and I’m now coughing a lot more, and my chest hurts quite a bit.  I’m actually going to try to see a doctor and get some antibiotics, cough drops and cough syrup.  The tour leaved for the ferry at 215pm, but we must vacate our rooms at noon.  Gus and Rhonda are going back to Thira via a taxi but I think I’ll stay at the hotel and rest.  We should be on Paros by 6pm.  I got 9 ½ hours sleep so hopefully this will help my cold some.  This is now two days in a row of proper rest for me.  I checked out at noon and just killed time until 215pm.  Then 15 minutes later we’re back at the Blue Line Ferry waiting an hour for our 330pm departure.  We’ve hurried so much this tour that it seems odd to do nothing for an hour except patiently wait for 3 hours.  The ferry from Santorini to Paros was 3¼ hours.  We arrive at 645pm, and 25 minutes later I’m checking into our Holiday Sun Hotel.  From my 2^nd floor room I have a nice view of the ocean and the setting sun.  The pool and bar area are just beautiful.  The back wall around the pool is an artistic rendering of traditional Greek men dancing with their hands on each other’s shoulders.  The buffet dinner that night at the hotel was again quite nice, but no huge assortment of sweets this time.  After dinner I had a couple of glasses of sweet Greek wine for desert, which was comparable to port, with Alan and his wife, Anita, and Gus and Rhonda.  I didn’t get to bed until midnight.

Monday, June 7:

   Woke up several times during the night coughing, finally got up at 8am.  I ate some breakfast and told folks I was going to town to look for a health clinic to get some antibiotics.  Ennio told me there was no way I would find a doctor who would give me antibiotics.  I didn’t care, I still wanted to try.  Jeanine and Roger and Gus and Rhonda went with me.  We all waited about an hour to see a female doctor, who seemed competent, and nice.  The doctor gave me a script for some antibiotics, a decongestant and an anti-inflammatory.  I’m glad Ennio was wrong this time.  The doctor was free and the medicine was only 12.50 Euro.  Really cheap!!  Then I was back in my hotel room in just over two hours.  Some others in my group are taking the ferry over to AntiPoras to explore and look for the cave I read about.  I’m taking it easy.  I want to get some sun at the pool and start reading on my new 13.80 Euro book I bought in town while seeing the doctor.  I can’t believe I’ve already read 2 books on this tour, and now I’m starting my third.  After getting an hour and a half of sun I returned to my room and slept for 3 hours. 

   Up for dinner at 730pm for another pretty good buffet dinner.  I had a glass of local red wine for dinner, then two more sweet red port-like wines at the pool bar with Gus, Paul and Alan.  Several of the ladies of the tour did the oddest thing.  They were complaining of feeling overfull and they wanted to get some exercise, so they started walking back and forth on the far side of the pool.  So as dusk was deepening, five of our ladies were striding briskly back and forth, in front of the “dancing Greek men” wall, with the ocean in the background, as if marching to some song.  It really struck me as odd, like something you would see in a foreign movie where the ladies were protesting or trying to make some point.  They kept this up for almost 30 minutes, until it was too dark to continue.  Meanwhile, at the pool bar, Gus and Rhonda told me of their trip to AntiPoras and their visit to the crystal caves.  There were impressed and said I should try to go.  I wish I had the energy.

Tuesday, June 8:

   I got up at 730am after sleeping for 9 hours.  This was after a 3 hour nap.  Hope this helps my cold.  It’s windy this morning and Ennio is not sure if we will take the 45 minutes jet foil at 11am or the 2½ hour ferry at 2pm.  We’re sitting around waiting to find out.  There must be 5 sick people in my group.  Roger from Canada seems to be the worst off, and I’m running a close 2^nd, but getting better.  We lucked out and took the quick jet foil and got to Mykonos in 45 minutes!  We arrived at our hotel, the Hotel Petinos by 1215pm.  Some folks on our tour went to town but I went to the beach half a block away.  I later met up with Gus, Rhonda, Jeanine and Roger.  We found a scenic café on the beach where we split 2 pizzas and one huge Greek salad.  They gave us free Greek bread, a free drink, and free access to their beach area for 81/2 Euros each!!  A good deal.  Later we returned to the beach and used our free palapa from 315 to 6pm.  I played with several stray cats on the beach.  The area is very picturesque.  The dancing men wall at the hotel on Paros was nice, but this little beach with 4 separate Petinos Hotels (with various levels of quality) is very nice also.

   I showered and got ready for dinner at 730pm.  We got free wine for Paul and Jan’s 36^th wedding anniversary, and Carlos and Lamie’s recent wedding.  This trip is their honeymoon even though they’ve lived together two year’s now.  They are great people and I wish I had gotten to know them better.  Dinner was way too much food.  It was Italian food, and was the first non-buffet dinner of the trip!

Wednesday, June 9:

   I coughed quite a bit getting to sleep last night.  I’m really tired of this cold.  I’m again going to take it easy today.  I think I’ll go for a good walk around our hotel for a couple of hours and then hang out at the pool and read.  We have a farewell dinner near the windmills at the “Little Italy” area of Mykonos at 7pm.  I couldn’t find any net access around here, but the hotel let me use their computer for 10 minutes.  I found 3 emails from Kim.  She’s happy about me finding her silver box but unhappy about bad weather at our cabin.  Weather has been oddly cool and rainy in Denver.

   It’s warmed up some finally on this trip.  It’s been unusually cool here in Greece.  I got good and sweaty on my walk west of our hotel.  Then I changed into my swimsuit and sunned at our hotel pool for a couple of hours.  From the elevated pool area you have a great view of “our” beach cove with all its umbrellas and restaurants.  Just below the pool is a small dock that has several medium size boats that want to take you to other nearby islands such as Delos.  The pool area is a great place to people watch.  All sorts of activity like boats coming and going and tourists wandering about while I sun and read. 

   Mykonos Island is quite hilly, and our hotel and several others are in a narrow valley and/or “drainage” that quickly drops to the sea broadening to a wide cove of a quarter mile crescent of white sand meeting the turquoise sea.  This hotel filled valley is separated from surrounding valleys by moderately high ridges.  Some of these surrounding valleys are almost deserted; some are quite built up with either hotels and restaurants or private homes/condos.  To get from one beach to another you can drive a distance back up and around, or you can simply climb up and over the separating ridges on foot. The island is so dry and brown and rocky, and has such sparse vegetation that while I find it pretty I don’t think I’d call it beautiful.

   I returned to my room by mid-afternoon and showered and rested and read.  My cold is getting better but I’m still weak.  At 7pm we hopped on our bus to go to our farewell dinner at “Little Italy”.  This is a famous tourist area like the Plaka in Athens.  There are narrow winding cool “streets” lined with clothing, gold, Olympic, and leather shops for the tourists, along with quaint overpriced cafes and coffee bars.  Nearby is the famous and picturesque windmills of Mykonos.  It turns out this is the exact place Kim and visited 7 years ago on our 10^th wedding anniversary Greek cruise.  We walked “Little Italy” and had expensive drinks at the Café Veranda while overlooking the turquoise sea.

   Our farewell dinner was deliberately delayed for 2 hours by Ennio so we could watch the sun set before we sat down to eat.  It was quite breezy and cool/cold.  Fortunately our restaurant had wind breaks so we were comfortable during our meal.  Apparently the fish and calamari were terrible and people were very upset that they paid 30 Euros each for a bus ride to an area they visited earlier in the day for a very poor meal.  There were many comments that we could have stayed at our Hotel Petinos, eaten at the hotel restaurant where there was a free show called “Greek Night”, and probably had much better food for less money.  Live and learn.

   Returned to our hotel fairly late, Gus bought me a couple of ouzos to top off all the wine I had for dinner.  Then I went to bed and coughed my poor head off trying to get to sleep.

Thursday, June 10:

   I got up at 8am, ate breakfast at our hotel restaurant overlooking to sea, then caught a couple hours of sun at the pool.  It was relaxing after a bad night of coughing.  At 1230pm I met the group for our ferry back to the mainland.  Our ferry didn’t drop us off at our normal Athens port, but across the mainland from Athens.  It took us 2 hours on a stop and go bus ride through insane Olympic construction to get back to our final night at the Hotel Poseidon.  Folks were tired and definitely cranky.  People were upset that on our last night we would return to our hotel at 9pm instead of 6pm.  This would probably eliminate most of the plans to return to the Plaka for dinner, since most of us had early to extremely early flights to return home tomorrow.  Also, on the return most of us had to get our “mainland” bags we left from our last mainland hotel, the Hotel Acropolis Select, before arriving at the Poseidon.

   With the clock ticking, 11 of 15 of our tour members decided to eat at a restaurant next door to the Hotel Poseidon, at the Italian restaurant,  La Funghi.  It was a nicer farewell dinner than the Mykonos farewell dinner.  Much cheaper and tastier!  I had the great Veal Saltimboka again. It was a fine time, and after putting it off as long as possible, I said goodbye to Jeanine and Roger, and the two Florida ladies, Louisemene and Jeanette, and Anita and Alan, all who had early flights.  Gus and Rhonda, Paul and Jan, and myself had another couple of beers.  No one quite wanted the evening, or the tour, to end.  Everyone on this small tour of 16 people got along so well.  Everyone was so quick to offer help, companionship, or a seat at their dinner table.

Friday, June 11:

   I got up at a relatively late 8 am, ate a quick breakfast with Gus, Rhonda, and Ennio.  Then off to the new Athens airport where I could start my long journey home, back to Kim and Bogie.

                                                                                                                        -fini-       

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