Katakolon to Olympia, Greece
We had a relaxing morning at sea sailing southeast into Greek waters. The sea was beautifully blue and quite calm, giving us a gentle ride. Shearwaters glided along as our escorts. During the morning, Karen Copeland presented us with “Rocks Rock,” an introduction to geology and the derivation of the lands we’ve been visiting. Later, we were told about the “Sanctuaries of the Gods - Olympia and Delphi” by our historian, Robyn Woodward, who began preparing us for some of the important archeological sites we would be visiting both today and tomorrow. Soon we arrived in the port town of Katakolon, in western Peloponnesus, where our ship docked alongside several towering cruise ships which were soon to leave. Here we were joined by four local Greek guides, Nota, Nani, Niki and Gemma who would be accompanying us for the remainder of our voyage through the Greek Isles.
After lunch, we boarded coaches to drive to Olympia, the famous ancient site of the original Olympian Games. This incredible archeological site is remarkable and quite extensive, including not only the areas used for the games, but also the temples built to worship the gods. At the Temple of Zeus, the drum sections of the fallen columns dwarfed passing visitors gazing in awe at the massive size of the stones. The remains of this temple once housed an elaborate gold and ivory statue of Zeus that was created by the Athenian sculptor Phidias. Now removed and largely destroyed, this great statue was once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
We wandered through the ruins, then visited the spectacular museum displaying magnificent sculptures and art work retrieved from Olympia. Scorched trees surrounding the museum, as well as the forested fringes of the archeological site attested to the horrific fires that recently threatened this renown site. We returned to our ship, now sitting peacefully alone at the pier, and soon set sail northward toward Delphi.
We had a relaxing morning at sea sailing southeast into Greek waters. The sea was beautifully blue and quite calm, giving us a gentle ride. Shearwaters glided along as our escorts. During the morning, Karen Copeland presented us with “Rocks Rock,” an introduction to geology and the derivation of the lands we’ve been visiting. Later, we were told about the “Sanctuaries of the Gods - Olympia and Delphi” by our historian, Robyn Woodward, who began preparing us for some of the important archeological sites we would be visiting both today and tomorrow. Soon we arrived in the port town of Katakolon, in western Peloponnesus, where our ship docked alongside several towering cruise ships which were soon to leave. Here we were joined by four local Greek guides, Nota, Nani, Niki and Gemma who would be accompanying us for the remainder of our voyage through the Greek Isles.
After lunch, we boarded coaches to drive to Olympia, the famous ancient site of the original Olympian Games. This incredible archeological site is remarkable and quite extensive, including not only the areas used for the games, but also the temples built to worship the gods. At the Temple of Zeus, the drum sections of the fallen columns dwarfed passing visitors gazing in awe at the massive size of the stones. The remains of this temple once housed an elaborate gold and ivory statue of Zeus that was created by the Athenian sculptor Phidias. Now removed and largely destroyed, this great statue was once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
We wandered through the ruins, then visited the spectacular museum displaying magnificent sculptures and art work retrieved from Olympia. Scorched trees surrounding the museum, as well as the forested fringes of the archeological site attested to the horrific fires that recently threatened this renown site. We returned to our ship, now sitting peacefully alone at the pier, and soon set sail northward toward Delphi.
