After a wonderful breakfast we enjoyed the picturesque view of the town of Katakolon. The breeze promised us a cool day in Olympia. I was ecstatic that there were no gigantic cruise ships in town; the site would be ours to enjoy!
The bus drive was short and then the blooming oleander welcomed us into town. We leisurely walked through the site studying the gymnasium, the wrestling center, and the impressive temple of Zeus. The tour brought us to the stadium. I thought I heard the cheering of the ancient crowds and the guests took pictures of the starting line. Passing by the temple of Hera and the Philippion we walked to the museum to study the incredible artifacts excavated by the German archaeologists at the end of the 19th century.
The statues of Hermes and Nike, the exciting military equipment of the pilgrims, the unique pediment statues of the temple of Zeus (my favourites) and the Roman collection took my breath away one more time.
It was starting to get really hot, so after we bought a few souvenirs, we began to return to Sea Cloud. As we were leaving the port we enjoyed another great lunch and were looking forward to sailing around the Peloponnese!
After a short nap (Greek style Hypnos) we were engaged by our lecturer Grace, who fascinated us with the evolution of medieval Balkans into modern states and countries. Another wonderful dinner on board and a lot of stargazing until midnight ended another great day.
