Delphi, Greece

I took a day trip to Delphi. Bus pick up was at 8:30 am. So, I had another early morning. I had my breakfast and packed up my bags and checked out of the hotel. Then it was a quick walk up the road to a different hotel where the bus picked us up to begin the day trip. Goodbye Athens.

We were on a nice coach bus with comfortable seats which was nice because the drive takes about 3 hours. Our guide was nice and entertaining on the bus. She told us about the places that we passed. We passed the dam that holds the water reservoir for Athens. We drove by the city of Marathon where there was a great battle. The Athenians won a war so there was a runner who ran to Athens to tell them the good news. This was the first Marathon ever ran, and the distance between Marathon and Athens is the distance ran in a marathon to this day.

We learned a number of interesting historical facts about Greece and philosophers and Delphi and the Gods on our drive. We heard all about Apollo the god to which the temple was dedicated.

The drive began on nice flat plains and fields and soon we were headed up the mountains on small roads. The views were spectacular. We passed through a small town built on and into the side of the mountain. We stopped there for pictures on our return to Athens.

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When we got to Delphi we entered into the site and began to walk the path the people would have walked a long time ago to make their way to the Oracle. You pass what would have been shops and stalls for the travellers to buy offerings and supplies.

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You walk further up and see what look like large stone mausoleums. They are vaults where cities or people left their offerings to the God Apollo. They are amazingly ornate for having stood for a thousand years.

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You walk up farther and see the area where people would have been waiting to see the Oracle. It once had a covered area for shade and stalls to sell goods. There are thousands of contracts carved onto a side wall. They are the contracts of freedom for slaves at the temple of Delphi. Then you walk up the hill a bit and round the corner and the ruins of the Temple of Apollo are right there. This is where the Oracle resided. You can see some of the columns still standing and you can see the foundations and where there are rooms underground.

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Up a bit from the Temple is the theatre. They built it right into the hill. You can keep going up the hill and get to the stadium at Delphi. The Pythian games were held there beginning in 584BC. These games, like the ones at Olympia, were a precursor to the modern Olympic Games.

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After we walked to the Museum of Delphi. This is where most of the artifacts that have been excavated at Delphi have gone. The museum has amazing statues and gold offerings and carvings and sections of wall and roof with pained decorations. We spent over an hour getting a tour of the museum before we went to the local hotel and had a late lunch. Lunch was local dishes like salad, souvlaki, tyropita and spanakopita (respectively, cheese and spinach pie). Then we had a sweet cake in syrup called samali.

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Then we were back on the road and off to Athens. We stopped in the small mountain town to take pictures and buy souvenirs if we wanted. We returned to Athens at about 6 pm. I went from the drop off point and took the Metro to the airport. Then I waited for my 11:30 pm flight to Thira, Santorini.

Athens airport is very nice. They have many places to sit and rest outside the departure gate. They also have many places to charge electronic devices. Their WiFi is free and in 45-minute sessions. It’s not the best WiFi and can be hard to connect but it works fine. They also have many places to shop and to eat. You can spend most of your time outside the gate area.