Epidauros, Sparta, Mystras, Pylos, Olympia, Delphi, Thermopylae

Epidaurus was great except I couldn’t find it right away because the GPS took me to some crummy theatre near Epidauros that was under construction. I first was thinking, “What’s the big deal?” and then realized it couldn’t be right. Epideurals is actually a very very cool theatre and I got some snappies of it (as the aussies say). Made it to Sparta after some of the most incredible scenery. Will try to get some pics up. 

So today is Saturday in Greece. Yesterday was a power day, which means that today I’m a sloth unfortunately.

Driving away from Sparta, where I forgot to do a video of me screaming This is Sparta (darn it), I went to a place called Mystras, which was a monastery during the Byzantine days. It is incredibly high up and the views are spectacular and of course I had to climb it. Took some fantastic video of the panorama. I have to wonder if the Spartans had hung out up there. They must have!

Then I drove up and over the mountain (there is a large mountain between everything in Greece) with the intention of driving to Olympia. Started getting kinda tired on the way down and that didn’t seem wise so I stopped at a mountaintop chalet. Got a room for €30 and pretty much fell asleep. They weren’t serving food so I ate some stale lame plastic bag pretzels (batonettes, they said) and went to bed.

Up at 4 in the morning to plan the day and out by six with no brekkie (as Aussies say; I don’t usually say). By now I’d decided I couldn’t pass up seeing Pylos and Sfacteria (the battle where the Spartans got trapped on an island and were so sad and hungry that they surrendered. The Athenians demanded ransom for their return and the Spartans paid. So much for “come home on your shield… etc.) So that was cool. I drove out on a little sandspit to get a good picture (rental car) and moved on to Olympia. Spent about an hour looking at the ruins. I especially liked the temple that Alexander the Great gave to Delphi with statues of himself. And there was Miltiades actual helmet that he wore at Marathon in defeating the Persians. One might be tempted to disbelieve this, but it was inscribed as a gift to Delphi by Miltiades, so I think it’s legit. Forgot to mention that the National Archaeological Museum in Athens had lots of arrowheads and spearheads from Thermopylae – very cool.

Oh yeah and my favorite part was an are of Olympia where statues of Zeus were lined up right before the entrance to the stadium. The statues were paid for by athletes caught cheating, and their names were inscribed on the bases of the statues. People would then be allowed to spit and urinate on the bases as the entered the stadium. What a cool idea! I’m thinking Barry Bonds and Clemons and that cardinal slugger whose name I forget. And the Boston Marathon cheater. And the biking guy. Anyway, much more effective than court cases and asterisks on their statistics. Greeks had some good thoughts, which is what I’m here to learn about.

Delphi was 4 hours away but I made it in 3 ½ despite the fact that my GPS from hell puts me on gravel roads rather than main thoroughfares every chance it gets. And it scares the living daylights out of me when it screams “Go straight on” for no apparent reason. On the approach (a very stressful approach with cones and signs in Greek with lots of exclamation points and danger symbols) to the bridge across the Gulf of Corinth, it (she, naturally) yells, “Exit ahead!” but I wasn’t really supposed to take the exit. She was just pointing it out or something. Luckily my innate sense of direction saved me. The exit she wanted me to take was a kilometer ahead. Aaaggggh!

So I’m having fun.

Delphi is on a major (yep) mountain. But I got there and saw the Treasury of the Athenians. Very cool. This is where they put all their loot from members of the Delian League. After enjoying Delphi I motored on to Thermopylae which was just over the mountain (natch). Guess who forgot to get gas in Delphi! No prob. There were gas stations along the road…which were all closed because of the economy. So that was a bit stressful. Then it started raining and all other cars disappeared so I was thinking I’d be like the Donner Party but with no one to eat. Made it to a gas station and saw the plaque on the hill where the Spartans made their last stand.

Went home after that. Had to turn the car in. But the office was closed and parking in Athens is a holy nightmare. Found some illegal spot but had to move it to an equally illegal spot. Going off to see if the car is still there. Then it’s off to either Crete or Thera. Getting laundry done too. See ya later!