Day 112: Tuesday 8 July – Delphi, by Ken

Yesterday’s dripping tap of a shower in the camping ground was replaced by a Niagara Falls like torrent which I had to throttle back to relieve the pounding on my head. Unfortunately, the water was cold. Jane had a good hot shower.

Mabel and Smarty At Nea Kifisia

We paid a visit to a supermarket near to the camping ground. It was big and modern with aisles signed in Greek and English. Some of the products were English, e.g. Waitrose cereals, Dorset Muesli.

We were on the road just before 10:30. I drove the first leg to get us out of Athens which turned out to be a short drive through congested streets and then onto the tolled motorway that took us north for a while before turning north west. I was surprised how much industry and warehousing there was adjacent to the motorway. Apart from olive oil and other farming I knew little about Greece’s economy. It’s very difficult to see that Greece is bankrupt, it appears to be thriving, with lots of new and expensive cars on the road and some large boats in harbours.

The motorway was very good and the traffic light. Jane felt I was getting off lightly and I suggested we should change drivers in a motorway service area so she could do some motorway driving and I would take over again once she had done her share. While a good idea, we didn’t pass any services before we left the motorway near Glás. Joining a country road at a T-junction an oncoming car slowed almost to a crawl with the driver staring at Smarty. Then, as we followed the car it pulled over with its hazard lights flashing, we overtook and then the car followed us for a while. Clearly Smarty following on behind Mabel has some novelty value. Just before we left the motorway we passed a very large lake, pimples of hilltops protruding above the water suggested the lake was artificial. It was, the countryside either side of the road from the motorway was filled with lush green crops in marked contrast to the arid country we had passed through. An irrigation canal followed the road for quite some way.

Church Miles From Anywhere

I had to drive quite a way on a two lane road heading west before I found somewhere we could pull over. By then I had driven well over half the 170ish kilometres to Delphi.

There was no doubt I had got off lightly in terms of the day’s driving. While it was relatively easy going for a while, once we passed the town of Livadia the road started to snake its way into the mountains climbing steadily. We passed a memorial which judging by its design and what appeared to be inscribed names I presumed was to resistance fighters. 

Memorial

We travelled on into skiing country with shuttered shops advertising skis and snowboards. The temperature was in the low 30s, difficult to believe there was snow here in the winter. With the altimeter in Mabel’s satnav climbing past 800 metres we turned yet another hairpin bend and in front of us was a large town perched on a hilltop. The altimeter read 930 metres as Jane negotiaited the narrow and congested streets of Aráhova lined with hotels and tavernas. One roadside tavern was packed with Chinese tourists. Jane did a very good job of threading Mabel through tight gaps between parked cars, oncoming drivers helped considerably by giving way. 

Arahova

Arahova And Not The Narrowest Street By Any Means

From Aráhova the road started to descend into a broad valley flanked by rolling mountains. We passed the historic sights of Delphi with lots of parked cars and tour buses before entering the town of Delphi. It seemed to be comprised off nothing but hotels and eating establishments. If anything the streets of the one-way system through the town were narrower and more congested than Aráhova. Often there was only centimetres between Mabel and badly parked cars, added to which Jane had to contend with balconies and awnings which came very close to Mabel’s roof. Jane breathed a sigh of relief as we left the town and descended through a series of hairpin bends towards our camping ground for the night. I was very impressed by the way the road had been fitted into the steep country including a spiral with a bridge the road crossed before a sharp curve took the road downwards and under the bridge.

Road Down From Delphi

Camping Delphi is top of our list in terms of the view. It wasn’t very busy and the owner told us to park anywhere we liked. We had no hesitation in taking a pitch on the edge of the hillside in the shade of pine trees. The view was incredible. Immediately below us was a village behind which was what has to be one of the largest olive groves in the world that stretched all the way to a small town of Iteá on the coast more than 300 metres below us. A cruise ship was nosing its way into the bay in front of the town. I was pretty sure the town is where Stella and I stayed in a grotty hotel when we visited Delphi with Evelyn and Rick in 1971.

Jane Captured This Great Shot Of A Locust

After a late lunch of bread with taramasalata and tzatziki we drove Smarty back up the road to Delphi. There was a commotion at the entrance to Delphi’s Sacred Precinct that houses, inter alia, the Temple of Apollo. A tight group of Japanese were shouting and gesticulating. One woman was very angry jabbing a finger in the direction of a man. The object of the discontent remained calm responding quietly to the tirade. As the noise grew louder one of the staff blew on a whistle furiously and signaled the group to keep the noise down. They did, but were clearly no happier. We wondered what the man had done to deserve the treatment he was getting – forgotten to bring the camera, or caused them to miss their tour bus, perhaps?

Unhappy Japanese Tourists

We agreed the site at Delphi is the best of the ancient remains we have visited. While Athen’s acropolis was very good, the ongoing restoration there, particularly to the Parthenon detracted from our experience. While less remains of Delphi, and some of it has been restored, it doesn’t resemble a construction site.

The Treasury of the Athenians was cleverly reconstructed in 1904-06 by matching the inscriptions that completely cover its stone blocks. Above the treasury is a retaining wall constructed of massive interlocking polygonal stone blocks. The wall is covered with inscriptions, mainly the names of freed slaves – Delphi was one of the few places slaves could gain their freedom. 

Treasury

Polygonal Block Wall

Names Of Freed Slaves

Above the wall stood the Temple of Apollo dating from the 4^th century BC.. The French who excavated the site  found only the foundations but re-erected six of the Doric columns which, as Jane pointed out were not monolithic.

Temple of Apollo

Every now and again we could hear the shrill of attendant’s whistles as visitors infringed what as far as we could see were unwritten rules. Usually, it was for touching remains. We climbed the steep pathway to the theatre also built in the 4^th century BC. It seated 5,000 and was used periodically for the Pythian games. Legend has it the first oracle established at Delphi was dedicated to Gaia (Mother Earth) and Poseidon (Earth Shaker). The serpent Python, son of Gaia lived in a nearby cavern and was later slain by young Apollo who supposedly arrived in the form of a dolphin – hence the name Delphi. The Pythian games were held subsequently in commemoration. Whatever the reason for the theatre it would be difficult to find a better setting. Surrounded by the soaring Parnassós mountains, the theatre looks out over a valley far below. Unfortunately, the theatre is roped off, in 1971 I remember walking up through the theatre to the top row of seats and sitting there to take in the view.

Theatre

Jane Doing Her Japanese Tourist Impression

The last thing we visited was the stadium that was also off limits. Our guide book refers to the path leading up there is through cool pine groves. There was nothing cool about it, we were wringing wet by the time we had climbed the long steep path. It beggars belief how athletes could climb all the way up there and still be fit to run in the heat of the day.

Taking A Break On The Way To The Stadium

The stadium was similar to, but much better than that in Ancient Olympia. It had the sme straight track, but much of the stone terracing capable of seating 7,000 that came to watch the Pythian games was still intact as were the judges’ seats at the half way point of the straight track. Like Olympia the start and finish lines were stone ridges across the stadium. A display board informed the games at Delphi were second in importance only to the Olympics. The.distance from start to finish was a ‘stade’ equivalent to 178.35 metres and the track could accommodate 17 or 18 runners. Events held in the stadium included one and two stade races as well as a long distance 24 stade. As at Olympia, there was also a pentathlon.

Stadium

Starting Line

We started to walk back down. The heat and exertion meant most of our water had gone. We stopped to fill our water bottles at a tap close to the theatre, the male half of a couple sitting nearby asked, in English, if the water was drinkable. Jane said she wasn’t sure. The man said “you will find out in the morning”. We stopped briefly to talk, they were from Brazil. “ah”, I said, “you are going to win the World Cup”. The man doubted they could beat Germany, particularly as Brazil’s star player was out with a serious back injury. As we walked away I stopped and asked what ‘obrigard’ meant in Portuguese. It was thank-you. I said I used to visit Portugal quite a lot. The man asked if I spoke Portuguese, I replied "Si, obrigard, that’s it”. He laughed.

As we exited the sacred precinct there was no sign of the Japanese, neither was there any signs of blood or the chalk outline of a small man on the pavement. Presumably they managed to resolve whatever was bugging them.

We next drove a short distance in Smarty to visit the Temple of Athena and the Tholos, a 4^th century rotunda situated on the hillside below the road. Little remains of the temple, but three of the Tholos' columns and their capping have been rebuilt. According to our guide book, the purpose of the rotunda is a mystery.

Tholos

Tholos Frieze - Lego Also Used At Delphi

Back at Camping Delphi we decided to eat dinner in the taverna. We took a table on the edge of its patio overlooking the olive grove and the coast far below. The view was just magical and got better by the minute as the sun set. On the dot of 20:00 we watched as the cruise ship begin to move from its berth in Itea and then slowly through the bay, disappearing behind a headland. Many of its passengers had surely been at Delphi with us. Whatever they were doing now their view would have been incomparable to ours. 

Our Table For Dinner

Cruise Ship Sets Sail

We shared a plate of feta to start, I had my first moussaka in Greece while Jane chose pork souvlaki. The view was so good we couldn't tear ourselves away so ordered another half litre of red wine and watched the sun disappear behind the mountains in the west. It was the sort of place we would like to have spent many more evenings, but time didn’t permit.

Today's Trip (173km)