Greece: Olympia

We stepped off the boat in Katakolon (the port near Olympia) ready for a first.  Joshua and I had never ridden motor scooters.  We thought, for 10euros a piece, it would be a great way to visit Olympia (22 miles away) as opposed to taking the tourist bus.  When I asked the owner how difficult it was to drive a moto, he laughed.  He proceeded to tell us he would not recommend renting scooters for the day (or let us, for that matter).  In the end, he talked the four of us out of our moto adventure and lost 4 sales.  It was a surprising response.  Instead, we picked up a Fiat from the guy down the street for less.

Olympia was the site of the first Olympic games in 776BC and then held there every four years for the next 1,100 years.  During the full moon of the summer (July/August), athletes would travel to Olympia to compete in running, jumping, boxing, etc. NAKED.  The Greeks loved nakedness apparently, everything from their sporting competitions to their paintings are full of it.

 

We wore clothes for our running race, but I’m sure Joshua would have preferred to shed his pants to shave off a few seconds.

 

In the walk up to the stadium were old columns which used to hold 16 statues with the names of all the cheaters…they were pretty serious about cheating which even included people who entered the competition but did not prepare for at least 10 months (so basically, I would classify as a Greek cheater).

We wrapped up our day at the Domain Mercouri Winery.  We walked through the peacock-filled vineyards before sitting at an old family style table for a private wine tasting.  The wine was surprisingly good—it may have been the new friends and our vacation mode—either way, as a group we took home 4 bottles.

 

 

The best part of the cruise was leaving one city and waking up the following day in a totally new one!