Delphi

Greetings from Delphi, the navel of the Earth. I had a great time exploring this place today. It is so beautiful here. If the Greeks had not decided to make this special city on the cliffs thousands of years ago, someone would certainly have built a resort up here today. Look closely at the picture and you can see the Aegean Sea way down below, far off in the distance.

The story is that Zeus released two eagles at the same time, each at opposite edges of the earth. They flew toward each other until they met at the exact center of the world. Zeus dropped a stone where they met to mark the navel of the world.

The story is a myth of course, but no one yet today can explain where the stone came from. I guess the ancient Greeks sat around meditating about that stone until the story was revealed to them. I knew some people back in the seventies who did sort of the same thing: Ohhhh ----Navel --- Ommmm.

Here is a picture looking up at Delphi. Can't really see the temples, can you? They are there though.

People came from all over back then to visit this place. They especially wanted to visit the Temple of the god Apollo. This is what it looked like back then

And this is what it looks like today/ Not much left, is there?

Want to know why the pilgrims all came here to the Temple of Apollo? No? Well, dadgummit, I'm gonna tell you anyway---

Inside the temple was a crack going down into the earth, and gases came up through that crack. An old woman, the "oracle", would breathe those gases, get stupid as a toad frog, and start talking in strange gibberish ( I think I knew some people like that once and--- oh, never mind.) Anyway, a priest would interpret what she said and tell you your fortune and answer your questions about what you should do, like go to war or get married (If you just said to yourself that those two are opposite sides of the same coin then I give up on you).

The pilgrims who came to consult with the oracle would stop on the way up to the temple to buy gifts from the stores that lined the roqd. You can see the remains of those stores to the right. I guess they don't look like much now, but they were pretty cool gift shops back in the day.

Cities and rich people lined the streets with gifts. Some even built treasuries to keep the gifts in.

This city was so important back in those early Greek days that they even had their own race track (for foot races and other athletic events) and held the second most important games in Greece (After the Marathon games)

And they had a big theater for those famous Greek tragedies and comedies.

It is all ruins now. The really good stuff is kept in the nearby museum.  Like this thing that once stood on a pedestal in the city.

I sure learned a lot there, but I don't want to bore you with more.

I left Delphi about 1:30, and started going west, looking for a bridge that I had heard the modern Greeks built to get across to the huge island of Peloponesia.

Tonight I am camped on the shores of the Aegean, looking from Peloponesia north to the Greek mainland just a couple of miles away. I am so tired of hotel rooms that I am looking forward to camping again.

I think Odysseus is happy to be camping again too. He has been spending so many lonely nights on the streets outside the hotels that he is like a child again.

Look, Ron. Eye candy!

What are you talking about Odysseus?

Right over there Ron. Can't you see her?

oh for --- Get a grip on yourself boy. I think I've left you alone too many nights.

I am really enjoying this campground. I am listening to the gentle sound of the breaking waves, looking at the lights far out across the sea, nursing a beer as I type, and loving this cool weather. The air conditioner in my room at Delphi last night leaked all over the place and I woke up with wet riding gear. None of that tonight. I am going to sleep well.

Goodnight,
Ron

Climbing Mount Olympus

Hi again:

I spent the night last Thursday at Gonca's apartment on the Asian side of Istanbul. My plans were to get up very early and beat the rush hour traffic across Istanbul. Jessica and Renaud were going to leave Istanbul early too, but on a bus.

I went down to the garage at 7 a.m., all ready to leave, and look ---- Odysseus is parked in. Can you see him there, looking all forlorn back in the back?.

It's Ramadan, and people stay up late, late. They eat breakfast at around 3 or 4 a.m., so they simply stay up for that event, and then go to bed. I sat on my motorcycle down in the garage and waited --- I thought surely people would start leaving for work soon --- 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 9:30. Finally, coming on 10 a.m. the man who owns the black Audi came down, one of the first to do so, and left. I hurried to get out of there before someone else took his place.

Do you know about lane splitting? Motorcyclists do it all through Europe, but it is illegal in almost all the states back home. It means you drive between the cars and always move up to the front at stop lights. It is a little scary at first, but after awhile you get used to it. Cars and trucks move over to give you a little space, so it is okay, but I think back home in America car drivers would get mad at motorcycles jumping ahead of them in line.

So, with a great deal of lane splitting, and some long stretches of driving on the shoulder, I got through Istanbul rush hour traffic and out into the open country on the European side of Turkey. Then came the border----

What a long wait that was out in the hot sun, and on both the Turkey side to get out and the Greek side to get in. Later, Jessica and Renaud told me that they saw me there on their bus from Istanbul. They were just pulling into customs as I was leaving. So, despite my late start, I beat them to our night's stop at the hotel in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Next morning, we all head down to Mt. Olympus, about 100 miles south, they in a rental car and me on Odysseus. We are ready and anxious to climb that thing. Do you think we might see some gods?

Let's go, guys. I have been waiting a long time for this day.

Maybe this trail is going to be more exciting than I thought. I don't know though, because I am not able to make a whole lot of sense from this warning sign.

We didn't see any gods, but we did see these mules several times as we hiked along. There was never a human with them. Apparently, people load them up with supplies, point them up the trail, and give them a smack on the rump to get them moving along. Once they get to the refuge, they are unloaded, turned around and pointed down the trail, and moved along again. It seems to work, because nobody seemed at all worried about he mules.

Boy were we stepping along at first.

But the trail got steeper, the air got thinner, and this old man (me) started dragging.

I think all three of us were happy when we got to the refuge, half way up the mountain.

Some beer, some salad, a little pasta -- then it is time to relax a little before lights out at 10 p.m.

You have to get up early when you plan to conquer a mountain. After a quick breakfast at the refuge, we are on our way. One last look back through the fog. Bye refuge, see you this evening on our way down.

The trail is really getting steep now. Breathing is difficult. The mountain is not as high as some in, say, Colorado, but it starts at sea level while the Colorado mountains start at 6,000 feet.

Puff --- gasp --- puff. Just kidding. Jessica did great.

Upward --- into the clouds. "The dogs may bark but the caravan moves on".

Did I say the trail got steep? It was nothing back there. Suddenly, it goes vertical. We are climbing with hands and feet. I think everyone on the trail was wishing they could be roped up. The "trail" was markings on the rocks.

The vertical part lasted a long time and went up a long way. Now I started seeing the sense in the warning sign at the trail head "Falling rocks, quickly swipe" meaning, I think, that they quickly swipe you in the head and knock you off the mountain. You have to watch out that other climbers don't knock off a rock. I noticed that some climbers on the trail had helmets.

But hey! Look at us! We made it.

Now we have to figure out how to get down. If anything, down-climbing is harder than up-going..

It took us a long time to finally get down off the vertical part. It was really difficult.

I think we were each happy when we finally reached a real trail. I know that I was.

Look at what eagle eyed Jessica spotted way up above us on a cliff. They are Chamois.

By this time, my skinny legs were developing a mind of their own. No matter how many times I told them to go faster, they kept on slowing down more and more. I guess it is because I have done nothing but sit on a motorcycle for the last six weeks and have done absolutely no exercise. I would prefer to think it is that, and not that I am 70 years old.

I was thrilled to finally see the refuge again -- this time in the sunshine.

We are half-way down. Hooray! Only a few more hours to go. I hope my lactic acid filled legs will hold up under me.

But finally, we are back to the rental car. This adventure is over.

I was happy to find that Odysseus was okay down in the village where I left him overnight. I was also happy to secure what must have been the last hotel room left for the night down there. A nice late supper, some beer, and Renaud and Jessica left to return their rental car in Thessaloniki. Tomorrow, they head for the Greek Isles. I will see them again in Athens in a couple of weeks.

That was yesterday. Today I woke up with my legs aching, especially when I come down a flight of stairs. But, time keeps moving on, and so do Odysseus and I. Tonight we are in Delphi. We got here after riding through some beautiful mountain roads. Greece is a really rugged place.

I think I will find the Delphi oracle tomorrow and ask her how soon the lactic acid soreness will get out of my legs. Ha.

Ron