Arrive in Katolon, Greece
A time change happened tonight as we passed into Greece's time zone and we lost another hour. Yikes!!!! We made sure we set our clocks for our early wake up so we can have a good breakfast and time to get ready for our tour.
This is an exciting day for me, since I have been to Italy a few times, but have never been to Greece. We actually started to plan a trip here in 2009, but it didn't work out at the time. Also, our tour toady is to Olympus, the site of the birth of the Olympics, which I love. We docked in the small town of Katakolon.
This cruise is super prepared for excursions and we had a 10:45 meeting time in Teatro Carlo Feliz. We arrived around 10:30 and we check in with our excursion tickets that had been delivered to our cabin. They give us a group number 10 sticker (very stylish) to put on our clothes to identify our English Tour.
The group was called to leave and we exited the ship to find a guide carrying a numbered "lolly pop". While riding on the tour bus, our guide told us about Katakolon. It's basically a small seaside town nobody (including most Greeks) has ever heard of. All of it's shops, bars and restaurants only open when a cruise ship comes to port. The only reason cruises even come here is it is the closest port to get to Olympia.
The rest of the area is mostly rural and agricultural. Oranges, lemons, olives, wheat, and more grow here. The olive trees are plentiful and everywhere. As we bused through the countryside, our guide, who lives in Athens, told us about the birth place and history of the Olympics, which started in 1000 BC. The first recorded athletic competition here started as a distance race to honor Zeus. It was an annual event, from The Statue of Zeus to the Grave of Cronos. Participants started to come from all over the known area to participate, and the winner was crowned with a wreath of olive branches, and held in high honor.
The first Panhellenic Games were held in 776 BC, with 5 events. The 5 events were running, jumping, javelin throw, disc throw and hand boxing (where yo can hit all your opponent's body parts except his eyes). The Olympic site grew over the years to include not only the Olympic arena, but temples, training facilities, dorms, hotels, and much more. All Olympic were ended in 393 A.D. by the Roman Empire when they took over Greece.
The Ruins in Olympia exist because there was a huge earthquake that toppled all the buildings and caused the two rivers to re-route through the site. Over the centuries, the rivers buried everything under a layer of silt and mud over 20 feet deep. Finally, the rivers re-routed again, and left the area dry. German Researchers located the ruins and uncovered what we can now see.
We found out that men competed in the nude! Initially only men spectators were allowed to watch the games. Women would try to sneak in dressed as men, but if they were caught, they were thrown off a cliff and killed (supposedly).
The stadium itself was amazing in that it wasn't much of anything. You entered through an arched tunnel , and walk into a large area that is basically a big level field surrounded by a large earthen bowl shaped berm. Spectators sat on the berm, right on the ground. The only seats were the stone stands for the judges, and a stone pedestal chair for the High Priestess of the Temple.
Next we saw where the Olympic flame is lit. Again, it was not what we expected. It was a low foundation of cut rectangular stones, where an ancient Temple of Hera used to stand. They chose these stones because they are the oldest stones in Olympia. Every Olympic year, they position a parabolic mirror near these stones and use the sun to ignite the flame.
Next is a tour of the museum where the real sculptures and artifacts found at the sites are on display. We took phone pictures since no flash is allowed and my phone is better than my camera without flash. Darn when we went to take selfies for all four of us, I lost the phone holder to my selfie stick. Thank goodness Alan has long arms.
After the 5 hour walking tour, we were glad for a break and sat drinking cold Coke, Sprite, and water. We were all weary, and Dad was probably well past his limit. The cafe was next to a store and I bought a silver charm of the unending circle of love and long life. Bruce bought a Greek soldier helmet key chain.
We returned to our cruise at 4 pm, starving for lunch. Apparently, so did all the other tours and the cafeteria was packed. Luckily there is a lot of food!
Tonight's dinner theme is Gala (Fancy) so we cleaned ourselves up and got dressed. After dinner, the show at the Teotro Carlo Feliz was called the ABYSS with "the Strength and Balance of DUO Fiori and Duo Mongolia". The performance was sort of a Cirque du Soleil type of acrobatic show, and we enjoyed it.
Back to the cabin for some well deserved sleep.
This is an exciting day for me, since I have been to Italy a few times, but have never been to Greece. We actually started to plan a trip here in 2009, but it didn't work out at the time. Also, our tour toady is to Olympus, the site of the birth of the Olympics, which I love. We docked in the small town of Katakolon.
This cruise is super prepared for excursions and we had a 10:45 meeting time in Teatro Carlo Feliz. We arrived around 10:30 and we check in with our excursion tickets that had been delivered to our cabin. They give us a group number 10 sticker (very stylish) to put on our clothes to identify our English Tour.
The group was called to leave and we exited the ship to find a guide carrying a numbered "lolly pop". While riding on the tour bus, our guide told us about Katakolon. It's basically a small seaside town nobody (including most Greeks) has ever heard of. All of it's shops, bars and restaurants only open when a cruise ship comes to port. The only reason cruises even come here is it is the closest port to get to Olympia.
The rest of the area is mostly rural and agricultural. Oranges, lemons, olives, wheat, and more grow here. The olive trees are plentiful and everywhere. As we bused through the countryside, our guide, who lives in Athens, told us about the birth place and history of the Olympics, which started in 1000 BC. The first recorded athletic competition here started as a distance race to honor Zeus. It was an annual event, from The Statue of Zeus to the Grave of Cronos. Participants started to come from all over the known area to participate, and the winner was crowned with a wreath of olive branches, and held in high honor.
The first Panhellenic Games were held in 776 BC, with 5 events. The 5 events were running, jumping, javelin throw, disc throw and hand boxing (where yo can hit all your opponent's body parts except his eyes). The Olympic site grew over the years to include not only the Olympic arena, but temples, training facilities, dorms, hotels, and much more. All Olympic were ended in 393 A.D. by the Roman Empire when they took over Greece.
The Ruins in Olympia exist because there was a huge earthquake that toppled all the buildings and caused the two rivers to re-route through the site. Over the centuries, the rivers buried everything under a layer of silt and mud over 20 feet deep. Finally, the rivers re-routed again, and left the area dry. German Researchers located the ruins and uncovered what we can now see.
We found out that men competed in the nude! Initially only men spectators were allowed to watch the games. Women would try to sneak in dressed as men, but if they were caught, they were thrown off a cliff and killed (supposedly).
The stadium itself was amazing in that it wasn't much of anything. You entered through an arched tunnel , and walk into a large area that is basically a big level field surrounded by a large earthen bowl shaped berm. Spectators sat on the berm, right on the ground. The only seats were the stone stands for the judges, and a stone pedestal chair for the High Priestess of the Temple.
Next we saw where the Olympic flame is lit. Again, it was not what we expected. It was a low foundation of cut rectangular stones, where an ancient Temple of Hera used to stand. They chose these stones because they are the oldest stones in Olympia. Every Olympic year, they position a parabolic mirror near these stones and use the sun to ignite the flame.
Next is a tour of the museum where the real sculptures and artifacts found at the sites are on display. We took phone pictures since no flash is allowed and my phone is better than my camera without flash. Darn when we went to take selfies for all four of us, I lost the phone holder to my selfie stick. Thank goodness Alan has long arms.
After the 5 hour walking tour, we were glad for a break and sat drinking cold Coke, Sprite, and water. We were all weary, and Dad was probably well past his limit. The cafe was next to a store and I bought a silver charm of the unending circle of love and long life. Bruce bought a Greek soldier helmet key chain.
We returned to our cruise at 4 pm, starving for lunch. Apparently, so did all the other tours and the cafeteria was packed. Luckily there is a lot of food!
Tonight's dinner theme is Gala (Fancy) so we cleaned ourselves up and got dressed. After dinner, the show at the Teotro Carlo Feliz was called the ABYSS with "the Strength and Balance of DUO Fiori and Duo Mongolia". The performance was sort of a Cirque du Soleil type of acrobatic show, and we enjoyed it.
Back to the cabin for some well deserved sleep.
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