Athens and Delphi

Monday. September 23. 

This was my second ferry ride in Greece, so I knew the drill better. Blue Star Ferries would take me from Mykonos to Athens. I arrived early and waited with other passengers. We watched the spectacle of vehicles being loaded onboard.    

I have a ticket in “economy.” All right with me. The setup inside the ship was a little different than the first ferry. This is a converted cruise ship. There were tables set out like a cafeteria. I got aboard early enough to set up next to a window. I’m not letting the bag out of my sight. 

A young Greek guy, his girlfriend and another younger woman join me at the table. The couple looked like they were in their thirties. The guy has long hair and spends all his time under earbuds. The women try to spread out and catch a nap. It’s just another ferry ride for them. I enjoy the scenery.

There would be stops in Timos and Syros. The last stop was Piraeus. This confused me. I asked a woman who ran a souvenir shop. Why Piraeus? She explained that Piraeus was the last stop and then I would “Have to take a bus.” Why doesn’t the ferry just go to Athens? I didn’t like the uncertainty of that last leg.

 

There’s a counter that looks like it used to be a bar. It’s some kind of franchise called “Goody’s.” I ordered a “Super Ham,” thinking it would be a ham sandwich. It was a big and passable burger. Later I saw a counter downstairs selling pastries and real Greek food, so I blew it on that one. 

I walked around the deck. It was a calm day, but heavy see through plastic protective tarps were put up to protect from spray. People sitting at tables and chairs played cards or just hung out, enjoying the ride and the scenery. Crossword puzzles are popular. The ferry went along the coast. There were always great views. Not a bad way to travel.

The first stop is another Greek island town, Timos. White washed buildings went up the hill. The architecture looked medieval to me. What would it be like to just get off the ferry and stay in one of these island towns? I fantasize about returning and riding the ferry from island to island. There are 6,000 islands in Greece! Most are uninhabited. This looked like the real Greece. I’m sure there was the usual tourist hustle here, but I had a hunch it wasn’t as intense as the big cities of Europe.    

   At each stop they did the ritual of unloading cars, trucks and other vehicles. Then they would reload. 

There’s an influx of people that boarded at Timos. It’s a large room, but people are looking for somewhere to sit. Two older women sit at the table. It’s clear they don’t like the others stretched out taking extra seats. The younger women who were already there have to make a little room. There seems to be a little animosity, but of course I can’t understand a word they’re saying. One woman sits across from me. She never stops talking. Would I care if I knew what she was talking about? At least she gets off at the next stop. 

We make another stop at Syros. Almost every seat at every table is taken. An old guy with a fisherman’s cap joins us. “Anyone sitting here?” It doesn’t look like anyone knows each other. Another woman takes a seat across from me. She’s wearing a shirt with horizontal stripes that seems to be popular with the older women in Greece. Why do they like that pattern? 

Earbud guy and the two women are still sitting next to me. I think they’re sisters. Everyone starts talking. Someone says something and they all laugh. And laugh. The younger woman is laughing so hard tears are coming down her face. Whatever it is, it must be very funny, but it’s Greek to me.  

The conversation calms down a bit. The woman across from me doesn’t laugh or say much, but once in a while she makes a short comment and the others go into hysterics again. I assumed some of the humor was of an earthy nature. Are they joking about me? Which would be OK, but I’d sure like to be in on the joke, or just know what one joke was about. They were all getting pretty giddy.  A couple of them laughed so hard they were crying. This went on for most of the five hour ferry ride. I read my precious Delos Museum Guide. Soon I would be in Athens. 

After a while I wanted to stretch my legs and get a better look at the coastal scenery that was passing by the window. I gave everyone a big smile while I climbed out. “You guys are having way too much fun!” Did any of them understand English? I doubted it. I walked around the ferry boat and checked out the ferry scene again.  

Back at the table things had calmed down. We were in commuter mode. The trip seemed to drag on. A baby started crying and screaming. It seemed to go on for two hours. I thought of Demon Baby back in San Francisco. 

A young guy with long hair came by the table holding a Goody’s Super Ham. He seems a bit shy. There is still an extra chair and they make some room for him. They talk and I overhear the magic words: “San Francisco.” Tony is about thirty. He lived in San Francisco and worked at his uncle’s restaurant Salonika, “on Polk Street.” “I remember that place.” Now he lives in San Bruno. He visits Greece during the summers. 

The hilarity begins again. Now I have an interpreter! What is the joke? He gives me a funny look. “I get it a little,” he says, but he can’t, or won’t, explain what’s so funny. I suspect the humor is directed at me or maybe Americans in general. Whatever. Again, I wouldn’t mind getting just one of the jokes. 

The guy in the Fisherman’s cap is much more friendly after learning I’m from San Francisco. He can speak a little English. “I worked in Las Vegas for eight years! Oopah!” Had I heard of Las Vegas? Yes, I had. Tony interprets. The older guy says he had a great time working in Vegas and wants to go back. I thought of Dmitri’s comment: The dream of every Greek is to get to Las Vegas.

The ship pulled into Piraeus. It was time for the party to end. I was a little anxious to figure out the connection from Piraeus to Athens. It took a while for us to get downstairs. I was tempted to just stay upstairs and wait for the crowd to leave. I wasn’t in a hurry to get anywhere. Would people be running off the ramp again, like in Mykonos? Sometimes you just have to go with the traffic flow. 

I’ll guesstimate about three hundred people were standing in the cargo area near a huge ramp. It slowly came down with loud alarms blaring. Then the ramp stalled. The ferry personnel looked puzzled. The ramp was definitely stopped. An alarm blared. Music started playing. It sounded like a demented version of “It’s a Small World After All” from Disneyland. I guess the music was supposed to calm the waiting crowd. It was only about five minutes, but the bizarre alarm music didn’t help. It just added to the tension. It’s crowded. People are waiting with their luggage. The ramp finally came down and everyone rushed out. 

Taxi drivers were hustling the crowd as we got off. I showed one the address of my hotel. He thought it over and said, “Fifty five Euro.” Tempting, but I would at least try the bus. I figured I could always find a cab for that price. There was really no reason to rush.

I’m not much for following the herd, but I assumed most of the people getting off the ferry were headed to Athens. I followed the crowd into a station. It was the public transit train. There were fare machines, but I went to a ticket window. There was a short wait, but I wanted to buy a ticket from a human and be able to ask questions and just be sure. “Athens is the seventh stop.” It was less than two Euros. 1.60 Euro. 

A young French couple were just ahead of me in the line. They look stressed out. They almost space out and leave one of their large luggage bags behind. Do I have everything? 

I really had the radar on after the Barcelona incident. I had heard and read repeated warnings that trains and busses drew pickpockets. Don’t stand near the door. That’s where they get you. It was a crowded train and I wind up standing next to the door. Great. 

There was a map of the system over the door, and I counted the stops. Monastiriki was the seventh stop. I knew this was the neighborhood my hotel was in. 

Standing near me was an older French couple. I watch them trying to figure out the map. They’re going to Monastiriki. The same stop. They asked a young woman about the Monastiriki stop. She’s attractive and looks like a local. She looked aggravated, but she did give them directions. 

It was dark. My travel agent Leatta Perdue had said that, “Athens could be dodgy.” The train was elevated and the city below did look a bit menacing. It reminded me of riding the El through the West Side of Chicago. Maybe it wasn’t as threatening, but Athens did look grimy. There was a lot of graffiti.      

A guy in the train car starting ranting and raving in Greek. He was filthy and had torn, ripped clothes. He acted crazy and smelled bad. It made me feel like I was back home in San Francisco!  

Was he the distraction? He sure sounded mental. He barged his way through the crowded car. He smelled horrid. At least he got off at the next stop, still ranting and raving about some real or imagined injustice.  

 

We got to the seventh stop. “Monastiraki.” I knew the Pan Hotel was in this neighborhood. Inside the subway station I could see a crowd of people headed to the airport train. It’s a very popular and cheap way to get to the airport. 

I went upstairs to the street level. I had survived the Greek Metro and saved 55 Euros. There was a large plaza near the train stop. It was about five, and I had managed to hit the streets at rush hour again. The commute has some intensity. Serious commuters headed into the train station, but some family groups were gathering for an evening in the plaza. It was Monday night, but there was a festival, party atmosphere. The ever present refugee peddlers shot their light toys into the sky.

Some of the directional signs were vandalized, like in Barcelona. Not everyone is happy with tourist business. There was a small group of police on the corner. I asked a hot redheaded police officer where Mitropoleos Street was. She pointed across the plaza. Now all I had to do was find No. 11. 

 

There was a small Byzantine church near the station. It fascinated me, but it was just a part of the scenery for the residents. An older woman and some kids sat on the stone wall in front of it.  

The Church of the Pantanassa was made of large stone blocks. It had a Byzantine shape and a bell tower that was an obvious modern add on. A sign explained that it was built on the site of an older church in the fourteenth century. There was a church here in the seventh century. The church had a monastery, the “little monastery” or monastiraki. This became the name for this part of the city.    

Waiters stood outside restaurants and tried to draw people in. One guy worked me. I shrugged and pointed to my bag, “I just got here.” He gave me a friendly,  “Welcome to Athens!” 

I followed the numbers on  Mitropoleos Street. They  were going up. How could I miss No. 11? I almost turned back to see if I’d walked by it. I went another block and saw its bright sign. 

The Pan Hotel was modern. It had the tiny elevator lift so common in European hotels. My room was small. From the window I could look down and see a rooftop bar with a film screen. It looked pretty cool. 

I went back out and walked around Athens. The city was buzzing. I headed back to the plaza. The Cathedral was on the same street as my hotel. It was exciting to get my first look at the lit up Parthenon. I’ll be going up there tomorrow!  

Stopped in a restaurant and realized it was more of a fast food place. That would be OK for now, so I ordered a chicken gyros. My table was next to a window. Two middle aged guys sat at a table right outside. I assumed they were Athenians. They talked and smoked like crazy. What were they discussing? They looked serious.  

Big cities draw buskers. In the plaza a young guy played the Chris Isaac song, “Wicked Game” through a small amplifier. Buskers must like that song. I had heard it in Barcelona. Maybe it draws tips.

There seemed to be more street scum. Some very friendly Jamaicans greeted people. I could hear them before I saw them. “ How are you doing? Welcome to Athens! Where are you from?” They didn’t appear to be selling anything. I wondered what their scam was, but I didn’t really want to know. How could you not like these very friendly guys? Gullible young tourists must still fall for this. They didn’t bother with me. I wasn’t disappointed.

The tourist zone reminded me of Fisherman’s Wharf. There was a large souvenir shop with a wall of tee shirts. Almost all of them were NBA, and at least a third of those were Golden State Warrior jerseys. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thomas. The whole starting lineup was for sale.  

The breakfast buffet at The Pan Hotel was good, but it was always crowded. A creepy looking old lady lingered at a table by herself. She looked more than world weary. She lounged there and smoked. She looked bitter and a bit evil. What was her story?    

The next day I went on a walking tour that would end at The Acropolis. Someone would meet me in the lobby of the hotel. There would be no searching for a contact, but I was still a little nervous. This was a tour I really, really didn’t want to miss. 

I sat in the lobby and found a book of photos published in the Fifties: “Old Athens.” My contact arrived and walked me over to the nearby Syntagma Square. “All the big demonstrations happen here.” Our guide was Victor, a young student. He was young and had a pony tail. He was more interested in collecting the vouchers than the other guides had been. There were seven of us in the small tour group.  

 

 

We walked across the square to the Parliament building. Victor said that, “People usually don’t like their legislature.” We watched the changing of the guard. Their uniforms looked a bit strange, even a little silly. The soldiers wore fezzes and had tassles on the ends of their boots. It betrayed their reputation as fierce fighters. The changing ceremony seemed a bit bizarre. It’s a great honor to be chosen to be one of the guards.  

We went through the National Gardens, which were a pleasant surprise. It was very similar to the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park. A large pond held some Koi fish. We walked by The Zappeion Hall. “It has nothing to do with Frank Zappa.” 

  Victor makes mythology come alive with his stories. He talks about Zeus and the gods as if they were his relatives. He says learning mythology is a big part of any Greek’s education. It was a nice day, but there was a bit of a chill in the morning air. Victor said that,  “Winter is coming.”

We were still in the Gardens. We stopped in an area near the exit. We could see the iron fence that surrounded the Gardens. There were random pieces of marble. Pieces of antiquity could be found all over Athens. Victor explained that marble is cool to the touch. “Go ahead. Feel it.” Ancient marble was sometimes sliced so thin you could almost see through it.    

The Gardens are surrounded by iron fencing and locked up at night. We walk through some of the park that is not locked up. Tents and cardboard are piled up next to a large tree. It looks too familiar to me. Yes, there are homeless in Athens. 

We walked on a street that bordered the park and passed the President’s Palace and other government mansions. It reminded me of Pacific Heights except for the obvious police and military security. Victor said that the President, “Has very little power.” 

We crossed a main street, the Leoforos Vasileos Konstantinou, and walked to the Panathenaic Stadium. This is the stadium where the modern Olympics began in 1892! It’s been modernized and they host concerts and other events. The Scorpions played there last week! Victor could hear them from his apartment’s balcony. 

Victor mentioned that apartments in the center of the city are cheaper than the ones on the outskirts. It’s the opposite of what usually happens in cities. It does make sense. Parts of inner Athens look more than “dodgy.” He also said that an apartment could be bought for ten to fifteen thousand Euro. We stopped him right there. Everyone on the tour was curious about this: “Ten to fifteen thousand?” Right. “And then you own it?” “Right, like a condo.” “Are there restrictions on foreigners buying property?” No!  

We found this one hard to believe, but there are areas of Athens that look pretty shaky, and there is the volatile political situation. Still, ten to fifteen thousand to own an apartment anywhere sounded unreal to us. It could just be a clubhouse! A base camp for European visits.   

We cross the street and  Victor shows us a poster in the shop window. It’s a copy of one of the oldest images of Athens. It showed the river that is now the street we’re on. “The city walls were here in ancient times.” Victor tells us of the story of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC. It’s going to be a hot day. We become more interested in getting drinks inside the shop.   

We walked up Leoforos Vasileos Konstantinou again and Victor directed us to a break in the bushes. We stepped in near a fence and there was a great view of the Temple of Zeus. Very little of it is left standing, but the remaining pillars are impressive. Victor pointed out one of the columns that had collapsed. The columns have an iron rod that runs down the middle and keeps the separate pieces together. This attracted lightning during a storm. Even the toppled pieces of the pillar are grand. This building must have been huge. I saw it later at night, and the ruins are even more spectacular when they are lit up.

Victor is a big fan of Game of Thrones and Assassin’s Creed. He says the trailer for Assassin's Creed has a great reconstructions of ancient Athens. (I did track it down online later and it is impressive.)   

Hadrian’s Arch is across the street near a turnaround hub of daily commute traffic. It looks like a fragile relic, but somehow it fits into the commute hustle of Athens.    

We crossed the main street again, and Victor took us through the Plaka, the oldest part of Athens. We walked up ancient cobblestone streets. There are more souvenir shops and restaurants here. Plaka has been a tourist attraction since ancient times. 

  There was a small park with some ruins that were about ten feet below street level. The ruins were on what had been the original street level. Victor tells us that there are still ancient ruins all over Athens that are buried and undiscovered.   

Across a small street from the park was a small square, the Plateia Filomousou Etaireias. I was fascinated by the square and the Lysicrates monument. The monument was circular and classic. There had once been a Capuchin monastery here. Lord Byron had stayed in it. Victor tells us that, “He is a hero to the Greek people.” The monastery had become “a center for resistance” during the War for Independence. The Turks destroyed the monastery, but “They didn’t destroy the monument.”  

We came out of the Plaka and started walking up a modern road, the Dionysiou Areopagitou. We kept drawing closer to the Acropolis. It doesn’t exactly sneak up on you. There was an entrance to the Acropolis with a very long line. We would keep walking and go to an entrance on the other side. There were things Victor wanted us to see before entering the Acropolis. He pointed out the very modern looking Acropolis Museum. We walked around the base of the hill. Victor said that this is where Plato and Aristotle had walked and taught. Diogenes used to hang out here! 

Victor wanted us to se the Areopagus. We came to a bluff that was covered in rocky stone. “St. Paul preached to large crowds here.” There were steel stairs that went to the top. The stairway looked out of place against the rock, but they certainly make it easier to get to the top Tourists were scrambling up and down the stairs, trying to ignore a guy begging on one of the landings. 

On the top the wind was fierce. I took a short video, but I had a hard time standing. At one point another member of the tour group had to grab me so I could catch my balance! It’s one of the most spectacular views of Athens.  

The walking tour ended at the queue to go into the Acropolis. Victor would not be joining us inside the Acropolis. I thought we would get a Skip the Line ticket with the tour. An extra charge would have been OK with me. There was a wait to buy tickets. I always get a little hyper before seeing UNESCO World Heritage sites, and this was the Acropolis! At least the line was shorter on this side. There didn’t seem to be any reason why the line was shorter here, except that people just didn’t want to walk around from the other side. We thought Victor would continue the tour inside the Acropolis. Others on the tour expected more. 

It’s always a little surreal to go to the “Big” sites. The Eiffel Tower. The Vatican. The Alhambra. The Alcazar. I couldn’t believe the Grand Canyon when I first saw it. It’s hard to believe that it exists. Or that I’m there. This was it. This was a big one.

The area that led up to the Acropolis had ruins and some statues. I was surprised to see a modern stage inside the ancient Herodes Theatre. “Sting just played here!” There was a sound board set up about half way up the stone seats. The acoustics were excellent. We could hear the sounds the stagehands made when they walked around on the stage. “It’s shaped like a human ear.” 

Large stone steps led us up to the top of the hill. The steps were packed with people. You had to be careful when going up the ancient steps. We entered the top of the hill from under large stone portals. The crowd thinned out as people spread out to wander around. It was still very windy. Swirls of dust blew around. The Parthenon was ahead to my right. Much of it was covered in scaffolding. The renovation is ongoing.   

Some of the remains of the temples and buildings look familiar, especially the caryatids on the Erechtheion. It was hard to believe I was up here. It was another unreal, amazing experience. I kept wandering around. There was another view area with a vista of Athens. 

We could see the Theatre of Dionysus below. It’s the theater “where it all began.” This is where theater started. I will get a closer look on my way out.  

The Acropolis is still an active archaeological site. There is a small gauge railroad system to lug dirt around. It looks like a toy train or a tourist tram at first, but there is still serious archaeological business taking place up here. 

It was crowded, but I got a break because it was late in the season. I overheard a couple of people telling their friends that, “It’s usually worse.”

Guards watched for people who got too enthusiastic and climbed on the ruins for photo opportunities and the inevitable selfies. This looked like a constant problem. Once in a while you’d hear a whistle and an admonishment. I saw one guy retrieving his hat from a clearly marked restricted zone. He slipped under a safety rope and got his hat, but then the one of the guards scolded him. It has to be a weird job.     

The Acropolis was another place I didn’t want to leave, but I started making my way down. There are more large artifacts and ruins on the way down the hill. I heard music. It was coming from the Herodes Theatre that I had seen earlier. They were doing some kind of sound check. It was a Leonard Cohen song: “Dance Me to the End of Love.” The bittersweet song was perfect. It was an emotional, stirring moment. People stood at the top behind the fence and listened. I took a little video. They played some of “Hallelujah” before the sound crew went on to other tasks. It’s probably a good thing they didn’t play a Stones song. My head would have exploded. 

The Acropolis Museum has been recently renovated. It displays many original works that can’t be left to the elements and air pollution of Athens anymore. A short film told us the history of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Animated footage recreated what it looked like in ancient times. The story of the controversial Elgin Marbles was told.    

When the museum was expanded a buried village was discovered. This presented a problem. How could the ancient ruins be destroyed for an archaeological museum? The ruins of the village are covered by hard plastic that you can walk over. You can see the village’s foundations below you while walking in. 

After I left the museum I walked down narrow stone streets that led to Monastiraki. Some of the small older buildings looked like private residences, but I suspected that some of them were B&Bs.  

  At the lower levels the walls were completely covered in graffiti. Most of it was artfully done. It seemed to be a haven for radical art and anarchy. Graffiti was almost everywhere in Athens, but most of it was not so artistic. Athens did have some edge to it.

I reentered Monastiraki near the Lysicrates Monument and Square. There was something about the monument that drew me. A group of kids were running around it. They acted oblivious of its history. 

  I went into a restaurant on the square. The waiters eyed me with a little suspicion. Have to admit I was looking a bit ragged by this point, even for me. My pants were covered in smeared sunscreen and dust. So were my shoes. But it was dust from the Acropolis! It was early and there were only two other people in the place. I wanted lamb and ordered lamb souvlaki. 

   

The Cathedral of Athens was still open. It’s relatively new, but I was glad to get inside for a look. Next to it is the “Little Metropolis.” It’s a miniaturized cathedral that I was drawn to last night when the big one was closed. There’s a nice plaza around it that is more laid back than the other nearby public square with the Metro stop. 

At every stop on this trip I had figured out where the post office was when I was leaving and didn’t have time to get there. I had been carrying around some of the post cards since Dublin. I learned the post office was up the street from the hotel. After a short wait it was my turn at the counter. How much was postage to America? The woman behind the counter gave me a look of contempt. How could I not know how much postage was for a postcard to America? OK. I get it. I’m in the big city.    

  Tomorrow would be another big tour: Delphi! I wanted to go somewhere close to the hotel. Just around the corner I saw a sign: Roof Garden. I went upstairs and it was the place I could see from my room. There was a film screen that showed silent movies. I ordered a glass of wine. The waiter brought it out with a plate of tapas. Olives, bread, cheese. I had just had eaten the lamb, but what the heck. When in Athens... I watched a couple of Charlie Chaplin shorts. This was a cool place. 

The second plate of tapas was anchovies with a little rice. On my way out a woman asked me, “How did you like the food?” I assumed she was the owner. I said Efherestoh. If I’m going to learn one word in Greek, it would be Efherestoh. 

The last tour on this trip, and another one that I was really anticipating. The Delphi Full Day Tour. Travel Central had done a great job putting these tours together. I only had to go across the street to the Atheusa Hotel. The sky was overcast with threatening clouds. There was a bit of a drizzle while we waited for a bus to arrive. The morning traffic was a bit tough and it took us a while to get out of Athens.

Our guide was Mariana. She is middle aged and grew up in Athens. A real sweetheart. The tour would be in French and then everything would be repeated in English. It seemed a bit odd, but I figured I could at least try to understand the French part.     

We would be on the bus for about two and a half hours. There would be a short break in Livadeia. The bus went through a part of Athens that was outside the tourist zone. People were commuting and going about their morning business. There were office buildings, warehouses and construction sites. Small shopping malls reminded me of the U.S. This looked like the “real” Athens. We passed a small amusement park. Near the airport there were a few “Adult Sex Clubs.”   

Mariana gave us a great running commentary. Athens is 450 square kilometers with three and a half million people. Delphi is 180 kilometers from Athens. (111 miles.) We would not be taking the exact route that the pilgrims had used, but it would be close. Pilgrims could walk there in three or four days. In ancient times the whole pilgrimage would take about ten days. 

We will pass through three provinces of Greece: Attica, Boetia and Delphi. Mariana warns us that lunch will be after the tour at Delphi. It will be late. 2:30 to 3. We will eat on “Mediterranean time.” There will be a short break at Livadeia before we get to Delphi. 

It was gray and overcast. The clouds looked threatening. “Of course we can’t guarantee weather conditions at the archaeological site.” 

Greece has 52 provinces. There are over six thousand islands islands. Many are uninhabited. Greece is eighty per cent mountain. Cities and farms make up the other twenty per cent. 

Despite the rugged terrain agriculture is still the main occupation of Greece. There aren’t many cows in Greece. “Cattle” here means sheep and goats. Mariana says there are 170 million olive trees in Greece. The olives don’t have to be blanched! Among other products are potatoes and cotton. We have seen drifts of cotton seeds on the road. “They can look like snow.”  

  She talked about the agriculture of the province of Boeotia (Pronounced Bay-O-ee-ah.) as we passed through. We’re in Central Greece. “This is where the road to Thebes was.” It is where Oedipus had run into his father. “This was the land of the sphinx!” She told the story of the riddle of the sphinx. Thebes was the capital of the Frankish Crusaders.   

We got our first look at Mount Parnassus. The top was shrouded in the clouds. We made a pit stop at Levadeia. It is a modern domed facility that was designed for tourist rest stops. I had loaded up at the hotel’s breakfast buffet, but I still had a great Baklava. The clouds looked more threatening. I considered making a deal with the pagan gods here. If they will just hold off on the bad weather until I see Delphi...

We are on the plains of Kopais. (Kopaida) It had been a large lake, but it was drained to create more fertile farmland. The bus headed up into the mountains. The scenery was getting even more dramatic. We could see the Corinthian Bay and the Ionian Sea in the distance.

We can see some of Mt. Parnassus. Most of it is in the clouds. Parnassus was the home of the nine muses. This gave us the word museum. It’s a great spot for winter sports. The ark of Deucalion came to rest on Parnassus after the Deluge. “It’s oldest oracle is to Zeus.”  

We passed through the mountain town of Arachova. It’s a resort town for winter sports on nearby Mount Parnassus. It’s famous for its carpets and wool. We would stop there on the way back.  

In Arachova we got into a medieval traffic jam. The streets are small. We were behind what Mariana said was probably a funeral procession. Someone was “going to their last residence on earth.” It was a similar situation to the tight spots on Ireland’s roads. Our bus faced another tour bus. There was no confrontation. No yelling or cursing. One bus backed up so the other could squeeze past on the narrow street. It did take some cooperation and patience. When we started rolling again our driver, Socrates, got a round of applause. 

There is a billboard just outside of Arachova: #helpcatalonia. There is some solidarity. 

Our bus ride up the mountains continues. Mariana says we will pass some modern monuments. They are from World War II. “In Greece it was called the Italian-Greek war.” “Mussolini and the Italians came first. Then the Nazis.” The monuments honor the victims of Nazi reprisal executions. The war in the mountains was bitter guerilla warfare.   

We were surrounded by spectacular green mountainous scenery. Mariana said that not only is the area protected, the view is protected. No power lines or industrial development is allowed. Bauxite for aluminum is still mined here. It is done totally underground.

Delphi’s history and geography is very similar to Montserrat’s. It was the home of the fabled Oracle of Delphi. A huge ravine was the only pass in the mountains. This made it a crucial spot for trade, but Delphi took on even more importance as a spiritual center. This was a sacred place even before the Oracle. It is believed that there had been a temple to Gaia, the mother goddess here. Delphi thrived for twelve centuries. 

Delphi was “the center of the ancient world.”

 

We left the bus and entered the site. A stone path went up the hill. Mariana pointed out the ravine formed by “The Phaedriades.” We pass a part of the Castalian Spring. A huge Python guarded the spring, but Apollo killed him. The Castalian Spring runs underground and created the vapors that the Sibyll used to communicate with the gods. Pilgrims stopped here to drink the water and purify themselves before entering the Oracle.   

The next stop is the Agora. Marianna explained that the pilgrimage was a big investment for the people of ancient times. There was the time and income lost while making the pilgrimage. Many had to borrow money to make the trek. At the Agora pilgrims could buy “What we would call souvenirs,” to thank their sponsors. There were also souvenirs to prove that you had completed the pilgrimage. The pilgrims could buy something to sacrifice to the gods. The walls dividing the shop stalls in the Agora are still visible. 

Delphi was the center of the universe. It was the “Omphalos,” the navel of the earth. Zeus wanted to figure out the exact center of his kingdom. He sent two eagles  flying from the opposite ends of the world. They met at Delphi.  

The Acropolis, Delphi and other sacred sites drew pilgrims from around the world. Now they’re called tourists, and they always have to be fed and lodged. It’s certainly easier to travel, but Delphi is still a bit remote.  

We even get a lesson in ancient languages on this tour. “Corinthian is still around as a popular font.” The Greek alphabet comes from the Phoenician and Egyptian alphabets. The Romans brought Latin. “Cyrillic came in the 9th Century BC.” 

Mariana continues: There are eight shrines at Delphi. The main one is to Apollo. Apollo came from the Orient. He is symbolized by the palm tree at his birth place on the island of Delos.

The number seven was important to Delphi. The Oracle met pilgrims on the seventh day of the seventh month. “Their calendar was different from ours.” Delphi was only open for a small part of the year. It may have been only ten days.  

 

The Polygonal Wall was one of the first structures excavated at Delphi. It was covered with hundreds of inscriptions. Most of them were manumissions that released people from slavery.  

We passed the Treasuries. The Treasury of the Athenians was built as thanks for the victory at the Battle of Marathon. The Treasury of the Boeotians. The Treasury of the Thebans. Treasure and gifts poured into Delphi from most of the known world. The gods had to be thanked or appeased. Some of the Treasuries still had intact facades and columns.  

Mariana pointed out a rock that was covered in brush and dried roots. It looked unusual, like a large overturned tree stump. There are metal signs that describe places at Delphi, but there isn’t one here. Mariana tells us that this is the Sibyl Rock. Legend says this is where the original Oracle answered questions. I would have noticed it, but only as an odd looking rock surrounded in roots. We never would have known what it was. It’s great to have a tour guide.

Mariana says that the scientists and archaeologists don’t have all the answers. Much of Delphi has still not been excavated. She said that the room where the Oracle sat over the vapors and communed with the gods has not been found. The excavations and archaeological research continues.   

We come to the columns of the Stoa of the Athenians. A stoa was a covered walkway or portico. Plunder from the Persians was offered to the gods here to thank them for the victory.

We went up the Sacred Way to the Temple of Apollo. This was the goal of pilgrims for eleven centuries. It was hard to imagine what it must have been like for the devout reaching the end of their journey. Delphi definitely has an aura of its own. The ruins seem to take on a life of their own. There is an Ozymandias effect.  

 

The Temple of Apollo has inscriptions on its cornice : Know thyself. Nothing in excess. Make a pledge and mischief is nigh. Travel makes you learn about yourself.

Mariana tells us about Apollo. He was the son of Zeus and Leto. He was born on the island of Delos. (Hey, I was just there yesterday!) Apollo was the god of light and harmony. Artemis was his twin sister. The Romans called her Diana. The Romans never translated Apollo’s name like they did with Zeus (Jupiter) and the other gods.   

“Everyone knows about the Olympic games. At Delphi they had the Pythian games.” The Pythian games did have athletic contests, but were more focused on music, dancing and theater. Victors were given a laurel wreath.   

Mariana talked about the Oracle. The Sibyl was always selected from the “normal” part of the local population. She was a “local peasant woman” who wasn’t a priestess or a member of the nobility. The Sibyll would sit on a tripod in a room that was filled with gas and vapors from underground. This put her in a trance. The answers she gave were usually vague. They could be unintelligible “ravings.” Then it was up to the priests of the temple to interpret what they really meant.

Mariana told us the Croesus story. Croesus wondered if he should declare war. “A kingdom will be destroyed.” Croesus celebrated assuming it meant he would win. He didn’t. 

Mariana said that there were questions that could be asked, but would not be answered. One was, “Is there life after death?” I wondered what I would ask the Oracle. Would it be something trite like, “Who’s going to win the Super Bowl?” 

We had some free time to wander. I went a little farther up the hill to see the theater. The Gymnasium was a half mile above the main ruins. The stadium is further up the hill. I didn’t go that far. I would have spent much more time here, but I wanted to make sure I had some time for The Delphi Archaeological Museum. 

  The small museum displays “objects of great archaeological importance.” Artifacts have been moved into the museum for their protection and safe keeping. Original metopes and friezes have been moved indoors.   

Each room has at least one large, stunning statue. The Kouroi of Delphi. The Statue of a Bull. The Sphinx of the Naxians. The facades of the Temple of Apollo. The ancient statues of humans are amazingly lifelike. The last room displays The Bronze Charioteer, one of the best preserved statues of antiquity. 

Even Delphi fell out of favor. Greece is plagued by earthquakes. Over the centuries Delphi was shaken and devastated by them. Other trade routes had been found. Religion changed. Delphi had a rebirth under the Romans and “flourished again” under Hadrian. Nero visited in 67 AD. That must have been a scene! 

The Catholic Church frowned on temples and shrines to the old gods. When it gained political power the pagans were persecuted. The Oracle was shut down by Theodosius I in 381 A.D. 

It’s hard to believe, but Delphi was forgotten. Landslides buried the remaining buildings. There were some visitors who knew it was the site of the Oracle. It became fashionable for Romantic Europeans to visit, including Lord Byron. Drawings were made of buildings at the site. 

Delphi was “rediscovered” in the early Nineteenth Century. Over the years the  village of Kastri had grown on top of the buried ruins. It was difficult to get the local inhabitants to move. After a big earthquake it was easier to “relocate” the village. Excavation started in the 1890s. 

We meet the bus outside the museum and leave Delphi. Mariana points out that the olive trees have two shades of green. They are darker on the bottom half and lighter on the top. It’s usually windy. The wind in the trees creates wave effects. It’s part of the view from here. Mariana has the heart of a poet. 

We could see other ruins from the bus, including the Tholos. It’s a circular building about a half mile from the ruins of Delphi. 

Delphi isn’t just another pile of ruins up in the spectacular surroundings of the ? mountains. Delphi is not only a sacred spot, the whole area is holy ground.

We stop near Arachova and have lunch at a restaurant called Symposium. Everyone is blown away by Delphi and is very glad they took the tour. Lunch was another great fried chicken. Simple, but great. I was at a table with Jan and her husband from Vancouver and two guys from Amsterdam. We compared travel notes. “Where are you headed next?”

Jan said their trip involved some last minute planning and they wound up staying in a “scary” part of Athens. There were “strange sounds” including a car alarm that went all night. 

We stop at Arachova on the way back. We have thirty minutes of “free time.” A shop owner, John, greets everyone getting off the bus. Arachova is famous for rugs and carpets. It’s also famous for the view and the bell tower. I later heard the shop owner John negotiating: “We’ll split the difference!” 

I go the wrong way at first, but turn around in time to find the bell tower and the view. We didn’t have much time in Arachova, and I didn’t want to miss the bus. A large rainbow arced over the mountains and the road back to Athens. It was one of the largest rainbows I’ve ever seen. Really spectacular. Mariana said that, “We didn’t get the rain, but we still got the rainbow!”

They tried windmills on the Greek islands, but the winds were too strong. When the wind changed direction it would break the windmills. Islands get most of their power from the mainland through an underwater cable.

We’re out of the mountains now and on flat land. We pass the Tanagra River. Mariana tells us that there were statues on the road here that were put up in the time of Alexander the Great. They were the first statues that were mass produced and did not have religious significance.

It was a long scenic bus ride home. My trip was drawing to a close. I would fly home the next day. Back to reality. It seemed like a long time ago that I had left San Francisco. It seemed to be a long time since I left Dublin! I had seen many magnificent sights. Delphi will certainly stand out among them. 

We entered Athens. I was getting impatient and wanted to get off the bus. My hotel would be the last stop. I thought about getting off at Monastiraki and walking, but I stayed on the bus. It wasn’t exactly the Hop On Hop Off Tour bus, but I saw a part of Athens I hadn’t been in. It was rush hour. The bus had a hard time navigating through the thin streets. It seemed like one big traffic jam. We passed through some neighborhoods that looked pretty “dodgy.” 

Fruit and vegetable stands set up in front of stores made the streets look crowded. The buildings looked old and worn. It was getting dark. Maybe that added to the paranoia. The neighborhood does look shaky. Like a movie. I saw signs for Pakistani and other Asian businesses. Maybe it wasn’t as dangerous as it looked, but I wondered what would happen if I went strolling through this part of town rolling my Rick Steves bag behind me.

We entered an area with taller stone buildings. I’d guess they were about a hundred years old. Some of them had impressive facades, but the buildings looked abandoned. The windows were boarded up. There were ominous burn marks on the boards. The buildings had certainly seen better days. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked. There was always graffiti. 

We stopped at The Stanley Hotel to drop off some people. The Stanley is in Karaiskaki Square near the Metaxourghio Metro. The Atheusa Hotel would be the last stop. It was the hotel right across from the Pan Hotel, where the tour had begun. We were getting close.  

We were near Syntagma Square and The Parliament Building. The bus stopped. Mariana apologized, but the bus would not be able to take us the rest of the way to the hotel. “There is a demonstration.” At least I knew where I was. I headed towards the hotel and turned a corner near a Metro stop. I walked right into about a dozen riot police. They were getting ready to go to work. They were putting on helmets and adjusting equipment. Most of them had large riot shields and batons. They  had their game faces on. These guys looked serious. They were anticipating trouble.   

I went another block and looked down Mitropoleos Street. My hotel was close, but there were about a thousand demonstrators marching up the street my hotel was on. Figures. I might as well just relax and watch the demonstration. There was definitely some hostility in the air. It made the demonstrations in Barcelona look like a family picnic. I didn’t understand the angry chanting. Some demonstrators carried iron rods. They pounded them on the cement sidewalks as they marched up the street. They weren’t smashing everything in sight, but the menacing sounds created tension. Windows could be next. I pulled out my iPhone and started shooting video. I couldn’t see, but it sounded like they were attacking an ATM. There was a crash and then some cheers.

A young guy standing behind me yelled, “You can’t film this!” I put the iPhone down. “It’s for your protection, man. You can’t film this!” I felt foolish and I certainly wasn’t going to argue with him. I realized he was doing me a big favor and thanked him. Efharistoh! 

I quickly lost my curiosity for the demonstration. I figured I would go around the block and avoid most of it. I thought I would reenter the next street, which should be Metropoleos and I would be close to the hotel. Somehow I wound up on a street that was not Metropoleos. How did I get lost just walking around the block? I recognized the Cathedral Plaza. I knew how to get to the hotel from there. The demonstration was gone. They had moved on to Syntagma Square. That is where most big demonstrations wind up.

I took a short break at the Pan Hotel, and got ready for my last night in Athens. On the way out I asked at the front desk, “When should I leave for the airport?” 

Spyros was at the front desk. He was a young guy who I hadn’t seen at the desk before. “Have you checked in online?” My travel agent had mentioned this during our run through. That seemed like a century ago. Now I figured out why there hadn’t been a boarding pass for me in Barcelona until I went to the boarding desk. I had forgotten about all the pre-check in stuff. Spyros took care of it and printed me a boarding pass. He saved me a big headache, and I had to insist he take a small tip. 

I wanted to get a last look at the Parthenon and The Temple of Zeus lit up at night. I went to the area below the Acropolis that was full of ruins. Then I went up the hill to the Parthenon. It was as close as you can get to the Parthenon without entering the closed grounds. I could hear Greek music. On the corner was a restaurant with an outdoor area patio. A guy was playing a balalaika. The scene looked romantic, but I did wonder how much of it is staged for tourists.   

I headed down the hill. I wasn’t that hungry, but I stopped in a restaurant: Spyro. I tried a Mamos beer. What should I get for my last treat in Greece? Fried calamari. It was great! 

 

Made my way back through Monastiraki to Metropoulis Street. I debated stopping in The Roof Garden. It was my last night, but I would be flying early the next day. I knew there would be times after I got home that I wished I could visit The Roof Garden. 

When I walked into the lobby of The Pan Hotel the B.B. King song, “The Thrill Is Gone” was playing. It was the same song I remember hearing on my last night in Venice! Maybe it was time to go home. 

I always had trouble sleeping on this trip. Maybe I was anticipating the early flight too much, but I just couldn’t get to sleep, and there was the car alarm. Usually I sleep through anything. At first I didn’t even notice it. Car alarms go off at home in San Francisco, but they don’t last all night! I dozed for a while but then woke up. The car alarm was still going. 

It was hard to tell how far away it was, but it sounded like it was far away. I fished out some ear plugs. 

It was aggravating. I could deal with it, but it made me think. There must be hundreds of people who can hear this alarm blaring. I was inconvenienced, but did people here go through this every night? That would be more than an inconvenience. There must be hundreds of people listening to this all night. Wouldn’t someone find that car and put it out of its misery. I thought of comments Jan had made after the Delphi tour. She had mentioned car alarms going off and other “noise.” 

So I was awake for the short cab trip through Athens to the airport.   

The safety instructions on the plane were humorous. A film with Michael Caine and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous provided some comic relief from the usually tedious directions. People actually listened to them. Other celebrities made appearances just to make sure we were still listening.   

I was glad to get the window seat. There was an Interactive Flight Map. Usually I ignore them, but I figured it would be a great chance to give myself a Geography lesson. Names scrolled as we passed over them. It started slow. We were over the Aegean Sea. Athens. Keskira. Triana. Koreula. We passed over Split and got a great view of the stadium. The Dalmatian coast. Zadar in Croatia. Pula, which was on Krk Island. Very exotic names.  

“Sun, mountains and ocean!” Treviso. I finally saw the Dolomites. (I had missed a tour in 2016.) I recognized Venice and the fish formed by the river. Would I ever get back to Venice? We were passing over desolate mountains and then I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were some old, chalet style buildings on top of a flat mountaintop. In the middle of nowhere. A small town on top of a mountain. What town was it? It looked surreal. Like something out of a fairy tale.

We flew over the Alps. St. Moritz. Bregeaz. Switzerland. There is so much more of Europe for me to see. Zurich. Basel.

France looks huge from the air. There are endless miles of farmland. Nancy. I could see the Seine below. Dijon.  

We passed over the coast of France, and I was surprised how quickly we got over the English Channel. I recognized the white cliffs of Dover. The Thames. They announce there will be a delay in landing, so we had to circle over London. This would usually drive me nuts, but I could see the sights below. London Bridge. Parliament. The big ferris wheel at O2. 

I survived the long flight back to San Francisco. I won’t say I’m getting used to it, but it didn’t seem to be as much of an ordeal. It had been another unbelievable trip, but I was glad to see San Francisco again. I took BART downtown, but got an Uber with a Sikh driver. He asked where I was coming from. “I was in Athens this morning!” He was impressed.