To Delphi -- Δελφοι

So when we were in Olympia, we saw a regional map that listed out some of the other sites that we could see in the region. So on this fine Greek morning we contemplated our options. Our longest drive of the trip was going to be this morning, and all we really had to do was get to Delphi. We'd be exploring the Delphi site the next day, so we had plenty of time. I noticed that the map indicated that there was a large damn about an hour away, so we set our sites on that.

Yawn...

Once again, the "highway" was barely a road, with little to no signage. Of course we got lost, but of course we again found our way, and what we found when we got there was an extremely large levy, and an extremely large let-down. It was just an earthen damn that was holding back a decent sized lake.

The scenery was kinda neat, but nothing to write home about. But now it is written about, so I guess you could say that it was something to write home about. You always have to be like that, don't you?

As we were driving away from the site, we had to again wait for a herd of goats to pass. After they passed, we began to slowly drive away, and the herder's dog started to run around our car, barking! I made my best attempts to evade him, but he doggedly pursued us.

We are not the sheep you are looking for.

For some reason it appeared that he thought Big Red was part of his herd, and he was trying to get us back with the main group. We were laughing hysterically while trying to drive Big Red up a hill, and all the while this dog was chasing and barking after us. Luckily we finally picked up enough speed and were able to get away from him, but it was pretty damn funny. I mean, he was after us for a long time. We snapped this picture just as we were leaving him.

Nafpaktos

Today was also our last day in Peloponnesia. We'd be crossing over the Gulf of Corinth (hopefully on a new bridge that they opened the year before, but we weren't sure if it was done, so we also had directions to the ferry) and bid this land farewell.

The new bridge

The bridge itself was completed, so we paid the E10 and crossed over. We stopped for lunch in Nafpaktos, and the waiter there told us that we had to check out the Venetian fort that was perched high in the mountains above the city. And, as always, if your town has a Venetian fort, we will find it, we will (hopefully drive up to it), and we will explore it.

Much like Castle Larissa, the fort was empty, free, and fun to explore. There were sweet views of Nafpaktos, the bridge, and Peloponnesia. And we got to drive up to it, which for me really made it a special memory that I'd never forget.

Delphi

The rest of the drive was long, winding, and slow, due to the fact that this must have been "Take your large truck on the road to Delphi" day. But we got there eventually, and found our hotel with no problem whatsoever (due to the fact that there is basically only one road through Delphi). Our hotel for the next two nights only cost E22, which again made for a very special memory. The dude at the desk was really cool, and suggested a mountain path for us to explore. Part of the E4 trail that wound through much of Europe, he said he'd been exploring it since he was a kid.

Lin-Wei and the E4 trail marker

To get to the path we had to climb another 200 stairs, only to find a parking lot at the trail head (curses!). We started out, passed a few run down houses on a hill with scary dogs, but as soon as we got into the woods we hit a closed barrier. Disappointed, we walked back down the 200 stairs to our hotel, and told the guy that the path was closed. I've never seen such a strong look of utter disbelief. He said that there was no way the trail was closed. We must have wandered over to part of the Delphi site that was closed. So we drove up to the trail head again (ultimately the lessons of Acrocorinth will probably make me really lazy, but I'll take happiness over healthiness any day), and tried to locate the trail.

The Stadium at Delphi

Our best guess was that the trail wound up the hill with the run-down houses and the scary dogs, so we picked our way through there, found the trail, and had a nice hike.

The mountains up there were beautiful, and we could also see down into the Delphi site, were some tourists were exploring the Delphi stadium. Delphi also had a stadium where sports and arts were performed two years after the Olympics in Olympia. It was sort of an "Artistic Olympics".

Heading back to our hotel room, we rested up a bit before dinner. When we turned on the TV, there was a movie about a young woman becoming a nun. It sounds like the most boring movie in the world, but we totally got sucked in. As time wore on, we were getting more and more hungry, and of course feeling guilty for not exploring while we were on vacation, and instead just watching TV. But it was a damn good movie. Finally we could wait no longer and we had to eat. When we got back to the states we found out that it was The Nun's Story. We still have to see the ending.

The Oracle Speaks!