OLYMPIA AND KARDAMYLI
We adventured back in history at the ancient site of Olympia before heading to the coast for our first taste of what I had imagined Greece to be like. Kardamyli was an absolute dream, and we spent two lovely, sun-drenched, happy, relaxing days there soaking up the beauty and enjoying the locals we met.
Day 5: Olympia
This morning we were sure to eat our Wheaties, as we were visiting the site of the ancient Olympians! What a place! How often do you get to stand in a place that was built in 800 B.C., that saw the greatest athletes of the ancient world, and became the inspiration for the modern Olympic competition.
Once again, as with all sites we visited, this one has a top notch museum that we visited first. Our guide helped us understand the site plan and what each of the ruined buildings would have been used for, so that the site came alive for us. I wasn't expecting it to be so beautiful, with piles of ancient stones and columns standing amidst large, beautiful shade trees.
While this was one of the most crowded sites we visited on this tour, our guide was adept at dodging the other large groups so that it felt like we were visiting the place alone. We saw where the Olympic torch is still lit every four years, and David joined other group members in running a foot race off the starting block. We were given free time to wander and enjoy the vast site.
We worked up an appetite exploring the ruins of Olympia. David W., in his infinite wisdom, organized a delicious lunch at a restaurant outside of the normal touristy area. We sat in an upper room with windows that looked over a gorgeous countryside view, and chowed down on the tastiest all-vegetarian fare I have had, with lots of dishes I've never heard of before. David W. asked us to each sit with someone who was not our traveling companion so that we could get to know each other better, and we had a wonderful, relaxing time with new friends.
Kardamyli was a "vacation from your vacation" spot, with no real agenda but to just enjoy the beauty. Our group was split up into two for hotel purposes, and the long hike up to our assigned hotel was more than worth it when we saw the view from our room! Are you for real? I have never heard of anyone experiencing a stay like this on a guided tour, and we have had surprises like this on every tour, which is part of what keeps us coming back! David and I decided to scout the local grocery store for supplies for dinner and we sat on our private balcony with this view and enjoyed a feast - it ended up being one of the best memories of our trip!
Day 6: Kardamyli
We ate a delicious breakfast including our standby of real Greek yogurt and fresh honey while overlooking the sea views on a bright, sunny day, and it doesn't get much better than that! David W. offered an optional walk down a hidden path to a small church in the morning, and I think we all took him up on it. He loves botany and had all sorts of interesting things to tell us about the local flora. He found some wild asparagus for us to try, and pointed out some wild artichokes.
After the walk, David and I wandered town like we were on a beach vacation. We dipped our toes in the Mediterranean, poked around in the shops in town, hiked up to an overlook to view the beautiful harbor and boats, and indulged in some bakery desserts. We met some wonderful locals along the way, who were kind and generous. They told us about living in the town, and about how the economic downturn in 2008 had hurt them, but how they were working hard to make a come back. We are not usually great at relaxing, so this was a real treat!
For dinner we scouted out this restaurant overlooking a bay. It doesn't really matter how the food tastes when your view looks like this (although the food was delicious too!!). We had another relaxing evening in this beautiful town and then hiked back up to our room to watch the sunset from our patio one more time. Perfection! It would be hard to leave this beautiful place, but we were looking forward to our next stop!
