Greece and Turkey 2015: The Long Road to Delphi

As we prepared to leave Meteora we were treated to a spectacular sunrise with clouds and color shrouding the view from our hotel. today would be a long day on thhe bus driving to Delphi, heading south toward Athena. The day started out foggy and we were expecting a rainy day, but it turned out to be quite nice!!

As we drove south on Rt E92 we passed through Trikala, Kardista and Lamia. The landscape was flat and mostly agricultural, cotton being the major crop. We have noticed, pretty much throughout the country we have seen, that the economic crisis has taken its toll. There are many, many closed and abandoned buildings and businesses; litter everywhere; nothing new going on. Interestingly, there are lots of car dealers in every town. Many are closed and the ones that are open have limited inventory. Our guide has advised that depending on who you talk to, unemployment is 40-50%! She's a resident of Thessaloniki and we get the impression she's not too eager to talk about her country's troubles.

Once past the city of Lamia, we begin the climb back up into the mountains. The sun is shining and the views are awesome! Olive groves as far as the eye can see! This area known for the big green "table" olives which are harvested by hand. the black olives are shaken off the trees and sent to a press or refinery. Before reaching Delphi, we stop for a lunch at a taverna right on the cliff overlooking the town. We had cheese pie and roasted stuffed tomatoes.

Just up the road from the taverna we came to the ruins of Delphi, religious center of the ancient Greek world. This is the place where the Oracle of Delphi handed out his prognostications. The site features a partially restored temple, amphitheater, and, after a knee shredding hike up many, many steps, to an athletic field way up on the side of the hill. One wonders what those Greeks were thinking! After touring the site we visited the new Archeological Museum next door to see all the amazing artifacts that had been discovered here.

After we'd had our fill of broken statues, we headed back down the mountain for the two hour drive to the Metropolitan Hotel in Athens, where would spend two nights. This is big place, very busy with lots of tour groups (Florida and Australia at least). They provided a fine buffet dinner. And, once again, we didn't get to our room for the night until after 9:00!

Long day but we're all having a fine time! Tomorrow we visit Corinth.