May 16, 2025

May 16, 2025

We checked out of our Athens hotel this morning and met our driver for a three-day adventure. Or at least tried to. Traffic leaving the city on the highway north was horrendous. It was stop and go for a very long time. I surely do not miss rush-hour traffic. We eventually left the coastal plains behind and drove into the mountains. The scenery improved dramatically as we climbed higher. The road was lined almost the entire way with bright yellow wildflowers. Near Mt Parnassus, the second highest peak in Greece, we arrived at the World Heritage site of Delphi.

Just like today, in ancient times Delphi received lots of foreign visitors. People came to consult the Oracle before making a big decision. Divinations occurred only on the seventh day of the month. The answers were humorously enigmatic and famously misinterpreted.

We met our guide who gave us a tour of the local museum. Like on the Acropolis, excavations have uncovered long buried artifacts in much better condition than the objects above ground. Tinges of color could be seen often. I liked the frieze reliefs with Achilles fighting in the Trojan War. Between our guide's Greek accent and the loud screams of dozens of school kids, it was hard to understand her explanations.

Afterwards we entered the archeological site and walked up the switch-backed Sacred Way. It once was lined with treasuries filled with offerings from wealthy patrons and cities wanting special favors from the god Apollo. We passed the Omphalos (belly-button) stone marking Delphi as the center of the (Greek) world. The whole way we are graced with glorious views of the mountain valley.

At the top we reached the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle presided. I smiled when I saw the coiled bronze body of the Serpent Column. The top was stolen in Byzantine times. We saw it displayed in the Hippodrome spine in Istanbul three years ago. The temple is off-limits today but in ancient times you could enter and descend into a cave to ask the Oracle your question. She sat on a geological fissure where leaking petroleum vapors put the seer into a trance so she could commune with the god Apollo.

Back at the bottom we drove into the modern town of Delphi for lunch. This time we had an appetizer of stuffed pasta called Mandi and the Moussaka eggplant lasagna. Both were delicious.

I thought reaching mountainous Delphi would be nearly impossible for early travelers until we got to the restaurant. There we saw that an arm of the Gulf of Corinth reaches close to Delphi making it an easy trip by boat. The valley below is filled with millions of olive trees.

To get back to the highway going north required navigating a slow winding road through the mountains. At Thermopylae, we rejoined the highway. It took a couple more hours before we reached our hotel room in the Meteora area. Our room has nice view of the unique rock formations of Meteora. Unfortunately our sunny weather has disappeared.

As we walked into town, it started to spit rain. For dinner we had chicken and pork Souvlaki. It is the Greek version of Shish Kebab. Souvlaki means ‘little skewer’.