I’d like to tell you we had a bunch of fabulous adventures during the ten days we stayed at Camping Ionion Beach, but we didn’t do much of anything.
We are coming up on our third anniversary of our move to Europe and this is the time when all our administrative stuff rears its ugly head. Taxes, auto insurance, health insurance, with the added bonus this year of signing me up for Medicare.
There are usually maintenance issues to figure out and repair shops to find, which is not always easy. And now, we have one very unfortunate issue that has impacted our activities as we travel. The controller on Steven’s e-bike is kaput and until we find another one, the only way it is usable is if he rides it as a regular bike. The problem is that e-bikes are extremely heavy, ours weigh nearly 60 pounds each! So while Steven can pedal easily on flat terrain, biking on hilly terrain is no fun at all. He tried that in Albania, loaded with groceries, and said, “never again”.
So with all that, and considering we have been on the move since our trip home in December, we thoroughly enjoyed ten days of downtime. And an amazing view of the Mediterranean to boot!
The other thing is that Camping Ionion Beach is out in the boonies. We took a taxi into town to go to the optical store and order my sunglasses. It took a week for them to be ready, and when we left the campground for Ancient Olympia we picked them up as we drove through the town.
Right off the bat let me say that I hate my new sunglasses. It didn’t take long for me to realize two things, first, the coating is so dark and cuts out so much glare I can’t even read the GPS. Second, the tint is reddish-purple, which changes the color of everything! Everyone looks sunburned!
After an hour or so of pleasant travel we arrived at Ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games. We visited the archeological museum and outdoor site, where the ancient Olympic games were held every four years from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. I didn’t add all that up, but it seems like a long time.
For much of our visit, we were the only people there. Inside, there were about eight docents/guards who tried to keep an unobtrusive eye on us, but since it was just us and them, they really stood out. It’s hard to mingle with the crowd when there isn’t one.
We enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day at the ruins and spent a few hours walking about. We both enjoyed our visit more than we thought we would, kind of like Pompeii. That’s always fun when something is better than you expected.
We then made our way to the nearby port in Katakolo where we would spend the night at the marina. This is a tiny town, but the port is deep enough to welcome massive cruise ships that dock up and bus their passengers to Ancient Olympia. As such, it is kind of a tourist town. Even though no ships have been docked for two years, the little seafront area is still full of restaurants and coffee shops. Only a couple were open when we were there, including the one closest to us. Of course we had to try it.
In the coming days our travel in the Peloponnese begins in earnest as we trek south, tracing around the southern peninsulas and visiting places along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. More on those peninsulas next time.
Meanwhile, Steven has been busy painting, as usual. This time he decided to take on the challenge of a self portrait. You can keep up with what he is doing by following his Visual Art page here.
Next up: Continuing along the Peloponnes.
…
Those shades maybe were polarized. Generally a great idea but unfortunately lenses like that make reading some LCD displays nearly impossible. Try tilting your head sideways to your R or L shoulder. Might help. Can’t explain away the color. It is what it is!
Yep, those glasses were definitely polarized, but so much more than I am used to. The color, well, they just messed that up. I’m gonna try tilting my head, or maybe spinning it around completely. 🙂
I would keep an eye on you two as well! I could not even imagine walking through Olympia thinking of all that history. It is just mind blowing to think of it. Those ruins and artifacts are incredible as well.
You know how when you are driving and a cop suddenly appears behind you? You feel guilty even though you haven’t done anything. I was checking my pockets making sure I hadn’t slipped a little figurine in there and being a little shifty-eyed. Maybe that’s why they were following us around. 🙂
Very cool to be wandering around the ancient Olympic site while the Olympics are going on. As always thanks for the fantastic travelogue.
Wow, I didn’t even think about the current Olympics going on! I usually love watching them, especially the Winter Olympics, alas, we have no access to see them. I’m reading highlights, though!
It has always amazed me what man has built in the past with only manual labour. Pretty cool historical spot to explore. Great self portrait Steven!
Safe travels!
We talk about that all the time! Around every corner here in Greece there is a village spilling down the mountainside! Churches is places that seem impossible to build, really steep cliffs!
Bummer about the sunglasses being so weird! Hope it’s an easy fix, or you can at least get a refund. LOL “…..but it seems a long time.” Yeah, probably! I’m a fan of not sharing space with crowds, but the empty museum seemed a little creepy. Still, what an amazing opportunity to see that history. And then to walk through it outside – you’re right, the lighting was perfect. That old stone work is really unique looking. Glad you two athletes got to take a turn at the games!
Yeah, we’ve had some movement on the glasses thing, we’ll find out tomorrow if a solution has been found. If not, I’m starting from scratch. UGH! Stay tuned!