Kronio Olympia

... at the campground and do nothing for another day hoping that it would be OK to move tomorrow, stay at the hostel and do nothing, or cycle in the rain. Olympia is a small town with only one site, so it was discouraging to think of staying and spending money with nothing to do. <br><br>The debate took us until lunchtime with time and patience both running short. Finally we decided to set out. But upon leaving, I ...

... this is supposed to be the off season! Fighting through the crowds of colour-coded name-tag wearing tourists rushing to follow their banner-carrying leader to get to the bus before it leaves. <br><br>But once we were inside the complex, the area was huge ! And all the tourists inside kept huddled closely to their leaders so as not to get lost. <br><br>This is an area of amazing beauty ...

... can&#8217;t continue like this. What&#8217;s the point if we can&#8217;t see what we want of these countries? Winter is settling in. No matter how mild it is in comparrison to Canada, it&#8217;s not meant for cycling and camping. <br><br>The areas of Turkey we want to see are no better for temperature and rain. I even looked to Australia and it&#8217;s full of thunderstorms this time of year ...

... may be an entry called &#8216;Brian&#8217;s grand I told you so&#8217; soon&#8230;<br><br>To me, that makes for more interesting adventures. To Brian, that makes for frustration. <br><br> Surprisingly the bikes held it together long enough to make it to the next camping spot - right along the water&#8217;s edge. Crashing waves will sing us to sleep tonight. A beautiful beach ...

... was the first Olympic track, Roman baths, a gymnasium, wrestling facilities, and Temples honoring Hera and Zeus the second being one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. We also saw where the Olympic torch is lit every Olympic year before it is ran through many parts of the world. It was a very hot day here appx. 40 degrees Celsius which translates to, I'm not sure, but pretty damn hot! Altogether it was a good experience and we are glad that ...

... better. Our itinerary went from Athens to Nafplio to Mystras to Pylos to Olympia. Now we are spending our last two days in Greece in the small town of Delphi, which is absolutely beautiful nestled up in the mountains overlooking the plains between us and the Mediteranean. Today we spent the whole day in Olympia where the Olympic Games were started in 776 BC. We had fun touring the ruins, despite the summer heat ...

... to say the least. It was good to see it and get a feel for the size of it but the earthquakes pretty much levelled the site. Greece's transportation system has a lot to be desired after experiencing the rest of Europe's train and bus system. Man for a country that was once so powerful it sure is antiquated now! But in saying that we did eventually get to Olympia, saw the site, the museum and had a good lunch before heading back to Patras.

... Yes, it's January, stupid! JUSTIN: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT GETS COLD? Modern O.: It is usually about freezing temperature at night. The crucial thing is to put cardboard beneath your tent. That'll keep you warm, because, you see, it's corriagated. When you're talking about using cardboard in this way, you always have to point out that it's corriagated, you see, because "corriagated" is a fancy word and you'll never use it elsewhere. JUSTIN: IT'S THE RAINY SEASON ...

... to do with the high rainfall the place receives but the odd shower did little to damp my impression of the place. Ancient Sparta was abandoned in 371BC and the modern city has little in common. As I toured I noticed a number of digs in different parts of the city reveiled a large complex of foundations of the old town. Where better to find out more than the ...

... have been found in the history of the ancient games). Two days before the games the athletes would head to Olympia, take an oath not to cheat, and make sacrifices to Zeus. No one lived in Olympia year round, but the place was occupied for a month before and a month after the games with people getting set up. At first, wells were dug for water every time the games rolled around, but later after the Nymphaion was built, that was just used to supply water to the people. We ...