Pelops Olympia

... fixed-gear bikes. <br><br>Remarkably, a town along the way had some cycle shops. The first had some parts, but no tools to change them (Friday he kept saying(. The 2nd had the ability, but no parts. All seem sure we can find what we need in Kalamata, but that&#8217;s at least another 3 days cycle away. And if we don&#8217;t find it there, it&#8217;s remote hilly territory until Athens. <br><br> But on the bright ...

... could build all of this so long ago. When technology was limited and other civilizations were barely scraping out a living, the Greeks were creating momentus buildings, beautiful sculptures and organized games! Now, their road signs can&#8217;t even tell what a kilometer is, but that&#8217;s for another story. Today we&#8217;re focused on the impressive accomplishments of old. <br>

That&#8217;s what I fell into today. <br><br>Our dreamy campsite perched on a cliff overlooking the sea turned out to be a nightmare. Posidon and Zeus were having a feud last night. While Posidon heaved up his waves, Zeus hurled down his thunderbolts, and our poor little tent was inbetween. After so long on the road, tent is starting to leak around the edges. With the sound of the thunderstorm ...

... Olympics, seeing the stadium, gyms, and even a hotel that was created to house visitors who came to see the games. <br><br>I had no idea that the compound was so huge! I assumed it would be smallish, with a temple maybe and the stadium for all the events. Apparently not. There's several temples, the hotel, the gymnasium, the wrestling/boxing ring, plus a separate area for the footraces. <br><br>Fun fact: All Olympians had to be free, Greek males. No women ...

... but we really wanted to get to Olympia fast so we could still see it the same day we traveled. And this was the only way it worked for us so we decided to pay more money for more time. This is always a travelers dilemma: time and money. <br><br>Olympia:<br><br>The Original Olympic Games were held in honor of Zeus and played every 4 years around the first full moon in August. The festival lasted 5 days and included: wrestling, chariot and horse racing ...

Our next stop was the historic and significant ruins of Olympia. The birth place of the Olympic games going back to the 7th C BC. The games were held for over 1000 years before they were abolished by Emperor Theodosius I because it was considered a pagan festival. The site was great to see and a ...

... our lives on Earth. And then, we live on Earth for ninety years. And then, something or somewhere else - or "nothing" - stretches on for the rest of eternity. If this were true, I reason, then our time on Earth wouldn't even be a dot in the ocean. And it would be as likely as impossible that we would find ourselves on Earth at this present moment in eternity. Thus, I'm sure each stage we undergo will have a beginning and an end - just like our time on Earth. Our ...

... 24 Oct, Monday Start point: Mystras End point: Kotronas Via: Gythio Odom(Km): 78.07 Moving(hrs.mim): 4.57 Ave(Km/h): 15.7 Total Ascent(m): 840 Max Altitude(m) 308 Max Speed(Km/h): 49.9 Exited the campsite and spent time in a Sparta internet cafe. Printed out pictures taken on the cargo ship "Trader I" to post to the crew as promised. I talked to the ...

... uncovered the site today from under 13-14 feet of silt. Inside the sacred area was the Philippeon, the temple of Hera, and the temple of Zeus. The Philippeon was a tholos building, built in honor of Philip of Macedon (Alexandar's father) and his family. It was the first building allowed in a sacred area that honored a mortal. The temple of Hera is the oldest building on the site. It was originally made of wood, but was slowly replaced by stone, hence the different ...