The early adventures…

We have have a lot of time to travel on weekends and breaks too, and everywhere I have visited has literally been paradise. So far I have been to Aegina (previously mentioned), Syros (a small Greek island with few tourists), Delphi (the site of the ancient oracle and “center of the world” according to Zeus), and Cape Sounion (The Temple of Poseidon).

Syros

Syros was one of are first trips. I went with Kristin, Molly, Elyse, Claire, Amelia, and Chris Shukla. Why Syros you might ask… well we missed the early ferry to Paros we intended to catch, and Syros was the cheapest ferry that was leaving in the next few hours. This lack of punctuality was such a blessing in disguise! Syros was gorgeous. It is a smaller Greek island not often visited by tourists. We spent two nights in an adorable blue and white hotel, and three days laying by the beach. While we were there, we were welcomed warmly by some για γιασ (pronounced yia yias, meaning grandmothers) sitting on their porch at sunset.

It is very common to see grandparents relaxing on their balconies and saying hello, but these two were especially cordial. We “spoke” with them a bit (in broken Greek and English) as they fed us Turkish candy (it reminded me of mochi, Bess you would love them) and biscotti… they later insisted we take bags of these treats home with us. Yum!

Delphi

Delphi was another fun, and very last minute trip. I arrived home from work one Friday, to find Chris Duffy, Claire, and Kristin saying pack up if you want to go to Delphi with us! Next thing I knew, after packing in a mere 10 minutes, we were off. The four of us took a 3 hour bus ride to this ancient city. According to Zeus, Delphi is the center of to world, which he discovered after releasing two eagles in opposite directions and finding that they collided at Delphi. If you ask me, it depends on where Zeus released the eagles, but I’ll let someone else bring that up with the King of the

Gods himself.  For this reason, there are several “navals” at the ancient site of Delphi. The stone statues represent the bellybutton, the center of the human body, just as Delphi is the center of the world. The statue is said to be good luck if you touch it, so we did as we were told, no point in risking it!

Delphi is also the ancient site of the oracle, who was found at the Temple of Apollo.  People would travel from far off lands to speak with the oracle and to receive a prophecy from her. The oracle was always a middle-aged woman, with a new one replacing her when she passed away. Archeologists later discovered the likely source of these prophecies… toxic gas fumes were released from the ground below where she sat. Basically, she was high! http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0814_delphioracle.html No wonder they were replacing the oracle so often! While we were there, we also saw the ancient Temple of Athena, ancient gymnasium, and did a 20km hike!! The hike was awesome. We followed the ancient path people used to get down to the sea, which wound through olive groves and a small town. And I must say, the fresh fruit we ate from the trees along the way was delicious.

Cape Sounion- Temple of Poseidon

Cape Sounion has been my favorite place on the mainland of Greece thus far. This is the location of the Temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea. It is also a very important site in regards to Greek mythology. It is said that Aegeus waited at the top of Cape Sounion for Theseus, his son, to return from Crete. Theseus had gone to Crete to slay the Minotaur. Aegeus told his son to show white sails when he returned to signal that he had been victorious and survived. If Theseus had failed and died, they were supposed to show black sails.

For one reason or another, Theseus forgot to set the white sails.  His father, Aegeus, saw the black sails and overcome with grief, jumped off the cliff and into the sea a difficult task.  This is said to be the reason why the sea below is now known as the Aegean Sea.

On a much lighter note, Cape Sounion is hands down the windiest place I have ever been! It is the southern most tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece. The bus ride there took us about an hour and a half… and was BEAUTIFUL!!

Pictures from Delphi, Syros, Cape Sounion, Santorini, and Ios for your enjoyment:

October 3, 2009. Tags: beaches, cape sounion, delphi, greek islands, oracle, ruins, syros, temple of apollo, temple of athena, temple of poseidon. Uncategorized. Leave a comment.