This was our last night in Greece cruising the Saronic Gulf off Athens. Here is a series of photos of our last sunset and memory of Greece (since we departed at 2:00 AM the next morning).

Hydra Island was one of the most colorful places I saw in Greece. This quaint little town nestled on a small harbor was a treat for the eye. The residents took pride in their city and it was absolutely spotless (even with a city of mules) – read the next post. Here are some of the colors of Hydra.

Hydra has been named after the Island’s plentiful waters, which gushed from the founts that existed in the ancient times. Historians mention the island by the name Hydrea. The first residents of the island where called Dryopes. Hydra was used as a service station for the Greek navy, and as a result, it starred in the sea commerce with neighboring countries and in communications. Towards the end of the 18th century, Hydra was blooming in export trade and commerce. It was that time which people of Hydra took advantage of the English-French war and earned for themselves great profits, by controlling the sea commerce. (web).

This little quaint island prohibits private vehicles. The only way around the island is on a mule. This island is quiet and peaceful. It was the only place in Greece I saw where I would like to go and not be found.

Arriving at the harbor.

Taxi?

Oh God, not another tourist.

View of the town square.

I happened to catch this cool video scene out on Greek island cruise. Check it out.

On our last day in Greece we took a three island tour out of Athens in the Saronic Gulf. We visited Aegina, Poros, the finally Hydra.

Our scow – the Giorgis.

Large liner in the harbor.

High speed ferry boat.

More ferries.

Hydrofoil ferry service.

Catamaran ferry service.

Perfect seas.

This sunset was observed on the beach on the Ionian Sea near Patras.

The Greeks take their ancient ruins very seriously. Much of the city of Athens was built many years ago before any concern for antiquity was raised. Nowadays, if a builder wishes to tear down an existing site and construct a new building, archeologists must be called in if any ruins are discovered during the building process. A large set of ruins were discovered at this site so the city required that the builder alter their construction plans. The building was built over the ruins with viewing ports along the sidewalk and in front.

This new bank was built over the ruins in this cave.

There you are.

Komboloi or Worry Beads are considered to be a form of therapy for so many Greeks living and working in today’s fast-paced world. From quitting smoking, to stopping their over-eating problem, Komboloi Worry beads have aided millions with ventilating the daily pressures and stresses. Komboloi have also become a symbol of Greek pride, as they are hanged in the home, office, car or any other place, for luck, decoration, and their sentimental value.
(stolen from the web)

Everywhere you go, people are spinning or counting these beads.They ought to put Prozac in the water instead of selling beads. It will chill out the populace – and help the Greeks drive better.

Yup, it’s beads!

If that was my wife I’d play with beads too.

It was my observation that there are virtually no Black people in Greece. The only ones I saw were most likely undocumented aliens from Africa selling their wares on the street in the Plaka (old part of Athens). They would display their wares (purses, wallets, belts, etc.) on a sheet on the sidewalk and wait for the police to arrive and chase them. They would quickly package up their goods in the sheet, throw it over their shoulder and run as a group down the street like a bunch of Black Santas. No one was ever arrested or taken away – apparently it was just the thrill of the chase. I saw this happen several times and finally got the opportunity to take a few photos of the action.

Displaying their goods all watching the police van at the arrow.

Let the chase begin.

Ho ho ho.

Area cleared out by the cops. Good job Athens PD.

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the great museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from the Greek antiquity worldwide. Here are some of my favorite objects.

Say that one more time about my hat and I am going to sock you.

Feed me!

A face only a mother could love.

Dammit, I knew I should have left the guard on the saw.

I told you I’m cold.

I’m watching you.

Henny Youngman in Greece – “Take my wife, please!”

Monty Python in Greece – Walk this way.

I used to date this girl.

Silent scream.

Pan trying to get some action.

Who snipped off my action?

Dammit, I want my action back NOW!

The dramatic coastal location of Soúnio (Cape Sounion), 5.5 miles south of Athens, was an ideal spot for a Temple of Poseidon, god of the sea. Standing atop sheer cliffs that tumble into the Aegean Sea, the gleaming marble of the Temple of Poseidon has been a landmark for mariners from ancient times to today.

Soúnio has been a sacred site since very ancient times. The “sanctuary of Sounion” is first mentioned in the Odyssey, as the place where Menelaus stopped during his return from Troy to bury his helmsman, Phrontes Onetorides.

Archaeological evidence has shown that there were two organized places of worship on the cape by the 7th century BC: a sanctuary of Poseidon at the southern edge and a sanctuary of Athena about 500 m to the northeast.

Construction on a grand Temple of Poseidon began around 500 BC but was never completed; the temple and all the votive offerings were destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. The Temple of Poseidon that now stands at Soúnio was built in 444 BC atop the older temple ruins. The Temple of Athena was also built at this time, atop her ancient sanctuary on the cape.
The sanctuaries began to decline from the 1st century BC onwards. Pausanias, who sailed along the coast around 150 AD, wrongly believed the prominent temple on the hill was the Temple of Athena.

Modern travellers visited Sounion long before excavations started on the site, including Lord Byron in 1810. Systematic excavations began on the site in 1897 and continue today. (Stolen from the web)

High on the hill overlooking the sea.

Columns.

Who dat?

More temple.

The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland and therefore effectively making the former an island. The canal is 6.3 kilometre in length and was built between 1881 and 1893.

Map.

Google earth view.

Okay, I didn’t take this one.

I would have liked to have taken this one.

Nafplion in the Peloponnese in Greece, is a seaport town that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf (Argolikos Bay). The town was the capital of Greece from 1829 to 1834. Nafplion, with a population of (13,822) is the capital of the prefecture of Argolis and the province of Nafplion.

Quaint city center. Had lunch here where the waiter just brought us food – wonderful.

Colors of Nafplio.

Fort at the top of the hill.

Military site in the bay.

The impressive Rio-Antirio bridge is located to the north of the city of Patras and links Peloponnese to mainland Greece. It was completed in August 2004.

Map.

Bridge from afar.

More bridge.

Even more bridge.

Close and personal.

The asclepieion at Epidaurus was the most celebrated healing center of the Classical world, the place where ill people went in the hope of being cured. To find out the right cure for their ailments, they spent a night in the enkoimitiria, a big sleeping hall. In their dreams, the god himself would advise them what they had to do to regain their health. Found in the sanctuary, there was a guest house for 160 guestrooms. There are also mineral springs in the vicinity which may have been used in healing.

Asklepios, the most important healer god of antiquity, brought prosperity to the sanctuary, which in the 4th and 3rd century BC embarked on an ambitious building program for enlarging and reconstruction of monumental buildings. Fame and prosperity continued throughout the Hellenistic period. In 87 BC the sanctuary was looted by the Roman general Sulla, and in 67 BC, it was plundered by pirates. In the 2nd century AD, the sanctuary enjoyed a new upsurge under the Romans, but in AD 395 the Goths raided the sanctuary.

Even after the introduction of Christianity and the silencing of the oracles, the sanctuary at Epidauros was still known as late as the mid 5th century, although as a Christian healing center. (Wikipedia)

Fantastic acoustics.

Located roughly one-half mile from the main concentration of buildings at Delphi, Athena Pronaia was the gateway to Delphi. The site, having been occupied since the Neolithic Period (5000-3000 BCE) and later by the Mycenaeans, may actually predate Delphi as a sacred place. Originally dedicated to the worship of an Earth Goddess, the shrine was eventually occupied by Olympian deities, Athena in particular. Athena’s shrine stood near the entrance to Apollo’s; hence the epithet ‘of the fore-shrine’, which is confirmed by inscriptions. Athena Pronaia, ‘Athena before the Temple’, was also called, by a sort of pun, Athena Pronoia, ‘Athena of forethought.’ This site was also a training camp for the athletes competing in the Delphi games.

Temple and grounds.

Delphi is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. His sacred precinct in Delphi was a Panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games. Delphi was revered throughout the Greek world as the site of the omphalos stone, the centre of the earth and the universe.

Delphi is perhaps best-known for the oracle at the sanctuary that became dedicated to Apollo during the classical period. With origins in prehistoric times and the worship of Gaia, in the last quarter of the 8th century BC there is a steady increase of artifacts found at the settlement site in Delphi. Pottery and bronze work as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in comparison to Olympia. Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for worshipers of a wide range, but the strong representation of high value goods, found in no other mainland sanctuary, certainly encourages that view.

The priestess of the oracle at Delphi was known as the Pythia. Apollo spoke through his oracle, who had to be an older woman of blameless life chosen from among the peasants of the area. The sibyl or prophetess took the name Pythia and sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth. When Apollo slew Python, its body fell into this fissure, according to legend, and fumes arose from its decomposing body. Intoxicated by the vapors, the sibyl would fall into trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. She spoke in riddles, which were interpreted by the priests of the temple, and people consulted her on everything from important matters of public policy to personal affairs. (Don’t you love Wikipedia)

Delphi – high in the mountains.

Road leading up to the Oracle.

Treasury of Delphi. Offerings to the Oracle were kept here.

Temple columns.

Oracle sitting on her tripod with her supplicant.

Oracle stone believed to have three holes for the tripod as well as a larger hole for the “special gas” to come through for the Oracle to breath (stoned is the real word).

Temple of Delphi. The Oracle stone was where the arrow is.

Amphitheater.

Race track for the Pythian Games.

The omphalos stone – the belly button of the earth.

These are my favorite pieces from the museum at Delphi.

Looks rather Eqyptian.

Sphinx-like?

I should have listened not to play with the hatchet.

Burned at the stake.

The hatchet thing again.

I am a watcher of the Daily Show on the Comedy Channel in the states and was quite impressed that there is an international edition of the show running on CNN in Europe. It is in english and is presentations of older shows.

Aljazeera is also present on the cable system along with BBC World News. With these three networks and/or shows, the Europeans are getting all sides of a world issues instead of just one American corporate side. How refreshing.

Daily Show on CNN.

Aljazeera.

A few years ago some Greek legislator thought it would be a good safety issue if all showers in hotels had an emergency switch that someone could pull to notify the front desk that they had fallen and couldn’t get up. So every shower had this switch installed but with varying lengths of string on the switch. The problem was that if you fell how could you pull the string to operate the switch. This law was eventually changed, but all hotel renovations in the last 10 – 20 years have this in every shower and the switches are still there. My first time in one of these showers I kept pulling the string hoping it would turn on the overhead fan. It didn’t. I guess I was only annoying the manager on the first floor.

I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.

Fresh fish is a big deal in Greece. Such a big deal that there are still street level fish mongers who drive up and down the streets of Kalambaka with super loud PA systems yelling our their wares. I first thought it was a political demonstration since we were advised that the Greeks start as many public demonstrations as the French. The second time I heard this noise I went out to discover this guy in a truck selling fish. Upon hearing his call, people would come out from their upper story apartments and yell to the guy what they wanted. He would package it and run up to their apartment. With this real old-school method I figured it might work in other areas. So I sat out on the sidewalk waiting for the cart to come by with a guy yelling “Bring out your dead.” I guess I’ve seen too many Monty Python movies for my own good.

His fish must have been fresh since his truck didn’t stink.

We found this little church at the top of the hill in the city of Delphi. As we were walking by, the call to worship went out. Click below to hear the bells.

Click here to hear the bells.

Many of the bars in Greece are quite different than we would expect in the states. Sure there are the local hole in the wall places servicing only locals, but if they have the space, a relaxed living room setting is the ticket. These two bars were in Thessaloniki along the water front. In Greece you can find a comfortable chair, have one drink and stay all night. No one will chase you out if you are a cheap customer.

It was raining that day, but it didn’t matter.

I little more comfy.

The Metéora (“suspended rocks”, “suspended in the air” or “in the heavens above”) is one of the largest and most important complex of monasteries in Greece, second only to Mount Athos. The monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Peneios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece. The Metéora is home to six monasteries and is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Only way you could get there was to mountain climb with ropes.

Elephant rock.

Enclave built in the side of this huge rock.

Perched high so invaders could not reach you.

Didn’t get to visit this one.

Visited this one, but not allowed to take photos inside.

This was amazing to see.

View of Kalambaka from the monastery.

View of the monastery from Kalambaka.

Electricity in Greece is very expensive so all of the hotels have installed a unique system to make sure that when you are not in the room, no electricity is being used. Each room key has a heavy weighted magnet attached that you install into a special switch as you enter your room. This switch controls the main circuit breaker for the room and turns on the juice for the room. Instead of keeping the key during your stay, they request you leave the key at the hotel desk. Americans would never stand for a system like this. Leaving the television and every light on when leaving a hotel room is the name of the game in the states.

Magnetic key actuating the main circuit breaker.

This one used a credit card type key.

This key was huge.