Olympia

It's getting harder and harder to wake up early as the cruise goes on... We didn't go ashore to Katokolon, Greece till 10am, some three hours after we arrived. What's at Katakolon, you ask? Nothing. All the guides describe it as a "sleepy town." What it has in its favor, however, is the fact that it's the closest port to Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics. Even today the flame for the Olympics is lit at Olympia and carried to wherever it is to be held.

The first order of business for the day was finding some breakfast, as we had decided to eat it on shore today. More specifically, I wanted to find a bakery. We'd discovered early that we really like the pastries that could be found in Greek pastries, and when we finally found one, we were not disappointed.

After that, we rented a car and drove to Olympia, which was some 39km away. Of all the major archeological sites we've visited so far, Olmpia feels the least preserved. All that's left are the foundations and a few columns. On the plus side, there's a sense of calmness and serenity here. It could be the fact that there were trees all around, or that we arrived after the morning tourist hordes and left before the afternoon tourist hordes, or some combination of the two, but I definitely felt a lot more at ease here.

The funnest fact I learn today was about the Zanes - statues to Zeus constructed with the fine an athlete had to pay if he was caught cheating. Their name would be carved into the statue's base, along with his crime. There were sixteen of these before the entrance to the stadium as a warning to others.