Our day starts beautifully with a stop for a swim off Sea Cloud in the Ionian Sea. The water was perfect and the sea was calm. Afterwards, Jose gave a lecture on the basics of photography and we spent the rest of the morning reading and relaxing. We eventually came along side in the port of Katakolon on the western coast of the Peloponnese and after lunch we set off for our visit to Olympia.
After a short ride though the lush green landscape we reached the area where the great sanctuary of Zeus was. There, every four years, they had a great festival and the Greeks from all over came to worship. It was a great opportunity for them to come together (no matter where they lived) to be reminded that they belonged to the same race, had the same ancestors, spoke the same language, worshipped the same gods and shared a common ethnic Identity. This was a celebration of unity and peace. During this festival they also held athletic contests, the Olympic Games, which were held in this area from 776 B.C. to 394 A.D.
We visited the beautiful archeological museum which houses wonderful finds from the site of Olympia. Some of the best works of classical art are the pediments of the Temple of Zeus.
Our wonderful day ended with a delicious Greek buffet dinner and star-gazing with John on the Spanker deck.
