We woke up later than we had planned – the need for sleep catching us out. As we headed off to the surprisingly less-than-usually crowded buffet, our liner pulled alongside at Katakolon.
We spent the rest of the day at Olympia, home to the temples of Hera and Zeus, and where the Olympic Games had their genesis. A note to the casual reader: Olympia and Mount Olympus are different places.
Driving to Olympia opened our eyes: lovely country side, lush with olive groves and vegetable farms. But all along the way the evidence of the global financial crisis could be seen: garbage everywhere (garbos on strike), businesses boarded up, commercial and private houses half-built and abandoned and everywhere signs of decay. We saw communities that seem to have had their prosperity cut off mid flow. Only in the main streets of Katakolon and Olympia did things seem sort of normal – probably sustained by the tourist dollar.
It is confronting that such a nice place could become so very run down.
Chaos rules in the main street of Katakolon. Locals and tourists walk along the middle of the road, grudgingly getting out of the way when a bus rolls up behind them.
The grounds of Olympia give a hint of the ancient grandeur, the echoes of which still resonate today. Like Rome, much has been lost to the passage of time – natural disasters, changes of religion and now changes of economy.
Tonight we are dressing up for the Captains Gala: apparently a bit of a big do. By morning we should be sober and docking at Santorini.
I suppose a visit to Zorba to say "G'day" to him for me would be asking too much of you....huh?
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