What a perfect first shore day for us! We docked at 7:30 Sept 29 in the small Greek town of Katakolon. As the cruise ship gateway to Ancient Olympia, its existence relies solely in the tourist trade, and the massive cruise ships seem to dwarf the two streets that are lined exclusively with shops for passengers.
As mentioned in my previous blog post, instead of booking a tour off the boat, I had researched a local business and organised for a car to meet us at the dock. Our new Aussie friends Jenny and Mark joined us and made the trip totally affordable, at a cost of €160 instead of a similar deal for $US799! We were off the boat early, and on the road to Ancient Olympia at 8:20, well before a lot of the groups (Although there were still swathes of tourists there already when we arrived around 9:00am.)
The light was lovely, though I'm still really only managing to capture snapshots as opposed to making any photos. It wasn't too hot either, and we all enjoyed the historic significance of being at Olympia. A visit to the museum afterwards proved what clever and creative people the ancient Greeks were. The artefacts were interesting even to a non-museum person like me.
Our driver Maria then suggested we visit a local winery, the Olympia Land Estate. What a treat that turned out to be! A small boutique winery only 7 years old, and although well set up to serve the tourist, it maintained a sense of authenticity and intimacy. After an explanation and tour, we sat down to a tasting and a delicious tasting plate, all from the gardens of the winery. All 5 wines were delicious and resulted in purchases...
(As a side note, we are not meant to bring wine on board to imbibe during the journey. Muggins me pulled my bottle out when boarding knowing it would be stowed until the end of the cruise. My ballsy mother let hers go through the X-ray machine, and brought it back to the room undetected!)
We were then dropped in the small town of Olympia for shopping. Olympia basically closes from late October until early April when the cruise ships are no longer around. The shops were delightfully touristy, but we decided to sit down for some lunch even though I know both Mum and I would have happily shopped on. We ordered Greek salads, and we're very happy with them. Yum!
It was then back to Katakolon in the taxi. We were wrapt to have free wifi in the taxi, and probably spent too much time looking at our screens than out the windows! The landscape was nothing special though, and after noting the similarities and differences with home, we all went back to getting our digital fixes. It was totally the best idea for us to go the private route on this day. We loved our driver and the flexibility she afforded us, and tipped her accordingly.
I then spent 45 mins in the township by myself looking for phots, before returning to the ship for. 3:30 departure.
It's now 9:15 Greek Time; already my birthday in NZ... Not sure how I feel about that! But we have a few things planned to mark the auspicious occasion... And I'm sure there will be tales to tell tomorrow...
Awesome photo's already!! thanks for sharing your adventures and Happy Birthday!
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