We had a private tour arranged by Monica today. After we met on the ship, we walked together to the terminal area to find our guide. With a little bit effort, we found our guide with a nice Benz van for our tour. The Koningsdam docked at Katakolon which is a very small town with just a couple of streets. Therefore, we drove right pass it and on our way to Olympia.
Olympia is famous for the nearby archaeological site of the same name, which was a major Panhellenic religious sanctuary of ancient Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held. The Olympic flame of the modern-day Olympic Games is lit by reflection of sunlight in a parabolic mirror in front of the Temple of Hera and then transported by a torch to the place where the Games were held.
The archaeological site held over 70 significant buildings, and ruins of many of these survived buildings. For example, the main Temple of Zeus survives only as stones on the ground. The site is a major tourist attraction, and has two museums, one is the Archaeological Museum of Olympia and the other is Museum of the History of the Olympic Games of Antiquity. We visited both of the museums.
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| Palaistra - The training ground for athletes |
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| The Temple of Zeus |
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| Krypte - the entrance to the Stadium |
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| The Stadium |
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| Heraion - the temple dedicated to Hera |
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| Philipprion - named after Philip II |
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| The Archaeological Museum |
Then, we had our lunch in Olympia downtown. For the name sake, we had to try the Greek Salad and it was good.
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| Lunch at court yard under trees |
After lunch we visited a nearby Klio’s Honey Farm which is run by a 3rd generations beekeeper. Klio gave us a detailed explanation of bee breeding and honey collection processes. She also let us taste some of her sweet products made by the honey of her bees. It was a pleasant learning experience about bee, honey and typical Greek farm living. We also tried jam made from the Quince fruit which was the 1st time we had ever see this fruit.
Then we drove to a local monastery Moni Kremastis (meaning “Hanging Monastery”) which is a Greek Orthodox monastery. Our guide told us that it is a non-funding monastery with only handful of nuns living there. It is almost hanging from the side of a mountain and it offers panoramic views of the stunning landscape. According to legend, some local shepherds noticed a light beaming from a hole in the rock one night. The residents tied a man with a rope and lowered him into the hole where he discovered an icon of the Virgin Mary hanging from the ceiling of the cave. The mysterious discovery of the religious symbol was inexplicable to the residents. Considered a sign of God, they built a monastery inside that very cave.
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| The Monastery Moni Kremastis - Hanging Monastery |
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| Panoramic views of the stunning landscape |
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| The bell of Moni Kremastis |
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| Panoramic views of the stunning landscape |
On the way back to the ship, our guide also stopped by a local beach - Agios Andreas, to gave us a peek of Greek beach and had some photos.
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| Agios Andreas Beach |
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| Agios Andreas Beach |
This was our first excursion and it was very enjoyable.
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