Trucker Strike in Greece

It was overcast this morning as we headed to Delphi. I was glad for a cool morning. The archeological site of Delphi is on the side of a hill. It is steep and surrounded by mountains. When our guide had finished giving us her spiel she gave us 50 minutes to make it to the theater and the stadium. I figured that was surely enough time for me to take my crippled knee and walk up the side of the hill. It was arduous for me. Part way up I asked a man from our bus if the hike up was worth it. "Depends," he said and kept on walking. I'm not quite sure what it depends on but I thought it was worth the hike. I was late back to meet the travel guide. Oh well....the story of my trip.

The museum at Delphi was our next stop and filled with treasures found at that site. I saw pieces I recognized from books. It definitely is a different experience to see them up close and to see the place where they were found.

The rest of the day was spent on the road to Kalambaka, at the north end of central Greece. We are now at a hotel underneath the Monasteries at Meteora. I read that at one time there were 24 monasteries perched on the top of the unusual rock formations around us. There are only six left: five inhabited by men and one with women. No more than 10 people live in any one of them. It used to be that people had to climb a rope ladder to get to the top or to be pulled up in a net. Tomorrow we will visit two and we will drive up to them in large tourist buses. My but time changes. Male tourists are required to wear long pants and women must wear skirts and have their shoulders covered. If women show up without a skirt they will give you a loaner for your visit. Luckily I brought a skirt so I don't have to wear a "loaner skirt."

I had never heard of the Monasteries of Meteora until I started doing travel research on Greece. I told Bryan that it was one of the places I really wanted to go. I will let you know if it was worth it after I have visited. I am a bit nervous about it because our guide told us today that it looks like the truckers strike will be ramped up tomorrow. The plan is for the truckers to block most of the main thoroughfares. She wants us to see the monasteries and get on the road as soon as possible. Our itinerary calls for us to leave Friday morning on a cruise of the Greek islands. It may be no problem or I may get a sermon illustration out of it.