Day Six -- Delphi

Matt and I both like to explore places before the crowds descend. We were up early to get to Delphi. Our hotel had no warm water for showers and the breakfast was dismal. Great view....but the rest leaves something to be desired. We were not sad to check out. We found parking near the site of Ancient Delphi and were the first in line when the gates opened. Waiting behind us was a bus of French high school students. We began our ascent through the ruins. Ancient Delphi is on the side of a very steep hill....sigh. But the views are gorgeous. We found the navel of the world (replica)...

 

....walked past the Treasury of the Athenians...

 

...found what was left of the impressive Temple of Zeus where the oracle sat.

 

We continued up the hill to the theatre.

 

Finally, we made it to the stadium at the very top. It had been sprinkling for most of our journey through the site. It made our descent down a bit slippery. We made our way to the museum to join bus loads of people snapping photos left and right.

 

The crowning piece of the museum is a bronze charioteer, saved from looting due to an earthquake.

 

We got to our rental car as the rain began and headed for Meteora. Beginning in the 11th century hermit monks lived in the caves of the striking rock formations. In the 14th century, when Turks were invading Greece, the monks sought safe haven on the top of the rocks, accessible by removable ladders. There are now six monasteries you can visit. I studied Google Maps and regretfully informed Matt that we had a day of switchbacks ahead of us. Sharing the road with semis, rain pouring down, effervescent yellow flowers lining the side of the road, Matt's iPod tunes pumping through the sound system we steadily made our way north. After a couple hours I started getting grumpy and diva-like so Matt stopped at a roadside restaurant. Inside we found a young woman who spoke no English and we don't speak Greek. It appeared that the cook had left. We bought a bag of Cheetos and two cokes and got back on the road. We arrived in Meteora around 2:30 p.m. No one was at the reception desk. Matt wandered through the hotel until he found a maid who handed us a key. Our hope was to see the Moni Agias Triados (Monastery of the Holy Trinity) this afternoon because it is closed on Thursdays. Women must have their shoulders covered and wear a skirt below the knee. Men must have their shoulders covered and wear long pants. We made sure we were appropriately attired and went out to jump in the car. Yiannis, the owner of the hotel had returned and so we asked him about laundry. He said, If you bring it down immediately we will do it for you." He didn't have to tell us twice. I have been fretting over how I would do laundry. I told Yiannis that we were headed to Holy Trinity. He seemed surprised. He warned us that it was going to rain but when he looked at the determination on my face he said, "Why not?" "Exactly," I said. We jumped into the car and headed for Holy Trinity. Meteora is absolutely other-worldly.

 

Holy Trinity is the least visited monastery, which is why I wanted to go. When I saw how far I had to go down...

 

and how far I had to climb up, I heard Yiannis warning in my ears...but I was already committed.

 

We made it to the monastery by 3:30 just as it was beginning to rain. The women in front of us had to put on loaner skirts to be allowed inside. There are no photos allowed inside the monasteries. We saw where, once upon a time, monks were lifted up the hill in a net and we visited the Chapel. Only two monks currently live at Holy Trinity. While we were there it began to pour. We waited out the worst of it and headed back down. It is an absolutely amazing sight and we stopped around every corner to take more photos. 

 

We got back to the car around 4:30 and decided to head over to Moni Agiou Stefanou (Monastery of St. Stephen). It was open until 5:30 p.m. and the most easily accessible. 

 

St. Stephen is now a nunnery and most of the nuns look like tourists are their least favorite people. The Chapel is amazing. Currently, a hagiographer is repainting the icons in the Chapel and it is stunning. Matt was taken by the depiction of the Second Coming. He bought a copy of it, otherwise I wouldn't be able to show it to you.

 

We left St. Stephen and drove slowly down the hill, stopping to take more photos.

 

By the time we returned to town, we were beyond hungry. We stopped at a restaurant that serves traditional Greek stews. We were taken back into the kitchen and allowed to inspect each possibility. We each chose a stew and went back to sit outside. The food was amazing...well worth the wait. We left in the rain to return to our hotel. We enjoyed the wi-fi and catching up on our journals. Yiannis delivered a laundry basket of clean laundry at 9:30 p.m.