THURSDAY 21ST – KATAKOLON (OLYMPIA)

A short day today. We got under way at 3:00pm and are heading for Piraeus, the port for Athens at which we will arrive tomorrow morning. It must be a far way because we are doing 20 knots which is unusually fast having regard to the pace at which we normally travel. The weather is brilliant and the sea calm.

 

Katakolon was pleasant enough as a Greek port but had nothing to offer in its own right. It is a 45 minute drive from there to Olympia, the scene of the first Olympic games around 600 BC and numerous games thereafter.

It is a typical archaeological site with lots of old bits of carved rock lying around. The site is located within a village of the same name but the village is relatively modern with no hint of the village which presumably existed when the games venue was originally established.

The excursion was a typically well organized Holland America excursion with one exception. After the guided tour at the olympic venue, we had half an hour of free time to wander. We then walked to the village where we had 50 minutes of free time!! We would have preferred to spend the additional free time in the archaeological site. Fortunately we found a very interesting Archimedes Museum in which to entertain ourselves.
 

What did make an impression on the way to Olympia was the rubbish – great piles of it dumped by the roadside with no apparent attempt being made to remove it. Hard to believe but it was there. Hopefully we will see no more of that at the iconic Greek islands we will be visiting after Athens.