The day broke bright and clear, sunny and cool. We were arriving at the port of Katakolon in Western Peloponnesus, our gateway to Olympia, and we were especially glad to see that there were no cruise ships in port, so we would have Olympia to ourselves!
After docking, we transferred by bus to Olympia, driving through a beautiful lush green landscape and traversing the fertile plain of Ilis, cultivated with corn and lots of different fruit. When we arrived at Olympia we started our visit from the ancient sanctuary of Zeus, the place where the Olympic Games took place for almost 1200 years. The ruins of the sanctuary are found amidst a pleasant well-shaded grove. In this place the ancient Greeks from all over the world came to worship Zeus every four years, and remember that no matter where they lived they were Greeks. The festival was an opportunity to communicate, to learn what was new, but above all to get together in peace to be reminded that despite distances or difficulties, Greeks shared the same identity, had common ancestors, spoke the same language, worshiped the same Gods, and were of the same stock.
The Olympic stadium is an amazing structure, very simple without seats (spectators sat on the ground), large (for 40,000 spectators) and it was very moving just thinking that this festival of peace and unity took place there for over a thousand years.
We continued our visit with the amazing museum which houses unique works of art like the monumental pediment of the Temple of Zeus, surviving in excellent condition. We saw the statue of Hermes of Praxiteles, the par excellence Greek statue. We saw mementos from the Battle of Marathon like the helmet of Athenian general Miltiades, who won the battle, and many other exquisite artifacts.
Returning to Katakolon we sailed immediately, and after a delicious lunch the sails went up. Winds were strong and sailing was smooth, and the speed increased to over 7 knots. Later, Max and Ian gave us a lot of useful information on how to photograph with our iPhones, smart phones and tablets, and when conditions were favorable (or “on the edge”) Max flew the drone to photograph and video the Sea Cloud with the sails full of wind. The evening continued with cocktails, a superb Greek buffet, and another beautiful day came to an end with Max showing a glimpse of the footage that he had captured with the drone that afternoon.
