We had early tickets to the Delphi Museum and Site this morning which meant an alarm going off at 7. Neil had to prod me as I slept through it! The view down the mountain was pretty and pink.
We coordinated our departure times and picked up Erin at her hotel at 8.15. it’s only a few minutes from the town to the Delphi site but already the parking was filling up. Luckily Neil found a roadside spot not far from the entrance. Our time slot tickets were for the Museum so we went there first. There is a fantastic array of finds from the site.
Ancient Delphi was a sacred religious sanctuary and city in central Greece that the ancient Greeks considered the “navel” or center of the world. Delphi was the seat of the Pythia, the high priestess of the god Apollo. The Oracle of Delphi. Kings, generals, and ordinary citizens traveled from across the ancient world to ask her cryptic prophecies regarding wars, laws and other decisions.
Many towns and cities provided offerings to the god in the shape of statues, monuments , towers and buildings and many of these have been recovered and are on display in the museum.
After an hour there we walked 300 m up a path to the entrance of the site that climbs up the hill under Mt Parnassus. There were some tour groups around but we managed to get ahead of them and enjoyed taking it all in. The view from above the ancient theatre was lovely. The weather predictions for today had said it would be very cold but it turned out much warmer than expected, we were peeling off our jackets.
After a coffee in the cafe and a visit to the museum shop we set off north. The road took us up and up over the top of the mountain and through some ski towns , which were very quiet at the season.
Eventually we wound back down the mountain on the other side where we stopped at a cafe for a light lunch of pastries. Erin fed a good proportion of her share to the several cats that decided we were a good thing!
Continuing on we passed through a toll gate and joined the new A3 motorway . It was only fully completed in July this year and is the swiftest way north through the centre of Greece.
After about an hour and a quarter I started to see the shapes of the Meteora cliffs appear in the distance. As we drew closer you started to realise how huge they are, they dwarfed the town below them.
We bypassed Kalambaka, which is the main towns near Meteora and drove on a bit to little Kastraki where our rooms were booked for tonight. Erin’s is just down the road from ours, Doupiani House. It’s a grand old building decorated in a heavy old Spanish style but they have a lovely terrace with a view up to the cliffs.
From our room we have a panoramic view of them and can see one of the famous Meteora monasteries from our balcony.
After some chill time in our room we met Erin on our hotel terrace for a drink from the bar. It’s a gorgeous spot!
After sunset we walked down into the first Taverna we passed and had another wonderful Greek meal. Very traditional this time, with roasted Fetta and a Greek cabbage salad, followed by pork souvlaki, moussaka and stuffed peppers. Washed down with a local wine. It was wonderful, I really do enjoy Greek food.
As we walked back in the dark we realised the cliffs were lit up. Not brightly, just enough to give a ghostly look. Erin thought they were a bit creepy! Tomorrow we are booked on a half day tour to visit three of the monasteries, should be very interesting!
