Oiling Up for the Olympics

 26 April 2023 - Kardamyli and Olympia

Dogs and cats in Greece love to lay on the hot pavement. When you see this you worry that the  dog is going to be run over but it never happens (almost).  They want to lay  on  the pavement because it is warm and feels good.  They  can feel and hear the traffic and will get up just in time to avoid being crushed.

A good boy taking a snooze.

Today our chariot took us to Olympia, the site of the first Olympic games.  Most  of the buildings have  been destroyed by earthquakes but some restoration has taken place.  There is also a good museum with many artifacts that were missed by the looters.

The original stadium is still here.  There were no seats, folks just sat on the grass. Everybody competed in the nude but no women were allowed.  Too bad, they would have sold more tickets.

The athletes covered themselves in olive oil and sand to prevent sunburn- SPF50.
After the event the guy would scrape off and sell the scrapings in little bottles to the suckers in the crowd as a 'strength enhancer'.  I looked in the gift shop but they were all out.

Donna at the starting line

The museum has lots of headless statues of Roman Emperors from when the Romans were running things around here.  They are headless because it was cheaper to replace the head and keep the body when a new emperor took over.

Next stop was the obligatory olive oil tasting.  Pretty good oil but not good enough to carry home.  Lots of equipment, old and new.

Now it's off to the hotel for a day of 'vacation from vacation'.  Two nights in Kardamyli and we don't have any events scheduled.  We'll just walk around the town, look out at the ocean and drink cheap wine all day.