Day 11 - 15 July Katakolo

 When we started the day we were still at sea, sailing up the west side of the Peloponnese. Reading the news it appears that Europe is in the middle of a heatwave, one that may possibly break records. And if we'd wanted to go up the Acropolis yesterday we likely would not have been successful as they shut it at midday.

So it worked out well that we didn't arrive at Katakolo (sometimes spelt Katacolon) until about midday, having spent the morning reading our books in a lounge watching the sea. Katakolo look pleasant. The bit by the marina is only three streets deep (the front is cafes, then tourist shops, then a residential street) though it turned out latter that there is much more to the north which is set back from the coast.

After a light lunch we wandered the closest streets. The shops sold pretty much exactly the same things as the shops in Athens, so we sat by the water and had a cold drink. There was a pleasant breeze from the sea.

Having thrn exhausted the pleasures of Katakolo, at least the convenient ones, we went back to the ship and read some more.

Our excursion was at 4.30, designed to miss the worst heat of the day. But it was probably still 36-38 and humid when we were bused to Olympia. This was the site of the original Olympic games, but is not anywhere near Mount Olympus - just named in its honour.

Lynn wasn't able to walk much of it as it was just so overwhelmingly hot.

Like most of these sites they have it well mapped out but there is very little left standing, largely due to earthquakes. Instead there are loose blocks, most of which were buried but have been uncovered and in some cases have been sorted or at least lined up.

Altar by the Temple of Juno, where Olympic torch is lit.

Original Olympic stadium.

We got back to the ship at about 8.30 and had a light dinner while we got underway.