September 20, 2012
Each day gets more and more unbelievable with the sights, sounds, foods and people of Greece. This morning we left Delphi en route to the Peloponnese Peninsula. A quick coffee break at a roadside café where once again I had baklava. Later in the morning we boarded a cog railroad for an hour ride through a gorge. The train engineer was a hoot! He laughed the entire trip and encouraged us to sit up front with him to get great pictures. It was musical chairs as one person came and sat next to him and then changed places with the next person. At times the train went through some fairly tight spots and we wondered if it would make it through without scraping the rocky sides. |
After an hour or so exploring the little village at the end of the
tracks it was back onto the bus. Next stop was somewhere in the middle of the mountains where we feasted on fresh spring water trout for lunch. Colin demonstrated how to properly fillet a trout using my plate as an example. I must admit, it was interesting to say the least eating two fried trout still with their heads on and little eyeballs staring up at me. Lunch was under umbrellas, and next to a stream. The dappled sunlight streamed through the tree branches. So beautiful. The landscape of Greece is not what I imagined it would be like. The amount of mountains was the biggest surprise. |
Late in the afternoon we arrived in the mountain village of Dimitsana. As the group checked into Hotel
Dimitsana Colin busied himself preparing a picnic dinner for us out on the lower deck of the hotel. It was our job to bring beverages and beverages did we have! Everyone walked to the center of the village to purchase wine, ouzo and soda. Dad and I walked around taking pictures and I turned around at one point and walking toward us was a priest. During our bus rides Colin had taught us some Greek words like hello and thank you. He encouraged us to interact with locals during our trip, so we decided to say “Yassas” or hello to the priest. In return he said “Yassas” and asked us about our travels. Just a minute or two of conversation and he was off to the church, but not before I could take his picture. Back at the hotel we shared the greatest picnic dinner of fresh Greek food and drink. The funniest thing was at the start of the meal, Colin asked Trevor if he wanted the honor of cutting the cheese (for the salad). The entire group erupted into laughter. Once again we enjoyed a fun and delicious meal together. This truly is turning into a trip of a lifetime. |