Mount Olympus, Home of the Gods 6/09/08 Day 51

Day 51 (slide show)

I woke early I guess because I was either excited or nervous. I think both; I felt I was doing something very important in this adventure around the world. But on the other hand I kept asking myself, why did Constantinos ask me if I had a helmet. Well enough of that kind of thinking, I have climbed many mountains and sure I could have used a helmet now and again but I'll be alright.

Breakfast was at about 8am and was just as nice as the great dinner we had. I was able to get some nice pictures of this beautiful Hotel Dimatis we were staying at. Constantinos got a tip from his girlfriend Effie on the place and she was right.

We got on the road at about 9am for about an hour drive on a dirt road which was pretty rough on Nikolas' car. Of course we had a lot of weight in it too. As I mentioned yesterday we wanted to go up a little known route on the northwest side of the mountain. The popular way to get up the mountain is on the east side starting from the small town of Litochoro then you drive to Prionia and start the climb from there. That is a much easier route I'm told where the trail is well packed from the Mules that supply the Refuges. You can even get yourself a ride on one of these Mules if you want to pay for it. I'm sure there is a little humiliation that comes with that price. When we reached our spot for the climb we parked the car on the side of the dirt road and started to get our packs ready. Nikolas is worried about the goats going after his car. He said he has some scratches from their horns from another trip on the back door. I think I would worry about the Bull we saw a few hundred meters back. This seems to be a grazing area.

Now I don't know what I was expecting the trail to look like but I did expect a trail. Forget that, Nicolas looks at his GPS and starts to walk over to this dry streambed and says "We will go up here" and then I asked the dumb question. "Isn't there a sign showing the trail" Nikolas looked back and smiled. "No sign and we are on the trail." Now I'm excited, this is going to be an adventure.

There is a reason why we had 3 GPS units, 2 maps of the mountain and 2 compasses. This is not your typical mountain with ravines and washes that come straight off the peaks. Here you have lots of twist and turns in the drainage and the rock is very old and craggy. Lots of shale rock which is very loose. As we proceeded up the streambed the boulders became so large that it took several moves just to get over or around each one and then there was the problem of the logs and debris everywhere.

Constantinos and Nikolas were always checking each other on the direction to head. I didn't see any trail markings through this area at all and Constantinos keep saying we should see something soon. After about 1 hr up the stream Nikolas pointed to the right and said "We need to be over there." As I looked up at this 100M face I grabbed my water hose from my Camelback and swallowed. We worked our way around to where the wall became a 40M face and then up we went. Even though the wall wasn't that high the streambed was now a long way down a steep slope so as I cleared the wall I thought that I had just accomplished a pretty good section. Then I started to look around. Everywhere is steep and craggy. There was loose rock everywhere. Then I saw the Sentry. I have a picture of it. The shadow in the rocks gives the impression that there is this big monster Sentry guarding the place. I just smiled and thought I'm ready for this; this is going to be fun.

The next section was not as steep but still through lots of small shrubs and trees. Still no trail marking that I saw but my two Athenian bloodhounds told me we were going the right direction. Every time I looked up the mountain became more ominous and menacing. Soon we came to a small flat area at the base of a very large bowl. This is the backside of the mountain you could tell. No wonder no one comes this way I thought. Then just as the words were flowing through my little pea brain we came upon a small group of climbers. "Lunch time" Constantinos tells me. I was ready for a break too. The other climbers had come up a different route then we did but still a difficult one and we were all going to the high ridge we could just see above us. Nikolas had been talking to them and after a few words came over to me and pointed up the face of the bowl we were in and said "there is the trail, up and over that ridge." As I looked up I knew that everything I had done previous on that day was nothing compared to what I was to face. All I could say is "What trail, I don't see anything." Constantinos comes over and tells me that we will camp over on the other side of the ridge. I asked "up there?" As we started out the other group of climbers who were taking a long break started to get ready but we were way ahead of them before they started. This group had a couple of strong climbers though because they were catching Constantinos and me fast. Nikolas is a strong climber and held his own. Both of my new friends are good climbers and I'm sure glad I was invited to come along with them.

After about 4hr of some steep rock climbing with 15kg on my back and no protection we made it to the top of the ridge. I just sat and drank water, I was tired. "Hey would you guy's stop pulling the ropes up before I get there" I said. Nikolas said "No ropes, No protection just 1200m between you and the bottom." There is a small monument on this ridge of rocks that the climbers add to when they pass. It gives you a chance to admire the unbelievable view of the Plateau of the Muses, which is named after the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. >From this view you look almost due east where you can see two refuges. Litohoro Alpine Club which is straight away and to the left you can see the larger shelter of Yiosos Apostolides, at 2,760 Meters. The shelter is named after the climber who founded it; he was killed accidentally by a falling rock as he was climbing up to the peak of Myticas. That's why you need a helmet.

We were not able to secure sleeping arrangements at the Litohoro Refuge but we knew it was a busy weekend and camping in our tents is preferred anyway. The plateau had several tents pitched close by so we picked a good spot and got to it. The wind was down and light but it was starting to get cold. My watch says 14c and going down. Constantinos has this MSR 4season furytent that he got at a discount and I think it looks pretty good for the price he paid but he hates it because it takes to long to set up. It seems he always struggles with it. I asked him how many times he has set it up and he said just a few times or something like that. "You need more practice, go to a park when the wind is up and set it up there." I told him. "You need to get to where you can set it up in the dark." He just growled, I think he was to cold to here anything about the tent. We all were wining about something at this point. After setting up camp, which was hard because my lags were burning we walked over to the Litohoro which looks like it sleeps about 25 or 30 if you pack everyone tight. There were a lot of climbers mulling about. They have almost everything you would want to buy there. They have wine and wine and food and wine. It was fun and I meet some great folks from all over. The person in charge was a Greek climber who had worked on Mt. Rainier in the state of Washington which I have climbed. He also had climbed on Everest so when he heard I was there he was kind enough to come over and exchange a few short stories. He was very busy though trying to get everyone's food and drinks. When we made it back to our camp, about 300m away, we started cooking our own dinner. To our delight we had a Constantinos special. It was some kind of spaghetti crap with hard dried bread and some soup. I loved it even though I almost broke my tooth on the bread. There is a quick note here. A few days ago I had looked all over Athens for a can of fuel for my stove. My friend Elpida finally found a store that had the right type of nozzle on the top, the screw on type. Well it looked right at the time so I bought two. There is a plastic cap on the top so I didn't want to rip it off and of course it didn't have any threads on it. So I carried a can up the mountain and left another at Mahe house. "Somethings Wrong." (Junior Watson) Now Nikolas tells me they are hard to find in Greece. Good thing he had an extra small one I could use. After dinner we went back to the refuge for some wine to wash down the bread. That's when Constantinos said it was a week old. I was glad to get in the bag that night. I didn't even feel the rocks I was sleeping on. What a great day

Off to Mt Olympus 5/09/08 Day 50

Day 50  

Well I had a hard time sleeping last night. There are so many details to think about. I realized that I had packed all my cold weather gear in the “Wheely Beast” and took it to the airport. What an idiot. It’s been warm everywhere I’ve been, of course not on the Everest Base Camp trek, but I have been in shorts and sandals. What can I say? I left Mahe’s house early for the airport again to see if I could track down my bag. I knew where I had left it in the warehouse and with a little luck I could sneak in there and dig out my hooded pullover and a snow hat with gloves. After making it to the airport in record time I jumped in a cab and there I am. All the warehouse employee’s were working away and they didn’t even look at me. I walked straight to my bag got out what I needed and sealed it back up. I had a feeling I would need to get this if not for Olympus then in Croatia or Prague. After I left the Swiss Port warehouse I went to Gold Air to let them know what I had done and they said go ahead over to Swiss port and tell them what you need. I just left because it was too hard to communicate anyway no since tell them I already had what I needed.

I was very lucky to meet Constantinos Gofas because I would not have had someone experience with the mountain to go with. I would have been alright but it is always better when climbing to have a partner. Another good thing is his friend Nikolas Anastassopoulos has charted a little know route up the backside where we shouldn’t run into so many people. I’m very excited. Nikolas who is driving and Constantinos will pick me up at a designated metro stop that I haven’t been to yet but I don’t foresee any problems. They want me to meet them at 6pm for a 5 hour drive to a hotel then tomorrow we start to climb.

I have to pack only what I can carry all the way to Prague. I always pack too much and I did here too just like on Everest. In this picture you can see what I did. The bag I have in my hand has my boats and some food in it. O’ also the remainder of the Resitine Wine from the other night. I couldn’t just pour it out and Mahe doesn’t like it that much. I was at the meeting point at 5:30pm and everything went smooth. We are off to Mt. Olympus. I can’t wait, and Nikolas gave me all the details of the climb during the drive.

About 10pm Constantinos called the hotel to make sure we had the correct directions and it turned out we were still 2 hours away. They told him they would keep the kitchen open for us and come on. Now that’s service. I have no excuses but because I was running to the airport the past couple of days I hadn’t had time to clean up since the 2 minute shower I had before dinner the other night. I knew I was stinking up the back seat but I wasn’t sure how bad until we arrived at the hotel. As in most cases with small lodges they turn off the hot water heater at night to save energy. The hotel owner told us as we checked in to come over and eat, which was great food by the way, and then go to our rooms. “Only one shower tonight and two in the morning” he said. Constantinos immediately said Steve you go first. I told him I thought it was a good Idea. I dreamt of all the Greek Gods waiting for me to arrive that night.

The "Wheely Beast goes ahead 4/09/08 Day 49

Day 49 

This is a big day. One that I knew would come way back when I was planning this adventure. I have too much gear. It’s alright when you’re on planes and trains but walking and hitching it will not do. I thought about leaving some in Kathmandu but that didn’t turn out and now I don’t want to leave it in Athens. Most of it is cold weather gear and some camping items. So I was mentioning it to Costantinos and he said why don’t you take it to the airport and ship it to Prague. Great Idea I thought. So I packed it up in the “Wheely Beast” and headed to the airport. I don’t have a phone or a computer I just went, what do I have to loose. If it works it works. I’ve done this several times on this adventure and it seems to work out. Anyway I have the Gods with me. I had a dream last night that they were calling me to the mountain.

So the Wheely Beast super duffel from REI is an unbelievably good piece of gear. It holds 7,200 cubic inches and I had it packed to the limit. I’m heading to the airport going through the neighborhoods and into the metro then I had to take a cab to the shipping zone. I thought the cab driver was going to have a heart attack when he lifted it into the trunk of his cab.

After walking from DHL to UPS I found Swiss Port. These places are not close together. I spent three hours in the hot sun walking from one place to another, always dragging the “Wheely Beast” over curbs and across parking lots. And of course Swiss Port needs a broker so they sent me to Gold Air for the paperwork. This place is back to where the UPS office was at. But I pulled it off with only a few language problems. It cost me 115.00 Euros plus the cab and metro for 130.00. This price included two weeks of storage in Athens and two week in Prague. (Maybe) I also sent an email off to my friend Moses at ETC Shipping, “send my crate off to Prague” I said. He thinks it will take five to six weeks so that will be just right. It looks like everything is on the move. Its time to “Ramble on”. 

Off to Delphi to seek the Oracle 03/09/08 Day 48

Day 48 (slide show)
(video 1)
(video 2)

My plan to see the ruins of Delphi are quite complicated for a few reasons. First, I have been changing my mind on when to leave so often it’s been hard to make a plan. Second, it is a complicated trek for someone who doesn’t speak any Greek at all. It’s a good thing I had a friend like Mahe to help me get the connections and transfers right.

There are a few bus changes and the bus stations are just like the states where it’s just about all locals. The station itself is quite ordinary and reminded me of a station I saw in 1972 when I was in the Army in St. Louis. O’ except that you have to pay 0.20 Euros to take a piss. I didn’t see anyone at the door so I just walked in and this big old Greek woman came running at me while I’m standing there saying the pledge of allegiance. I didn’t know what the hell she was saying I just zipped up and stepped back. I wish I could have got a picture of it. This is about 5:30am in the morning after two connections on the metro so I was in a daze.

I figured out the ticket situation and went to the area where it said Delphi. At 6am the bus is to leave and I’m felling proud that I survived the ordeal. Here comes a bus to the loading area at 6am so I get on. About a dozen others got on with me and we take off. They have ticket takers on the buses here. I’m glad because we got about 1000m down the lane and the guy has been counting heads. The bus stops and he starts checking. He comes to me and mumbles something like “you’re an idiot tourist aren’t you” I’m gone. Something’s Wrong (Junior Watson). OK so I screwed up again but how was I suppose to know. I get on the next bus at 6:15 and I’m on my way. These are nice buses too. I can hear those locals laughing behind me.

My plan is to stay for the day then try to make my way back to Athens. I’m thinking I’ll be back at about 7pm. should be a great day for an adventure. The temperature is about 31C but it might get a little warmer. It’s a 3hr ride and I’m now writing this while at a halfway rest stop. It’s a small restaurant with just snacks though. We only have 20 minutes. I got a few pictures of the countryside which is very nice. All I can think about is the history here when I look over the landscape.

The bus rolled right past the ruins entrance and into the village of Delphi. The bus stop was a little shop where they wanted to sell me everything. It turns out the ladies that were laughing behind me were tourist too. Three ladies from Chicago. Now remember we are on the local bus, there were lots of tour group buses but the four of us went local and for 14 Euros. I was starting to introduce myself to the Chicago gals when we decided all about the same time that we need to start walking down the hill. It’s about a 20 minute walk to the museum. I walked past the beautiful little restaurant patio that was just starting to open. “That” I told the ladies, “is where I’m going to have a late lunch”.

At the gate I decided to go to the museum first. My friend Mahe had told me that it is better that way. As I started thru the place I lost the Chicago ladies after about an hour but it was a little crowded. I wanted to start hiking up the trail. I’m taking lots of pictures as I walk so I won’t bore you with that much of a description. I’m not that sure what I’m looking at anyway.

As I write this I’m sitting under a beautiful olive tree overlooking the Theater. It is so nice and pleasant here I could stay for hours. To bad there aren’t a few friends here with a bottle of wine, some cheese and bread but that will come later at the restaurant I spotted below. There is a nice cool breeze and I’m listening to one of my favorite blues artist. Mem Shannon, No Religion. Great song.

Well I made it to the restaurant patio and it’s just as I expected. Great waiter and a beautiful Greek Salad. The waiter took the picture. I stayed a little too long though because I had to hurry to the shop where the bus comes. When I got there I did the same damn thing. I was late so I jumped on the first bus. Now there was no excuse for this. This bus was going the wrong direction. All I can say is I had a lot of wine with my salad. Within seconds I realize what I’ve done and I start to calculate the options. First I check my money and I have enough to spend the night wherever. Then I see we are headed for the little fishing village that I could see from the hillside. Great I say, lets go. In the meantime the ticket master sees that I’m an idiot and wants my ticket. I didn’t understand him or he I but I give him a real shit eaten’ grin and he motions to stay where I was. He has a radio I see and now I figure he is setting it up for me to meet the other bus going back. Great, Apollo is looking out for me again. I got to see the village and still caught the right bus. I also saw the campground that I was planning to stay in had I not found these friends to climb Mt. Olympus with.

As I pulled up to the shop where I where I had made the error the Chicago ladies were waiting and laughing again. They had seen me get on the wrong bus and thought I was history. I gave them a story to tell.

So you might think that this is a big day and a mediocre story. I’m not even close to the end. Go grab your favorite drink then read the rest.

I was so impressed with the bus on the way out this morning but on the way back, well all I can say is it reminded me of Pakistan. No air, stinky and I sat in the back where a spring was sticking out the seat and kept skewering me in the ass. I felt like a Greek Kabob. I endured this for three hours then the two metro transfers and a 15min walk. “Alright I’m at Mahe’s house.” I’m going to sleep well tonight.

As I walk in the door at about 8pm she tells me we are going to dinner with her father and a friend of his. Then she says you got 15 min. I don’t know what I did then except I was on the edge of the couch with my face in my hands. I was just trying to catch a second wind but I guess she didn’t understand. She just kept saying lets go. So I took a deep breath and I got my act together. It was easier after a two min shower and 4 Excedrin.

We went to an original Greek restaurant not for tourists. It was a below ground place with only 4 tables. The owner is the chief and the waiter. He prepares the food for his friends and the always come back. No menus. It was absolutely the best. Mahe’s Father is a special man. I’m not sure but in his 70’s and his friend Dimitri was so funny, it was a special night. Mahe’s father told a story of his WW11 medal from the Queen that he gave back to England. Seems he was one of 10 or so Sailors to survive the sinking of their ship. I won’t go into the whole story but he’s quite a man. The restaurant is known as a Kotoki Restaurant and we shared a special wine made at the restaurant called Reisitine Wine. There are lots of resin wines but this is a special type that was too good. Then we went for Greek Ice Cream. Greek love there Ice Cream and their Honey, Olive Oil and just about everything Greek. I think I agree. I like this country.

Athens: The Gods are watching out for me Day 47 02/09/08

Day 47

I finally got out of the Fivos Hostel/Hotel. I sure wish the people at Citi Card had done there job right in Kathmandu. I would not have stayed here for the extra three days. This place might be worth 20 Euros but certainly not 40 which is the price I paid. The worst was that last night when I picked up my key I meet some nice folks from Australia and they had got some deal for their room, 35 Euros I think. I’m glad to be gone from here. So I got the Credit card and the Citi people screwed up again. They sent me a temporary card, only good for 30 days. What wrong with these people. Now I have to get on the phone with them again. It cost me about 8 Euros to make the call. I’ve already made six such calls. As my friend Thomas Damon tells me “quite complaining”

I’m going to meet again with Constantinos today and I’m looking forward to that. I want to ask him if he found out anything about the “Original route the Athenians took to the Mountain” It would be nice to find out if it’s true or not. A couple of other problems have come up. I need to figure out what to do with my cold weather gear. My large duffel will be quite impossible to carry to Prague. The other thing is I need a shipping address for Moses at ETC so he can ship my crate to Prague. I have been trying to find someone to help me with this but no luck yet. I have asked everyone who I think might know someone in Prague, one of these nice people was Dora from the other day and she said she might know of a Couch Surfer who might help but I haven’t heard anything yet.

So my meeting with Constantinos turned out to be a phone call but I can’t believe it. He has a climbing friend named Nickolas who is an avid rock climber and they want to go with me. I’m amazed because they just returned from Italy where they climbed in the Dolomites for several days. Now they are going to turn around and climb Olympus. Nickolas has a car and will take us there on Friday the 5^th. This is a good piece of luck.

Now I need to find a place to stay for a few days. I was going to leave today and start making my way north. I called my friend Mahe and she was generous enough to let me Couch Surf at her place. This was above and beyond the call because she had just had a surfer from Argentina who just left. She wanted to have a break. Thank you Mahe, I appreciate your kindness. Now I’m set to wait and leave on Friday. If I work it right Mahe tells me I can take the bus to Delphi tomorrow at 6am and spend the day seeing the ruins then return to Athens. I think Mahe will like to have the day by herself; she has a lot to catch up on.

I stopped at the cybercafé and posted some more blogs and checked my mail. Turns out Dora found me a nice CS’er in Prague that might let me use his address if I write him a note. At least I have a few days to work on these problems now.

Sorry, again I have forgotten to take any pictures. I guess I’ve got too much on my mind.

Athens and my trek to the Laundry Day 46 01/09/08

Day 46
I’m off today to get my laundry done. I ask the lady at the counter of the hostel “do you have a laundry service around here” she smiled and got out the map. It’s about a 30 minute walk. Wow. It’s in an area where I need to pick up some maps and I’m still looking for a can of fuel for my stove. I’m finding that this might be difficult. I left early so I could take some morning pictures but I keep getting lost. It’s hard to think of getting pictures when I can’t find the street names but I like Athens in the early morning though. I finally found the laundry and dropped off my clothes which would take about 2 hours so I set off for the map store where I can buy a good map of Mt Olympus. It looked close on the tourist map but I spent some time trying to find it. It is tucked back into a business office. I didn’t find a small backpacking map but I did buy a larger 1:25.000 map. After getting my laundry I was tired and it was getting hot. I headed for my room and the air conditioning. It’s turning out to be a tough day. I arrived at my room around 1pm and no air conditioning, it went out. “Something’s Wrong” (Junior Watson) What a bummer, it’s hot. I tried to sweet it out through the afternoon then I went with my new friend Elpida for a bite to eat and she helped me find some supplies. The one thing I needed the most was a can of fuel. I can’t cook anything while camping without it. The evening cooled down and Elpida was great to help me. We walked around the town a little stopping in for a beer here and there. We found the fuel cans and I bought two. If I’m going to be camping all the way up the Adriatic Coast I might not found another one. I got back to my hot room about 10pm and there was a message from Mahe. It seems the friend she introduced me to the other night wants to go with me to climb Olympus. His name is Constantinos Gofas. Great news, I’ll find out more tomorrow.

Finding my way to Mt. Olympus Day 45 31/08/08

Day 45 (slide show)
I didn't do much today at least in the morning. At noon I did meet up with another nice Couch Surfer named Theadora Patsi and some friends of hers. She had all kinds of information about Mt. Olympus. She has been there many times and is a rock climber to. She told me all about her month long adventure climbing all over the western US from Seattle to Los Vegas. She had the same words of advise about Albania though. Dora, as she is known, had a list of the phone numbers and operators of the Refuges there called. It seems that their are several buildings or Lodges as we would call them run by different climbing clubs in Greece but the main lodge which sleeps over 150 people is owned by a family and has been for many years. She told me their name but I can't remember it. So I think I can make this work. Take the train to the mountain and see what happens. Some how I would have to stop off at Delphi though but that's possible. I can camp right outside there, then a couple of days hitchhiking and a few train stops, no problem. I guess I have a few details to work out but for the first time I know now that I can make it happen. I was thinking I would stay with Dora and her friends for a few hours then see the ruins of the Zeus Temple. As usual in Greece once you sit at a nice outdoor restaurant for lunch it turns into an all day affair. Sorry Zeus Temple. Tomorrow I will get my Credit Card and then I can start packing. This is going to be hard. I need to get rid of a lot of stuff. My ordinal plan was to leave this with friends as I go and arrive in Prague with only what I can carry. You see I have planned this for many months. I have new gear and clothing ready to ship and if I calculate correctly it will be in Prague a few weeks after I arrive and get set up. This is the plan. I planned on leaving several items with my friend in Kathmandu, Khrishna but because we couldn't connect on the last day I just threw everything in my big rolling duffel bag. Now I have to deal with the same question. What do I leave behind. It is raining here today. A real nice summer rain, but it will be cold on the mountain. How can I carry everything I need to get me to Prague. I'll bet my friend Alex from REI would know. He is the best I've seen at packing light. I remember talking to him about all the variables. I always ask what if and he asks why. What would you take. O' and by the way. Sorry but the pic's were lean today. I saw this printing press in the morning then forgot to take any more pictures. I don't know why.

The Acropolis Day 44 30/08/08

Day 44 (slide show)

(Must See Video)
I received a call this morning from my Couch Surfing friend Maha. She has some folks who want to go to dinner tonight at 7:30 so I think its a good day to see the Acropolis. I walked around for a few hours in the morning trying to get a better feel of the city. I found a tourist open air train that would take me up the hill but the walk is much better. The weather is perfect. I arrived at the site around 11:30 at what I guess is parking area. I feel I got lucky because the crowd hadn't arrived yet. Once you leave the parking area there are many different trails to get up to the ruin. Most tourists take the steps up but the trails wind through Olive trees and small ruin areas. The only word I can use is stunning. The Archaeologist have all the stones marked with numbers to make it easier to find the right location for the pieces. Its a giant puzzle. The Theater was my favorite place. I wish I could see a performance there. I walked around the whole mountain. There is even small trails through the neighborhoods. Afterwards I found a nice little restaurant and sat down for a Greek Salad and a glass of wine. (This was my second Greek Salad in as many days) I meet Maha and her friend for dinner later that evening. His name is Constantinos Gofas. I great guy who is a rock climber as well as a trekker. He had just returned from a climbing trip to the Dolomite's in Italy. We ended up at his house to review some maps. I told him of my plan to trek on the original Athenian trail to the summit of Mt. Olympus. "Never heard of it" he said. "Come, let's look at the maps" He had not climbed Mt. Olympus since he was a kid, some 20 years ago. I think he felt a little ashamed he hadn't been up to the mountain more. Its a great symbol of pride to the Greeks, even those who don't climb love the mountain. He said he had a friend that he would talk to about the Athenian trail and get back to me. I had a great night talking about the mountain with him and Maha. O' and one more thing is they were very worried about me and my plan to leave Greece by going north through Albania. Both he and Maha were quite emphatic that I not do this. We left it at that and I went back to my hostel. This is Saturday and I have to wait until Tuesday for my credit card to arrive at the hostel. I extended my stay to get it by UPS. I don't like it but I had no choice.

The Temple of Ames Day 43 29/8/08

Day 43 (slide show)
I was so tired last night that I went to bed to early. I woke at about 5am so I thought I would go walk the city and get some early morning photos. I was out before the sun rose. This its a great time to see the area before the people are around. I was surprised at the amount of graffiti everywhere. It looked like LA did 15 years ago. Also there were many people sleeping off the night before on the benches and steeps. They might sleep there every night but they looked like they had some source of income so I'm not sure. The temperature is great here though and it would be real easy to drink to much and just fall asleep. I wasn't going to spend a lot of time walking the streets but I did want to see this Botanical Garden they had by the Parliament Building. There wasn't anything great here but it was very quite and a good way to start the day out. I worked on several different ways to use the camera too. All this time and I still find new things that it will do. I got word on the Couch surfing Site yesterday that I will be meeting a nice lady today named Elpida. (Elpi-th-a) It took me way to long to remember her name. I posted a note on the site that I was looking for information on the Mt. Olympus climb. She answered and we are to meet later. Right now I'm heading out to see some of the sites close by and get a feel of the place. My hostel is right in the tourist area and very close to a big ruin site. I don't want to go to the Acropolis until I can do it without rushing. This area will be fine for a few hours. Well that turned out to be wrong. The area I went to under the Acropolis is huge. (Here is a google map of it) I couldn't see it all in one day. I will have to come back later. I meet with Elpida in the afternoon and she had lots of good information on Mt Olympus. She grew up in the area and was very knowledgeable of the situation there for climbing. We spent several hours looking over the map and talking about the different sites in the northern part of Greece. My goal is to find someone how has heard of the original path the Athenians used to get to the mountain. She wasn't aware of this but we talked about different ways it might be possible. I also found where Delphi is and now I am starting to develop a plan. Just need to decide when to start out.

Athens, Greece Day 42 28/08/08

Day 42 (slide show)
I did sleep well last night. I was so tired. Went to a great restaurant and got my first taste of a Greek salad the way they are suppose to be made. Before I see anything and there is a lot to see, I have to find a Citibank Branch office. Remember my card was stolen almost a month ago and these folks can't seem to get me a new card. So, my first full day in Greece and I'm going on an adventure across the city. After figuring out the Metro and making some mistakes I find the branch office. Of course the day is half gone by now, but I walk into the office with a since of accomplishment. I go through three service lady's before I get English. "This is Citibank Greece not Citibank USA" she says. "Can I have a card sent to this office" I asked because I was changing hotels so much. "No we don't work with the Citicards division." I walked out thinking this sucks. Somethings Wrong (Junior Watson-Blues Man) I spent most of the day working on this problem. I made my way back to my hotel area and found a cybercafe. I called Citicards. Of course it is Thursday night and they can't get a card out until Monday then three days for delivery that gives me a card next Wednesday. I don't want to spend a week in this hostel but I need to have an address. I sucked it up and told them to send it. When you make a call from out of the country to Citi the computer voice comes on and says "we accept collect calls." Well that would be great except I can't find an operator to talk to place a collect call. You still have to pay the hotel or the cybercafe. After Nepal I'm already into this problem for almost $65.00. Citibank is a pain in the ass if you loose your card. Tomorrow will be better. I keep saying that.