“What’s your name, Odysseus” 10/9/08 Day 55

Day 55 (slide show) (video)

I was so tired yesterday that I fell asleep around 7pm. I was out and didn’t move until about 6am. I fell a little better but my thighs are still sore. I’m able to gingerly get down the steps here at the hotel and this is the second day after the climb. I feel I need to leave tomorrow in order to stay on schedule. I’m going to go on a scouting mission to the train station to see how hard it will be to get to the Meteora area. I fill like I can find out more about getting up into Croatia through Albania by bus from over there on the west side of Greece. It seems difficult to get any information here in Katerini.

So I show up at this train station that looks like it came out of the 1930’s. I took a cab out to it for 5 Euros which was alright. It was hard to find anyone to help me because of the language but soon the station manager came out to talk to me. He was a nice guy but spoke just little English. I asked him how I could get to Meteora. He said “Kalambaka.” “No” I said, and then I remembered that on the map I had seen that Kalambaka was close to Meteora but I couldn’t tell how far. I had a poor map I think. So I said “Sure, Kalambaka will do.” I felt like a tourist as he gave me this funny look. He looked me over and said pointing at me, “What’s your name, Odysseus” I started to laugh, then it hit me what he said. This is going to be more difficult then I thought. He turned away from me while yelling at a couple of employees and got on the phone. I waited about 15 minutes before he turned back to me. “You must be here at 4:50am” he said. “4:50am” he said again. Alright then what, I thought. “Go get ticket” he said while pointing to the ticket clerk. So after all this and 17 Euros I had a ticket and some kind of instructions about switching trains somewhere. I thought I will find out more when I get on the train. As I walked away I thought about it and I wasn’t even sure what just happened but I guess I’m leaving tomorrow. I know one thing though and that is I need a better map.

I grabbed a cab out in front for 3 Euros and headed back to Katerini and the hotel for instructions on how to get to Dion. It wasn’t very hard, I went to a small bus area and caught the right bus for once and away I went. Took about 45 minutes and I was there. Not a very popular place but it was in the off season. I thought the weather was fine though, a little warm but not to bad.

Dion I was told was a small ruin but I was impressed with the size and the fact that I could walk just about anywhere. (Take a look at the pictures and you will see) The Museum was closed but that’s alright. I need to just walk for awhile. It turned out to be a great afternoon. There is quite a lot of evidence here for the theory that Constantinos has that the Athenians who wanted to get close to Zeus and the mountain must have come by ship or boat to Dion first. He is thinking that they would come to Dion and hang for a few days then trek up to the lower peaks and make offerings or whatever without actually going to the top. There is a map in the entrance building with a story about the Macedonian king before King Philip. (Alexander’s Father) I can’t remember his name but he did climb up the mountain through the valley where Prionia is. Somewhere up there he and many others were hit by a flash flood and killed. This is how Philip became King it says. This king and his entourage were killed while going to pray to the Gods the story says. Who knows for sure but it helps the theory. This area is such an exciting place. A person could spend years here just traveling to the historical sites around this mountain. This is the area where Alexander grew up.

I got back to my room about 5pm and started to pack. Damn, I have too much stuff. Everything I have I need though. In fact there are several items that are in the ‘Wheely Beast” that went by air to Prague. I really have no cold weather gear at all except a hooded jacket and hat.

I’m ready to move on though, I feel like I’m staying here to long. I don’t know why either. I feel I just have to go.

Getting stronger but need more time 9/09/08 Day 54

Day 54 (slide show)

I feel better but still having trouble walking, especially on the stairs. My thighs are still burning and my feet will sometimes slap when I’m stepping. It makes my smile because it reminds me of the mountain. I walked a short distance to the laundry and decided I would try to see the ruins of Dion today. If I keep walking I think I will heal quicker. The nice guy at the hotel desk tells me Dion isn’t far but I need to find the right bus to get on. I’m supposed to walk into the city square area and find a bus schedule but I couldn’t spot the place so I ended up at the “The Web.” I was very tired by 2pm and this cybercafé is a nice place to sit. I need to catch up on this blog anyway. I think I will go to Dion tomorrow. I need more rest.  

Lying low in Katerini, need to heal up 80/09/08 Day 53

Day 53

I woke early, about 6am as usual. As I looked around it started to dawn on me where I was. “Oh I remember” I thought. I had fellen asleep around 9pm the night before so it was time to get moving. I started to get up and I couldn’t. I felt like I was one of those Zombie’s who know there not dead but they really are. Could it all have been a dream? I actually forced myself to roll out of the bed and onto my knees, I was hurting. Trying to stand was very painful. After about a half hour of morning and groaning I was dressed and ready to find something to eat. As I walked out of the room I realized another thing I was on the third floor and I couldn’t find the elevator so I started down the stairs. This wasn’t a good idea. I had to grab the handrail with both hands and almost crawl.

When I arrived at the front desk I was reminded that I need to check out. I actually did remember that they only had a room for one night but I was hoping I could sneak past them and not have to worry about. I wasn’t in any shape to go looking around a strange place for somewhere to through my bag. But this is just another thing to deal with. “Go ahead and pile on” I thought. First I have to get something to eat. Where a diner?

I was hobbling around this city square area and spotted a “Web Café” which looked great. They were just opening and I went in to check it out. It looked like a game shop with several rows of computers but there were only a few folks there so I sat down. I needed to find a bed. I was searching for about an hour and then this guy comes over and asked if I needed help. It must have been my decrepit look and he felt sorry for me. I told him I was being evicted from the hotel and needed a place. We talked for a moment and then he said “come with me.”

He took me down to a smaller hotel called the Olympian and went right in to talk to the clerk. He got me a room for less and at a nicer place. He told me that he owned the Web café and he just thought I needed some help. His name was Constantinos. Now this might be a common name but what are the odds, my friend on the mountain and this guy both with the same name. What luck, the Gods are still looking out for me.

The Olympian set me up with a laundry shop and I found a place for something to eat. Now I will lay low for a few days and heal up.

Note: I got an email from my two friends, Constantinos and Nikolas and they couldn’t walk either. It must have been a tough day at work that day.

 

Sorry no pictures today. I’m hurting to bad.

Mount Olympus, the Party with the Gods 7/09/08 Day 52

Day 52 (slide show) (video)

After waking up 2 to 3 times through the night because I was hot I got out of my bag around 6am and waited for the sunrise. I was quite surprised at how warm I was in the coffin. That’s what I call the Black Diamond Light Saber. I love this piece of equipment. It’s easy to set up even in the dark and you can lay it down just about anywhere. And then there is the ultimate feature of this bivy bag, it only weights 1.10 oz. WOW.

When I got up there was a bit of a breeze, maybe 10 knots but it was cold. My watch which I had hanging outside the bivy bag said 4c and that isn’t that cold. It was the moist wind that pierced right through you. The mountain is so close to the Again Sea that it gets some strange weather. It wasn’t to cold to wait for the sunrise though. I was able to catch a couple of great pictures. At this point I was sure glad I spent the extra time and money to rescue my hooded jacket, gloves and hat from the airport a few days ago. After the beautiful sunrise I noticed a little commotion coming from my Athenian friends. Nikolas was up and working on breaking camp but the old man Constantinos was a wee bit groggy. I thought I saw him on his knees begging Zeus for just one more day. He looked better after he got the coffee going. It was real hot filtered coffee too. We got a pretty good start on most of the folks heading for the top, not many were ahead of us. The mountain looked very daunting but I felt it was calling me somehow. In the back of my mind I could hear music coming from the peak, and I think it’s the Blues I hear.

I need to tell you about the theory that Constantinos has developed and I think it makes since. I told him I wanted to find the original route the Athenians might have taken to the Mountain. I mentioned that he couldn’t find any information on an actual trail from Athens to Mount Olympus but he did find an article about ancient Greek people coming to the mountain from Dion which is close to the Aegean Sea. There has been some evidence found on the second and third highest peaks, Saint Antonios (Agios Antonios) and Scholio respectively. On both peaks they found the remains of a burned out alter to Zeus and many other artifacts. There has been other evidence found around the mountain also. Read this article from the AMPHORA, A publication of the American Philological Association. Scroll down to the story on Mount Olympus by Ourania Molyviati. There are many interesting facts here but the one not here is that no evidence has been found on the summit. So I ask, why would any priest or person in charge, let anyone go to the top. For that matter why would anyone want to go and see the Gods face to face? Instant death I’m sure they thought. So the theory is there is no original trail to the summit from Athens to Mount Olympus and if you are told that there is an "11 day trek" by a tour guide ask if their name is Breksh. Ask if they did any guide trips to Base Camp of Everest.

Not more then 15 min from were we camped it becomes very steep. We are traversing the edge of the "Plateau of the Muses" where there is a very steep drop off. This is where I saw my first brass plaque with names of fallen climbers on it. This would be the first of many I saw through the day. After a while they became distracting and Nikolas said “Don’t look down and don’t look at the plaques.”

At one point I put my hand up to get a hold on the rock and there was a plaque there. Another problem was the rock was very loose. I soon learned that if I cause a rock to fall you don’t say ROCK you say PETRA, the Greek word for rock.

We made the summit, Myticas in about 2 hours and it was just about straight up. The dangerous area that I spoke about earlier was nothing like the areas I went through later. And guess what, my friend Nikolas tells me that we are not going down the way we came with packs on its too dangerous. We will continue on to the third highest peak Scholio. I like that Idea; I didn’t want to go back down those cliffs without protection. Once on the summit time seemed to stop. I could hear the music again and it was fine. Zeus and Apollo waved to me and said, “Come on over and join the party, what took you so long. We were waiting.” Then I woke up and realized my stomach hurt. It must have the bad bread that Constantinos gave us for dinner last night. On top you could see forever. You can see the Aegean Sea to the east. Off to the west the Greek countryside. There were many peaks you could see but I can’t remember there names. I was too mesmerized to hear them as my friends described what I was seeing. I got my name in the little book and a great picture with my two Athenian friends. Thant’s what’s important.

Now were going onto the next peak. This took about 1 hour and was just as difficult. There were some steep drop offs and long descending chimney’s looking back into the big bowl we had come up the day before. These were unbelievable sites. On the peak Scholio, I remembered I had the sign I had made on the Everest Base Camp trek of REI and the store I worked at. I told my friends there that I would get a picture of me at base camp, which I almost made and on the top of Mount Olympus which I forgot to get. Sorry everyone I tried.

I think now its time to get our asses down from this mountain. This is where the accidents happen, on the way down. It always seems that way. We were now going to go back down into the big bowl we had come up from the day before but we were now coming into it from a 2 O’clock location where on the way up we went on a 10 O’clock line. That’s looking at it from the break spot from yesterday. We negotiated our way off the caldron edge and onto the steep edges of the bowl. The rock was very loose and the best you could do was traverse back and forth while trying to balance yourself with the rock sliding underfoot. It was important to stay out of the fall line of each other so the rocks didn’t slide or roll onto your friend. This went on and on and on. I could see the bottom but it didn’t seem to get closer. I’m glad I had my trekking poles, my knees and ankles got so sore. Without them I would have been going down like a spider on all fours.

Now here is where the mistake was made. We are taking a short break and I pointed out to Nikolas that I thought I could see a trail on the left side. He hadn’t seen a trail marker yet coming down and he was always out front doing the trail breaking. Why I was chiming in on the route was ridicules, because I had no clue. My Athenian bloodhounds had the GPS units and the maps I should have just stayed out of it. We started towards the area I pointed out while trying to work down the left side. We hoped to be at the car by 4pm and it was 4pm with a long way to go. Well by following my advice we ended up looking over a 50 meter cliff with no way down. We had to backtrack for about 45 min. When something like this happens you all of a sudden start thinking about sleeping on the mountain another night and how much water I have left. I didn’t have much. I filled my one liter bottle and a 3 liter camelback just like I had on the way up but I was now low on water. It must have been that hard bread.

About this point we made our way to the edge of another cliff much, much higher then the last. Our point dog Nikolas was ahead and said to keep following the top of the cliff and I mean right on the edge. All it would take is a miss-step to the right and your saying hello to Zeus. Then all of a sudden there was a red mark on a tree. The first sign I had seen. I didn’t know that Nikolas had seen one other earlier but it looked good to me. Then the cliff ended, “now where do we go” Constantinos asked. We looked down and there were ladder rungs bolted to the wall. There were about 15 or so. One of the local climbing clubs had put these in. This was cool I thought, then we came to some cable strung so you could hold onto it like a rope bridge while you made your way down a very steep grassy tree area. At this point I was begging Constantinos for some of his water. I was going to offer him some of my Euros but I left them in the car. He gave me the water, nice guy. We knew we where going to make it.

At about 6pm we made the car and I was so tired I could hardly walk. Constantinos was hurting to. Nikolas didn’t say anything except that he was going to play football or something the next day. It’s great to be young. After peeling off our boots we made it out of there feeling like we just dodged the big one. It was about 45 min to a town named Katerini which is where we decided that they would drop me at. I was on my way to Prague. I had no idea of where I would stay but again Constantinos got on the phone and called another one of his friends and I had a reservation. When we arrived at the hotel, which seemed like an eternity I couldn’t walk to the check in counter. I was in bad shape. I was glad they had an elevator though. I was so hungry but I didn’t want to do anything but shower and sleep. I really do mean it when I say this; I felt a little sympathy for my two Athenian friends who had a 5 hour drive back to Athens and work the next day. “Drive safe Boys” it was a great adventure. We will be telling stories about this one for a long time. As I crawled into bed and I could hear the Blues, I think it was Buddy Guy. Good night Zeus and Apollo it was nice to meet you. I know you were looking out for us.

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.