Bob and Ann in Greece 2008

Please visit May 3 slideshow

Rio-Antirio Bridge

We left Olympia before 9:00 after a very good breakfast buffet. Did I mention that Greek yogurt is the best? It's thick and creamy. With honey mixed in, it makes a wonderful side dish. I had cereal this morning for the first time on the trip. I figured that a little ruffage might be appropriate.

We traveled north for several kilometers until we got to the newly constructed Rio-Antirio Bridge. It is the longest bridge of its type in the world, according to Harris. Its has four suspension towers and its cables are fanned out like sails of a ship.

Instead of driving over the bridge, we took a ferry. This gave us an opportunity to see the bridge better and to experience the strong winds blowing from the Corinthian Gulf. On both shores of the gulf were old fortifications built by the Venetians when they controlled the sea of this area.

The Harbor at Nafpaktos

Driving on, we stopped for lunch in Nafpaktos. This is a medium-sized town with a small picturesque yacht harbor. There was a statue of Cervantes who fought with the Spaniards who were helping the Venetians to try to repel the Ottomans. After viewing the harbor, we walked along the streets paralleling the gulf to our lunch taverna. Being Saturday, there were hundreds of Greeks sitting in outdoor cafes drinking coffee or having family dinners. We joined them and had a good light lunch. This was a relief because we have been overfed by Harris and are beginning to have trouble buttoning our pants.

Fishing Boat in Galaxidi Harbor

After eating a leisurely meal, we boarded the bus and traveled on to Galaxidi where we got out and stretched our legs. This is a small fishing village which now supports itself with restaurants frequented by Greeks from the surrounding countryside. There are some old-style working fishing boats in the harbor. As we were riding the bus out of town on a very narrow street, we were stopped by a lady motioning us from her window to stop. She was afraid that the top of our bus would hit her balcony. We made it past but we could see evidence that others did not.

View from our Room

We then pushed on to Delphi. At 1700 feet, our hotel room at the Apollonia Hotel has an excellent view of the valley and gulf below us.

The map of our route is below. To see it in Google Earth, follow this link.