19th May
On the way to Delphi, without knowing until afterwards when I was looking into visiting Sparta, I passed Thermopylae. Thermopylae is the location of the famous battle where the 300 Spartiates (plus a few others), led by King Leonidas, held back the much larger Persian invaders over 3 days of intense fighting. Today the pass is no longer on the coastline due to sedimentation and silting up. The roadway is close to the original shoreline where the battle took place.
The movie 300 is based on the battle that took place near here.
From Thermopylae the road leads up into the mountains which, similar to many, are beautiful with great winding roads, rocky hillsides and lush forests. It was another good blast in parts until the steep descent encountered Arachova's narrower winding streets before opening out again on the last stretch into Delphi.
On the way up into the mountains.
The view down the valley to the Gulf of Corinth.
About 1.5km from the Town Centre I stopped at a small cafe near some of the ruins to get some lunch and see if I might bump into the owner(s) of the loaded up BMWR1200GS Adventure with GB plates. Lunch was not worth stopping for and I didn't see the fellow motorcyclists…..yet.
I arrived in Delphi with a list of about 3 small hotels and 2 campsites to check out. I tried the addresses and the GPS wasn't helping so I rode through town with my eyes peeled, didn't see any, so continued on the campsite just outside town.
The campsite looked a little too far out of town to be convenient and looked pretty dry and hard. I headed back into town and found Hermes Hotel which was on my list and checked-in.
Hermes Hotel, Delphi
After checking in, getting out of the hot and sweaty motorbike suit I was ready to casually take in some of Delphi's sites. Although it was reasonably early in the afternoon the ruins would be closing soon so I couldn't fit them in and knock them off the list that afternoon.
I headed out for an afternoon stroll around town and found somewhere to sit with a great view down the valley to relax and wind down after the riding.
The lights around the Gulf of Corinth.
Although there were many people around during the day in Delphi the town seemed rather quiet at night. So after dinner and a little more looking around it was bed time.
20th May
I woke up with a shockingly tight/tense upper back. Perhaps riding twisty roads with a backpack full of water and the previous days working on the computer had taken their toll on me. Thankfully the helpful staff at Hermes were able to provide a hot water bottle. After lying down and relaxing on the hot water bottle I felt much better.
Although the hot water bottle had made a massive difference, by the time I had finished lunch I would have needed to rush a visit to the museum and ruins. Instead I visited the Sanctuary of Athena and also all the streets of Delphi. It was a good alternative.
It seems Lego was inspired by history.
Sanctuary of Athena
Sanctuary of Athena
After taking in the ruins I wandered the streets of Delphi to get a feel for the town from the smaller backstreets. Delphi is attached to the side of the very steep hillside with wonderful views down the valley, over the plain to the Gulf of Corinth.
Great views from the top of Delphi.
Scattered throughout the steep and narrow streets there is many more accommodation options and some small museums and shops selling local produce and crafts.
Pedestrian paths break up houses.
Some of the pathways are almost invisible.
As always it was good to see a little more of the place where I was visiting. It gives a much better feel for what the place and people might be like away from all of the tourists.
Colour coordinated.
To try and keep my back loosened up I had an almost hot bath and relaxed for a while before heading out for dinner. I found a restaurant close to the hotel and managed to secure the last seat at the open windows looking out down the valley at the lights on the water of the Gulf of Corinth.
It was an early night since I needed to be up early to see the museum and ruins before I left town the next day. The helpful Hermes staff helped me out with another hot water bottle when I went to bed.