Well, this stop, Olympia is Deja Vue for us – been here before however this time I enjoyed it WAY more! After a very agressive bus drive to Olympia we arrived! There is something about going somewhere for the 2nd time that allows you to absorb more information as you already have the basic knowledge. So today’s Excursion is Olympia and the BEACH! Wahoo! It is hot, damn hot, REAL hot over here! So we made it to Olympia and we toured, Lynda went from shady tree to shady tree this time! Interesting development in the 3 years since we have been here – they have almost completed the “practice” area which they were just starting back in 2019. I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves. Then Andrew and I parted ways as I remembered from last time the nasty amount of stairs to go down to the village so I walked back up to the bus and let the group walk to the village via the over priced “tourist stop”. I should not have asked Andrew to get me a beverage and a fridge magnet (which I have been collecting) – 5 euros each! Normally we pay about 3 euros for a magnet and 3 for a drink. Nasty markup! So he was a bit frustrated when he got back to the bus where I was HOT as the bus driver sat for 30 minutes without the AC on in the sweltering bus arguing with his boss about his hours and not being paid enough money! Did you know I learned Greek overnight and now I am fluent? NOPE! The lovely power of Google Translate! Ha, ha! You might say I was a tiny bit frustrated with the situation. Anyways, lets go to the beach! Now, Andrew and I were sitting behind the bus driver on this trip. It was NOT a good place for me to sit. I could see the bus driver play with his cell phone apps while driving, talk on the phone without a headset, passing when there were double lines and in the 60km/h hour zones do around 100km/h. For those who know me will understand why this was a problem. I was doing okay until the lady sitting behind us started to get nervous too with the passing activity! I had not said anything about his driving at that point. However when the driver picked up his cell phone and at 100km/h and the bus was wavering on the road a bit while he tried to open an app I told the tour leader that was enough and pointed to the NO CELL PHONES sign above the driver. Needless to say the driver was upset not being able to use it. Not sure what made him more upset though – not being able to yell at his boss or his now lack of cell phone! Finally we arrived at the beach – oh so beautiful! It is just before beach time in Greece so not much was open but we had beach chairs, an umbrella and a drink (non alcoholic) to enjoy for the next 3 hours! YES, I tried to get into the ocean – almost burnt the bottoms of my feet getting there and back and it was just too cold for my overheated body! So we relaxed in the sun – me with my eyes closed of course and dreamt of a warm ocean! Our bus ride back to the ship was uneventful and we arrived safely. However as we drove through the port town of Katakolon, some things “jumped” out at me so as we had time before getting on the ship, I HAD to go shopping to release my stress! Andrew tagged along so I was good… Two new dresses later I am cured!
