Pilgrimage to the Oracle -- Tuesday Jan. 4 2010

Woke up at 6am today, ready to make our journey to Delphi. We realized we'd been pronouncing the name of the sanctuary wrong all this time -- it's dell-FEE, not DELL-fee... Showered, found a supermarket with apples and bananas (things definitely looked a bit more lively now that it was Jan. 4th. Rachel and I joked that the Greeks were finally stirring awake and returning to work for the first time since New Year's Eve.) Packed up our suitcases to put in storage and then headed out to catch our bus to Delphi. It was a little more complicated that we had thought... Apparently the local bus that usually runs to the big Terminal B long-distance bus station is no longer in service. We were informed of this by an avuncular gentleman who had spent 5 years in Pasadena (as he proudly exclaimed to us!). He apologized for smoking and then wrote us detailed instructions about how to get to Terminal B via metro. Luckily Rachel and I had allotted enough time so we made it to the metro, got off at Attiki, hitched a city bus (took 2 tries as the first driver did not speak English and seemed to be going the wrong way) to Terminal B. It was a typical grungy bus station, but it was amusing to watch the elderly ladies feed bread crumbs to pigeons inside. Greek people seem to especially love their pigeons! Caught the 10:30am bus leaving Athens for Delphi. So nice to travel when there aren't too many tourists around -- Rachel and I could sprawl out with our luggage and nap a little. Woke to these amazingly huge rocky mountains. It was a cloudy, misty day, but the overcast weather made the ubiquitous olive trees look even more silvery and beautiful. The bus ride lasted 3 hours, but it was nice chance to relax, read up about Delphi and just watch the scenery -- mostly mountains, farmland and tiny mountain villages. At one point we passed through a city and scraped a lady's car. She was very angry and called the police. We had to wait for them to arrive and sort it out with the bus driver, but it was actually kind of amusing to watch our fellow bus passengers make a point to go outside, crane their necks and try to converse (don't know what their intention was... haha). A few rows in front of Rachel was an Italian couple who periodically made out with each other on the bus -- also a source of entertainment for us...

Arrived in Delphi at the edge of the very sleepy little town. It is definitely colder than Athens -- Rachel says the weather makes her "ears feel pointy." The air is brisk but also very fresh -- so much cleaner than the city air of Athens! Everywhere in Delphi you look out on a gorgeous, dramatic view (craggy rocky mountains, vast plains of olive trees, a blue sky with patchy clouds, the distant port of Kirra). It's built on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, and there's definitely something inspiring and calming about being so high up with such a spectacular view of the surroundings. 

First things first, Rachel and I checked in at our hotel, Hotel Sibyllia. The Sibyl was the name of the Oracle at Delphi. She (always a woman, usually an older woman)sat in a little tripod seat, inhaled the vapors from the spring and uttered some vague babbles in answer to the questions (about politics, morals, love, daily dilemmas, anything) posed by pilgrims. The Oracle was believed to be able to "channel" the spirit of Apollo. Priests interpreted her babblings to the visitors. Famous Delphi visitors include Alexander the Great (apparently the Oracle told him he was unstoppable) and Socrates (who was inspired by the quote "know thyself" above the entrance to the sanctuary of Apollo). The Ancient Greeks believed Delphi was the center -- the navel -- of the earth. This was determined when Zeus sent two eagles in opposite directions to fly around the world; they met in Delphi. Delphi was also the center of worship of Apollo, god of the Sun.

I'm getting carried away though... so we checked into our hotel (only 28 euros/night for one room, very clean and the brothers who work at the front desk are extremely helpful). Then went down to a neighboring café for lunch -- spanakopita and vegetable soup-- overlooking the gorge. Sitting just behind us was a Professor from Temple University, an archaeologist who specializes in Black Vase pottery. He said he was just visiting sites in Delphi he hadn't seen in a while (he's been coming here since he was a teenager). He tried to give us haggling advice for whenever we go to Istanbul and told some story about how he ended up buying 2 rugs the last time he went to Turkey.

After lunch we headed over to the ruins of the Temple of Pronaia Athena. First we walked by the Gymnasium where athletes trained for the Pythian Games (superseded in size only by the Olympic Games of the ancient world) which were held once every four years to commemorate Apollo's victory over Python. Then we came upon the Tholos -- a round temple with an unknown function. We wanted to hike up to the Castalian spring (where pilgrims went to wash themselves before consulting the Oracle) but it was all closed down and it looked like the wooden scaffolding up the trail was crumbling! As we walked around the Tholos and the gymnasium though, the sun peeked out from the clouds and illuminated the marble colums and the rocky face of the mountain. We spotted some billy goats way down below us and marveled at the old olive trees all around us. Everything was so lush and green -- can't wait to do a hike tomorrow!

Checked out the edge of town, ran into Mr. Professor again (waiting for the 4:00 bus back to Athens) who "name-dropped" that his daughter was an actress on Law and Order... One thing we did learn from him though was that 90% of the cost of the marble used to construct the sanctuary and temple here at Delphi came solely from transporting the marble from the port of Kirra up here to the mountain slope. Then we found some delightful staircases and narrow passages to poke around, purchased very fresh Greek yogurt in a terracotta pot (!!) retrieved our computers and lounged in the free wifi café after dark. They had delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. Our waiter was very intrigued by how we typed away at our computers "like they were pianos" and he asked if we ever did anything with pen and paper anymore. He was a Delphi-native, and he made a very interesting comment that Delphi "is a small town... small town, big problems." He didn't elaborate further, but Rachel and I guessed these problems had to do with the economy, the tourist industry and overall slowdown... but who knows?!

Then we headed to dinner at a little family-run taverna.  Our waiter had a brother who looked just like him, and the whole family seemed to be eating in the restaurant. We had a rocket salad with very fresh goat cheese (almost like quark or something...). They made their own olive oil there too. We also had rabbit-onion stew. All their vegetables and ingredients were locally produced. Delicious baklava sticks for dessert too. Now it's 9:30pm and Rachel and I falling asleep! It's definitely a sleepy little town in the off-season, and I think we're just enjoying the chance to breathe the quiet mountain air deeply...