shops of the sort I was used to seeing in the village. One butcher shop was aptly named “Meat Market.” I smiled; I doubted if any clubbing or picking up of the opposite sex went on there after hours—but if this shop was in Arachova, then maybe...
Kaliopi gave me a gentle shove in the direction of the Oracle of Delphi archaeological site. “We’ve plenty of time to look at the town later, when we’re hungry and in need of a fill up,” she took a cigarette from her handbag.
“Let’s go and visit the site first. Besides,” she squinted at the clouds tumbling in from the coast, “it looks like rain later.”
Delphi was remarkably quiet, but it was the off-season and most of the tourists would be staying in Arachova. We wandered up to the entrance with Kaliopi chattering away. “Did you know that Delphi is considered the Navel of the Earth?” she asked.
“But why? Delphi’s nowhere near the sea.”
“No!” Kaliopi rolled her eyes and pointed to her stomach. “
This
navel! Good grief, you are an English teacher and you can’t tell the difference?”
“Not without seeing it written down,” I said in my defence, although it made more sense when I considered it.
“Anyway, a dragon called Pythia lived here and guarded the Navel, or Centre, until the God Apollo destroyed the dragon to make this place his own. Every four years since 586BC, athletes from all over Greece have come to Delphi to compete in the Pythian Games. These Games are just one such example of how the Olympic Games developed…the world has no idea just how much it owes to us Greeks…” She was wandering off into one of her glazed far-away monologues. “Now, look at the view.” Kaliopi snapped back to the present. I turned, not realising quite how high we’d climbed whilst discussing local history. The view was gorgeous. The ancient theatre was set against a backdrop of mountains and pines. We carried on up the path in front of us, which took us to the old Pythian Games stadium, situated at the top of the archaeological site where pine trees whispered their welcome. The stadium was shaped like a smaller version of the Olympic Stadium in Athens. We found a flat rock and sat in companionable silence, taking in the surroundings. There was not a soul in sight.
“I thought Gods were supposed to be good people. Why did he go and slay that dragon?” I said after a while.
“Why did your St. George slay that dragon back in the past?” Kaliopi countered.
“From what I remember of the story, the dragon was trying to kill the princess.”
“There you go then, I guess all dragons are bad…who knows? Anyway, we better get going.” Kaliopi motioned with her head toward the clouds that were moving towards us from the seaside village of Galaxidi that could be seen in the far distance. “Besides, I’m hungry now.” Reluctantly I rose and we started walking down. It had been really peaceful amongst the pine trees, soaked in ancient history and the view so unhindered, being able to see as far away as a small coastal town, 15km away.
Sitting in a
taverna
with a covered balcony overlooking the pine clad valleys far below, we ordered various small dishes:
mezze
including small fried potato and courgette croquettes;
tzatziki
; Greek salad and a pork chop each.
“Simple food is the best, eh?” said Kaliopi, squeezing a liberal dose of fresh lemon over her chop. “So, how do you like your day so far?” I hadn’t said too much, content to let Kaliopi once again do the talking, allowing myself to absorb and learn. And she’d been correct about the storm—it was starting to rain; waiters were frantically clearing the few outside tables and bringing them in. As the first heavy drops fell, accompanied by a flash of lightning, I snuggled back into my bench seat after polishing off the chop and nursed an after-dinner mug of hot chocolate.
“It’s not just Delphi, Kaliopi, it’s everything I’ve experienced so far, meeting you and your
Kaliopi gave me a gentle shove in the direction of the Oracle of Delphi archaeological site. “We’ve plenty of time to look at the town later, when we’re hungry and in need of a fill up,” she took a cigarette from her handbag.
“Let’s go and visit the site first. Besides,” she squinted at the clouds tumbling in from the coast, “it looks like rain later.”
Delphi was remarkably quiet, but it was the off-season and most of the tourists would be staying in Arachova. We wandered up to the entrance with Kaliopi chattering away. “Did you know that Delphi is considered the Navel of the Earth?” she asked.
“But why? Delphi’s nowhere near the sea.”
“No!” Kaliopi rolled her eyes and pointed to her stomach. “
This
navel! Good grief, you are an English teacher and you can’t tell the difference?”
“Not without seeing it written down,” I said in my defence, although it made more sense when I considered it.
“Anyway, a dragon called Pythia lived here and guarded the Navel, or Centre, until the God Apollo destroyed the dragon to make this place his own. Every four years since 586BC, athletes from all over Greece have come to Delphi to compete in the Pythian Games. These Games are just one such example of how the Olympic Games developed…the world has no idea just how much it owes to us Greeks…” She was wandering off into one of her glazed far-away monologues. “Now, look at the view.” Kaliopi snapped back to the present. I turned, not realising quite how high we’d climbed whilst discussing local history. The view was gorgeous. The ancient theatre was set against a backdrop of mountains and pines. We carried on up the path in front of us, which took us to the old Pythian Games stadium, situated at the top of the archaeological site where pine trees whispered their welcome. The stadium was shaped like a smaller version of the Olympic Stadium in Athens. We found a flat rock and sat in companionable silence, taking in the surroundings. There was not a soul in sight.
“I thought Gods were supposed to be good people. Why did he go and slay that dragon?” I said after a while.
“Why did your St. George slay that dragon back in the past?” Kaliopi countered.
“From what I remember of the story, the dragon was trying to kill the princess.”
“There you go then, I guess all dragons are bad…who knows? Anyway, we better get going.” Kaliopi motioned with her head toward the clouds that were moving towards us from the seaside village of Galaxidi that could be seen in the far distance. “Besides, I’m hungry now.” Reluctantly I rose and we started walking down. It had been really peaceful amongst the pine trees, soaked in ancient history and the view so unhindered, being able to see as far away as a small coastal town, 15km away.
Sitting in a
taverna
with a covered balcony overlooking the pine clad valleys far below, we ordered various small dishes:
mezze
including small fried potato and courgette croquettes;
tzatziki
; Greek salad and a pork chop each.
“Simple food is the best, eh?” said Kaliopi, squeezing a liberal dose of fresh lemon over her chop. “So, how do you like your day so far?” I hadn’t said too much, content to let Kaliopi once again do the talking, allowing myself to absorb and learn. And she’d been correct about the storm—it was starting to rain; waiters were frantically clearing the few outside tables and bringing them in. As the first heavy drops fell, accompanied by a flash of lightning, I snuggled back into my bench seat after polishing off the chop and nursed an after-dinner mug of hot chocolate.
“It’s not just Delphi, Kaliopi, it’s everything I’ve experienced so far, meeting you and your
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