Nude Athlete Ban & One Hundred Olive Trees

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Katakolon, Island of Peloponnese, Greece
Home of Mount Olympia
25 degrees Celsius, light cloud, light breeze
Sunday, October 24, 2004

Nude Athlete Ban & One Hundred Olive Trees

In the ancient Olympics the athletes competed in the nude. In the ancient Olympic stadium today, I competed in a footrace but Jan thought it better that I not disrobe as it may cause a stampede at the exits. So, I competed with my backpack and easily defeated all those in the wheelchair and walker category. See my triumphant photograph in the slideshow. Don’t look for a medal ceremony photo, though, this was not about fame and fortune, the motivation was all about the love of sport and the sheer joy of participation.

Maxine and Aldo, from Washington State who sit with us at our dinner table each evening joined us for our independent taxi tour today. The rate for our taxi was double yesterdays rate of 20 Euros per hour at 40 Euros per hour. Still, it was a bargain compared to the ship tour to Olympia at 79 Euros each. Our taxi driver today, 24-year-old Dimitrios, is a recent graduate of business school from University if Kalamata, who is sharing the taxi with his father, while he decides what to do with the rest of his life.

Dimitrios told us he and his father had planted one hundred olive trees on his aunts land when he was about fourteen. It takes about five years before an olive tree bears fruit and in the early years especially you must fertilize and prune them. The purpose of these trees was to provide Dimitrios and his family with all the olive oil they would need for their lifetime. There was no commercial objective involved.

When Jennifer and Stephen were younger they watched a cartoon program called Hercules. The announcer began each show in a deep voice…”from high atop Mount Olympus…” Well, I been there and done that. We walked through the remains of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, The Temple of Zeus at Olympia. (See photos)

As previously mentioned we went into the ancient Olympic stadium, which in ancient times had seating for 40,000. The first Olympics were held in 776 BC in honor of Zeus. At the first Olympics a 200-meter footrace was held and it was open to competitors from different city-states of the time.

The museum at the site has a collection of antiquities and sculpture that is amazing and wonderful to see. In the slideshow there are some photos.

For those of you interested in more important things and are following my cappuccino in every port survey, while Jan browses the shops, here is my report. The cappuccino here cost 3 Euros and was a bit bitter, which I am told is a characteristic of Greek coffee. You can see a photo from the table where I drank it overlooking the harbor in the slideshow.

On the trip back from Olympia, Jan and I shared a Sun-Ripe fruit leathers with Maxine, Aldo and Dimitrios, as a product of Canada. When we arrived back in town, Dimitrios took three apples from the trunk of his car and gave them to me. “I picked these yesterday from the tree in my yard.”

That evening Jan and I ate one of the apples, it was similar to a golden delicious apple, yellow and sweet/tart taste but firmer and crisper. We really enjoyed it.