We had another tour booked for our visit to Katakolon — one I’d done before — to visit the ancient site of Olympia. There was no messing about with pre-registering in the Queen’s Room or theatre on this cruise; you simply turned up at the dockside at 09:35 with your ticket ready for a 09:45 departure.
We headed up to the restaurant at around 08:30 for a leisurely breakfast. Jane ordered a sausage and grilled tomato bagel — or rather, she ordered the components separately with the intention of constructing it herself. I stuck with my usual Bircher muesli, followed by a “half English” of bacon, egg, sausage, and black pudding with a side of sourdough toast. Jane’s bagel arrived with only a single sausage, so naturally, being the gentleman that I am, I offered up mine for the greater good of the bagel. In the end, she only needed half of it.
The coach journey to Olympia took about 40 minutes, though the time flew by thanks to our guide, Rhea, who provided a running commentary explaining how pretty much everything we know is, apparently, because of the Greeks. Olympia itself requires a fair bit of imagination these days, as it’s largely ruins — hardly surprising considering the last Olympic Games held there were in 393 AD.
The tour was fascinating. We saw the remains of the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Hera, the Temple of Philip II, and the ancient stadium. We also visited the site where the modern Olympic torch is lit before travelling to each new host city: the sacrificial altar outside the Temple of Hera. Altogether, the guided portion lasted about an hour before we made our way out past the museum, gift shop, and café, where the coach was waiting for us.
Back in Katakolon, we decided to browse the shops and grab some lunch ashore. Jane has recently become fascinated by the blue “evil eye” charms that seem to be everywhere in Greece — designed to ward off bad intentions — and wanted to buy some as gifts. She also had a mission to finally remember to buy some oregano-flavoured Lays crisps. My requirements were much simpler: gyros and a beer.
We walked to the far end of the high street before working our way back. My part of the mission was quickly accomplished at a small restaurant called Mango, where we had excellent gyros and beer. The gyros cost just €4 each, and the entire meal came to around €20 — an absolute bargain. Jane found the crisps in a kiosk opposite the restaurant and picked up the evil eye gifts in the first shop we came across, so after that all that remained was a leisurely stroll back to the ship.
Unfortunately, that stroll involved passing an ice cream parlour, which inevitably resulted in a diversion. We shared a small Snickers cup and a small maraschino cup while sitting by the harbour before finally returning onboard.
By the time we reached the Grills Terrace, the weather had clouded over, though it was still warm enough to sit outside for a while before heading to the Commodore Club for a well-earned Doom Bar. Ankit, our waiter, had apparently decided that Jane wouldn’t enjoy a Cool as a Cucumber cocktail and would much prefer a Citrus Martini instead. Since she’d gone back to the cabin before joining me in the Commodore Club, I trusted Ankit’s judgement and ordered one for her. As it turned out, he was absolutely right.
It was also nice to finally put a face to one of the Cruise Critic members, Doug, who also reads this blog. He introduced himself to us in the Commodore Club and we had a great chat. I now know of at least two actual, bona fide, real people on this ship who know about — and voluntarily read — my blog: Doug and Fred. Thank you both.
Dinner was an off-menu order: seafood linguine, which I’d been looking forward to all day. It was every bit as good as I’d hoped. Raul, the Maître d’ in the Queen’s Grill, came over to ask how spicy we wanted it on a scale of one to ten, and we settled on about a six. It turned out to be spot on — enough heat to make your lips tingle, but not enough to make your forehead sweat. Quite possibly the best meal of the trip so far.
After dinner, we went for a stroll to walk some of it off and eventually ended up in the Queen’s Room, where we sat watching the dancing for a while before finishing the evening with a nightcap back in the Commodore Club.
The clocks go back tonight too, so we get a lie-in tomorrow. Result!
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