Delphi Blog

Zach Wasielewski

Delphi Blog

            Waking up at the monastery was difficult because we did not have any technology so there was no way for me to set an alarm to wake myself up.  However, after we had our breakfast and took a couple of last minute pictures we set off for Arahova.  Arahova is the ski town that we were staying in for the night and it is also near Delphi.  The drive wasn’t that long and the views were amazing.  There were mountains all around and it was the first time I saw snow since arriving in Greece. We arrived at Arahova and checked into the hotel.   Professor Roth decided that since it was already 12,  and the mountain closed at 4,  we should just go skiing the next day.  I was relieved when I heard this because I was excited to ski but I wanted to get a full day of skiing not just half a day.  We took care of the rentals for the next day and went over to Delphi.  Delphi is an archeological site and a town, with the Delphic oracle.  It also has the temple of Apollo which has a pathway leading up to three massive columns.   Behind the columns is the tomb. The temple has methane gases that rose from beneath the temple.   These fumes made the oracles high and the ability to tell the future.  Archeologist noticed these gases when there was an earthquake that hit the temple of Apollo and broke the back of the temple.  There was also an amphitheater were they would do poetry readings, contests and singing.  As we continued to walk upwards, we arrived at a stadium where races were held for the Pythian Games.  These games were held every 4 years, like the modern day Olympics, and athletes from all over would come to compete in these games.  When I saw this stadium, I thought to myself how all the spectators would need to climb up to the top to watch the athlete’s race.  I also wondered how many people would come to watch the races and if there were a lot of spectators, how they would fit everyone in the stadium.  As we were walking down from the stadium you could look out and see the ancient ruins.  There was nothing around but mountains off in the distance.  Since we were on a mountain you felt like you were looking down into a valley that kept going on forever.  I will remember that view for the rest of my life because I felt like I was on top of the world.  As we were leaving there was a circular temple called the temple of Athena. After we left Delphi we headed back to Arahova and we had a little time to ourselves. Pat, Chryssie, Hayley, Katie and I decided to go walk around the town for a while and see what we could find.  Ioanna told us of a great place to get hot chocolate so we decided to go get a cup after we finished walking around looking in the stores.  The hot chocolate was amazing.   I believe I drank mine in about a minute.  We then went back to get ready for dinner that was at the top of 300 stairs.  As we were climbing up to dinner the only thing I could think about was how hungry I was so I decided to run up the stairs.  Running up 300 stairs is a lot harder than you think, especially when you are starving.  Once we all arrived at the top we went in for what I think was the best dinner I have had in Greece.  We had lamb, chicken, pork, pasta, salad, beans, feta cheese, fried zucchini, and bread with garlic butter.  I ate as much as possible because the food was amazing and I was very hungry.  After dinner we went to a café to get dessert.  Hayley and I decided to share so she had the chocolate soufflé and I had the apple pie.  The chocolate soufflé was the most amazing dessert I have ever tasted.  Hayley and I finished the entire thing.  After that we all decided to go back to the hotel.  We had an early morning, waking up at 730 to go skiing.