5/15 Olympia

After a 7:30 a.m. breakfast, we departed for Olympia on our bus at 8:30. (You'll find a photo of our most excellent bus driver posted today.) The bus ride was almost four hours long, broken up by a short ferry ride that crossed to Rio on the peninsula. We checked in to our hotel in Olympia a little after noon, then dined at a local cafe. After lunch, we walked to the site of ancient Olympia, about 10 minutes away. We strolled around the site in the stifling heat and were thankful for the shade and infrequent breezes. Olympia was a major religious, cultural, and sporting center from about the 10th - 4th centuries B.C. It was the site of the temple of Zeus; there were also temples for other gods and goddesses. Olympia was also famous for its sports; the first Olympic games were held here in the 8th century B.C. In recognition of this, the flame for the modern Olympics is still carried from ancient Olympia. There were several areas within the site devoted to athletes' training and competition: the gymnasium, the Palaestra, and the stadium, for example. Speaking of the stadium, to recreate what it may have been like hundreds of years ago, Jenn and Doug held a little race there. They tied. After exploring ancient Olympia, the remainder of the afternoon was spent napping, doing laundry, playing cards, and keeping up with reading and journals. We had supper at our hotel.