Athens to Olympia

We collected people across 5 hotels and then headed into the countryside. Our first stop was the Corinth canal built in 1892 to connect the Aegean and Adriatic Seas, it is 4 miles long and 25 meters wide.

Lions Gate Mycenae

Then we visited Mycenae, a fortress palace built in 1300 BC. This site was explored by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. The Lions Gate had been exposed for centuries, but was mistakenly assumed to be of Venetian origin. Schliemann, who had already discovered the city of Troy, began digging behind the gates discovering 5 of the 6 royal graves eventually found in the grave circle. Mycenae was built with huge stones, some weighing 18 tons. In the 5th century BC, the Greeks couldn't build with stones this big, so they created the legend of the Cyclops to explain these walls. Nearby is the tomb of Agamemnon, a beehive tomb (shaped like a beehive inside) which has been preserved since 1350 BC.

Beehive tomb of Agamemnon

We had lunch in the port town of Nafplio which has a fortress in the middle of the harbor. Next stop was the Theatre at Epidourus, which seats 14000.

We spent the next 4 hours driving through the mountainous country with many hairpin turns arriving in Olympia well after dark. The hotel, Europa, was top notch with beautiful rooms and a courtyard leading to the pool.