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| Katakolon Main Street |
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| Main Street traffic In Katakolon |
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| First and last side street in Katakolon |
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| Docked in Katakolon Harbour |
This is the sleepiest town imaginable; it has one main
street which stretches all of half a kilometer along the sea side. Unless there
is a cruise ship docked in its impressive facilities, the place is a ghost
town. Even the end to end sea side restaurants are shuttered and deserted. But,
it is charming and unspoiled. The few shops catering to tourists offer a good
selection of clothing, ceramics, jewellery, shoes at reasonable prices without
the need to bargain. Shop attendants are not pushy (as in so many other ports)
and their smiles appear to be genuine.
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| Venus de Tourist |
Why Katakolon? It is the Gateway to ancient Olympia, 25
miles to the east. 2000 years ago, Olympia was home to the first Olympic Games,
without hyped up marketing and ‘weird’ sports.
Athletes – all male, all in their birthday suits, no women allowed –
crowded into the arena and competed for laurels instead of sponsorship money. They
must have had cheaters, as there is something called ‘cheater’s alley’, where
athletes had to place a large statue of Zeus – at their own expense – which carried
a chiseled inscription advertising the name and the offence of the cheater, for
all to see. Today it forms an interesting promenade lined with several Zeus
statues in ruins by now. One visitor was heard to ask, whether Lance Armstrong
or any of his not so honest colleagues are going to be added to this rogues’
gallery.
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| Olympic outfits on Deer Hunters |
The first competitions are shrouded in myth (what else could
it be in Greece) and consisted of chariot and horse races, later followed by
sprint competitions covering around a hundred yards. Wars and battles were suspended
for the length of the games, where male citizens from the known Mediterranean
world congregated and did their competitive thing. A lofty temple dedicated to
Zeus, whose forty foot golden statue graced the interior and has since been
melted down by later invaders, served as awe inspiring backdrop for victory
parties among athletes, merchants, orators, poets and philosophers.
I opted for a day without ruins, and participated in a tour
that sounded more like a day in the Elysian Fields to me: visit an olive grove
with vineyard, which is owned by a Greek family, which had opened their working
farm to occasional groups of visitors.
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| Magna Grecia, the Olive and Wine Makers, whom I visited |
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| Just like BC.... |
Imagine: Gently rolling hills, sunny blue sky, olive trees
in bloom, rows of vines neatly stretching into the fields, monster sized
rabbits multiplying, farm dogs snoozing in the shade, a few tables under the
trees and under a large enclosed terrace, birds singing, and ducks quacking,
flowering plants adding touches of colour and enticing scents…just the right
thing after whirlwind cruising.
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| Farm Dove... |
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| Farm Guard Dog |
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| Everything is Sprouting... |
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| Mezes examples.... |
The family offered mezes, their types of tapas, made with
home grown ingredients. Freshly baked bread alongside still murky virgin olive
oil mixed with oregano and basil and orange peel, Feta cheese, real Kalamata
olives, small sausages, bruschetta, tatsiki and balaclava. Some of their home
grown wines (excellent) accompanied the simple but delicious lunch. Water, ouzo
or locally brewed liquor topped off the country snack.
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| Olives from the Grove... |
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| Fine Jewellery |
As a nod to agro tourism, there was of course a little farm
store offering not only farm products, but local hand painted ceramics as well
as uniquely designed pieces of jewellery.
Katakolon was a perfect little sleepy place to wind down
from a hectic circuit of ports, and stop and smell the jasmine blossoms and
just kick back and do nothing.
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| Until The Next Time in Lovely Greece.... |
