Bike Tour Day 12 - The Final Ride to Olympia & Homeward Bound

We had a relaxed, leisurely departure from the Olympian Village Resort.  We loved the room and the food, but the group universally felt it was “Disney Greece”, and had no true connection to actual Greek culture:

Delightful digs!

A parting view of the resort as we start the last ride

We decided to forego any pictures on the 45k bike ride for this day, and savored the moment, enjoying more beautiful vistas earned by climbing up and flying down.  But, the ride did come to and end in the town of Olympia.  That’s not to say the festivities ended too – our guides surprised us with a 3 PM meeting and walk over to the site of ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic games.  We also had a wonderful private guide for our visit – Nita greatly illuminated the meaning of the site, and had our rapt attention as we sat on and amid the limestone ruins:

 The EP group takes it all in

The ancient site is wonderfully restored and each specialized building still had its essence intact:

The Gymnasion, for track & javelin training

The Palaestra, for boxing, wrestling & Greek “ultimate fighting”

The ruins of the Treasury, where the corporate sponsors

of old had their digs

We all posed as “Team Experience Plus”, inspired by the Olympian vibe:

From left: Zia, Jeff, Rick, Bill, Nancy, Jeff, Linda, June and guide Patricia

The Stadium was a true highlight – we were, however, admonished to keep our clothing on, unlike competitors of the past (and some modern visitors who are arrested, seems it happens all the time):

The entry portal to the Stadium,

as it has been since 480 B.C.

View entering the stadium

(starting blocks in the foreground)

Races were run on the straightaway, not in an oval:

Bill poses as the starter, let the

games begin!

  

Of course, we cannot leave out the Temple of Zeus – this reconstructed column gives an idea of scale.  The actual temple was 66 feet high measured from the topline, and this column is 34 feet high:

Peter in front of Temple of Zeus column – wow 

The Olympia Museum contains some of the most impressive intact statuary, second only to the remains of the Acropolis.  These include the amazingly preserved pedimental sculptures from the Temple of Zeus:

East Pediment (Serenity)

West Pediment (Chaos)

The “aged seer” of the east pediment takes a call on his cell,

foretelling of impending doom...

Add this famous sculpture, Paionios’ Nike:

Nike, goddess of Victory, pre-swoosh

The site and the museum were incredible “capstones” to a fabulous adventure.  But the thrills were not quite over!  As we walked back to the hotel, we stopped into a bookstore…and lo and behold, the proprietor had a black and white picture of a Greek track and field Olympian holding the torch at the 1964 Tokyo games – and it was he in the picture!:

Pericles and June holding original torches from the

1972 and 1964 Olympics, respectively

But, all good things come to an end – the bikes were back on the van, a wonderful final dinner feast was had, and we made our plans to return to Athens and beyond.  We are now flying home, first via Paris CDG airport today, overnight Saturday near the airport, and then tomorrow on to St. Paul.  For now, it is THE END:

The van and bikes head to their home in Italy

Thanks so much to you for traveling with us!