Chapels on the Hill

 Today, in Pylos, the temp is 71 (F).  They're predicting a high of 84 (F) with the possibility of afternoon showers.  In fact, for the rest of my stay here in Greece, it looks as though the temps are going to be hovering in the comfortable range. 

Today is free for us to do what we want.  My plans are to take some leisurely walks along the shorefront, short ones, and to spend most of the afternoon working on The Body in History.  I know some of you are no doubt thinking that sounds a bit absurd since, after all I am in Greece, and since I'm here I should be hitting every archeolgoical site possible.  But there is this bit inside me that keeps poking me, saying, "you need to write this shit down!"  So, unless something drastically changes things, that's what I'm going to be doing.

Yesterday, we walked through Mystras, one of the largest sites from the Byzantine period, and while it wasn't Byzantium, I'm thinking it was probably close.

There were a number of chapels built between the 11th and 13th centuries AD.  Like most of you out there, I'd never seen an ancient fresco before.  They were amazing.  Mystras is on a hill, a very big hill, though rather than climb to the top, we walked down.

The view was spectacular, though rather than post any spectacular view shots, I thought I dazzle you with a shot, or two, or three of the frescoes.

And, of course, here is one of the chapels.

Finally, the debate is tomorrow night.  One of the things I've read about it that is most pertinent is that Harris is going to be debating a pathological liar.  I'm betting that his team is far more worried about this than her team since they know he's going to be speaking in word salads, and, if he loses his temper, something that is quite likely, might drive the Trump Circus clown car right into a brick wall.

To the Lighthouse

 Good morning, from Gythio, Greece.  If the weather forecasts are correct, we will have a break from our temps in the mid 90s (F) 20s (C).  But only for today on our ride to Pylos.  Tomorrow we will back to normal late summer temps.

Before I left for this adventure, several people told me to start packing so I wouldn't forget anything.  And me, if you know me, said that was not necessary, that I wouldn't forget anything.  Well, I have to admit that I did forget one thing.  My comb.  Holy Crap!  One of life's essentials.  So, here I am raking my fingers through my hair trying to look somewhat presentable and the only thing I can think of saying is, to quote Eli Zinneman/Myers, "Shit."

Yesterday we had a hike to the lighthouse on Cape Tenaro, after hitting Girolimenas and the fortified city of Vathia.  The latter was interesting because there was a church with signs of the zodiac on the outside.

After Vathia, we had an interesting bus ride over very narrows roads and around sharp, hairpin curves until we reached the Cape for our hike.  Well, to be honest, it was more of a trek along a rocky path.  According to Garmin, I had a vigorous workout.  What stuck out in my head more than anything was that 2000 years ago, it wouldn't have been any easier, and yet they had the fortitude to build a lighthouse at the tip of the cape, the southernmost tip of Europe.  Being honest, those men building the lighthouse would have been younger than I, but on the other hand, they would have been wearing sandals rather than nice, well-fitting running shoes.

One of the true standouts was the Roman mosaic we saw on our hike.  At one time, there had been a statue of Poseidon, now there is just intricate tile work.  What an amazing thing to see.

After the hike, we stopped off for lunch and a swim at a beach.  Well, some went swimming, I paddled my feet.  This beach was so nice, and not at all what Americans think of when they think of beaches.  I could spend days there.