A walk down an ancient path to Itea, then by bus along to the coast to Patra, in the Peloponnese.
From Delphi there is a path signposted to Kirra, said to have been used in ancient times by people coming up from the port on the coast to pay tribute to Apollo at his temple at Delphi. Well waymarked at first with a variety of symbols these die out among the olive trees on the coastal plain. As the path dropped down from Delphi, the landscape was one of limestone rocks, abundant and colourful wild flowers and terraces, no longer cultivated. In front of me I could see the coastal plain with mountains each side, the adjoining towns of Kirra and Itea, and the wine dark sea. I passed the occasional church and skirted the village of Chrisso before reaching the plantations of olive trees. On route I disturbed a snake sunning itself on the path, it shot off into the undergrowth before I stepped on it. Somewhere in the olives I must have missed a junction and so ended up at Itea rather Kirra.
When the E4 was planed there was a ferry to the Peloponnese but now it was necessary to catch a bus from Itea to Patra, and then another to Diakopto. While waiting for the Patra bus I lunched on calamare and fried potatoes in a cafe, like others on the road along the seafront, full of men with stubbly chins. They were mainly drinking a white spirit from miniature bottles, some eating fried sardines, some were playing cards, some just talking.
A slow bus journey but a pleasant one stopping at all the little towns and villages on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Some looked attractive with their little harbours, others less so. The new white cantilever bridge across the water joining the Peloponese to the rest of Greece looked dramatic from what I could see through the rain and bus window.
I am now in Patras for the night in the Hotel Olympic Star having just had a chicken, cheese and tomato crepe. The town seems shabby but lively in the evening, people meeting and greeting each other in bars and cafes, or walking along the covered pavements past the likes of Marks & Spencer's and Bennettons.
10.7 kilometres walked today, all downhill!
A GPX file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com, or from myViewRanger short code johnpon0042.
From Delphi there is a path signposted to Kirra, said to have been used in ancient times by people coming up from the port on the coast to pay tribute to Apollo at his temple at Delphi. Well waymarked at first with a variety of symbols these die out among the olive trees on the coastal plain. As the path dropped down from Delphi, the landscape was one of limestone rocks, abundant and colourful wild flowers and terraces, no longer cultivated. In front of me I could see the coastal plain with mountains each side, the adjoining towns of Kirra and Itea, and the wine dark sea. I passed the occasional church and skirted the village of Chrisso before reaching the plantations of olive trees. On route I disturbed a snake sunning itself on the path, it shot off into the undergrowth before I stepped on it. Somewhere in the olives I must have missed a junction and so ended up at Itea rather Kirra.
When the E4 was planed there was a ferry to the Peloponnese but now it was necessary to catch a bus from Itea to Patra, and then another to Diakopto. While waiting for the Patra bus I lunched on calamare and fried potatoes in a cafe, like others on the road along the seafront, full of men with stubbly chins. They were mainly drinking a white spirit from miniature bottles, some eating fried sardines, some were playing cards, some just talking.
A slow bus journey but a pleasant one stopping at all the little towns and villages on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Some looked attractive with their little harbours, others less so. The new white cantilever bridge across the water joining the Peloponese to the rest of Greece looked dramatic from what I could see through the rain and bus window.
I am now in Patras for the night in the Hotel Olympic Star having just had a chicken, cheese and tomato crepe. The town seems shabby but lively in the evening, people meeting and greeting each other in bars and cafes, or walking along the covered pavements past the likes of Marks & Spencer's and Bennettons.
10.7 kilometres walked today, all downhill!
A GPX file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com, or from myViewRanger short code johnpon0042.
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| A field of thistles on old farmland |
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| Sign indicating path is 3000 years old |
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