Hellenistic Odyssey: Conclusion

It was difficult to think of a way to end one of the best summers of my life. I had seen places that I had dreamed of seeing, places that only seemed to exist in books or movies. And I discovered new places, met people, tried new flavors and combinations of food and drink. What do you do with all of this once you have it? I decided the best way would be to retrace my steps just a bit and end with a week of relaxation in Athens.
I had one more day left on my car rental so I stopped in Corinth again for the night. I stayed in the Acropolis Hotel again. They did not put me in as nice of a room this time, but it was fine, until the AC went out in the middle of the night. I did spend most of the afternoon at the beach. Just as before, Corinth is a nice quiet town. It had not changed since the month before.
I dropped the car in Piraeus, near the port and took the metro back to Athens. I misinterpreted where the new hostel that I would be staying was located (although there is a metro station close by, just not the one I thought) and had a longer walk than I would have liked, but I found it and settled in. This time I was in Zorbas Hostel. I was here for eight nights so I had plenty of time to meet the staff and the people who came and went. Decent place for a decent price. None of the places in which I stayed were 5-star (except maybe the one in Elounda), but I have no major complaints about any of them.
The food was almost always amazing. Who can go wrong with seafood and sausage? Mousaka is like…..eggplant pasta, I guess, pretty tasty. Souvlaki is this chopped meat thing, which can be pork, steak, lamb, or chicken. And kabab is always an option. And cheese pie…… like some of the sunsets that I saw along the journey, words cannot express how I feel about cheese pie. And of course, baklava is always around to sample. Most places will bring you a shot of Ouzo (or Raki in Crete) at the end of your meal. Ouzo is an anise drink, much better than it sounds. Raki……I don’t know what Raki is, but it’s good.
What did I do in this whole leftover week in Athens? Well, I went to the Roman Agora and the Hill of the Muses, which I did not get to the first time around. I attempted to go to the Observatory to watch the meteor showers. The Observatory closed just before sunset. It is up on a high hill and I hung around for a while after dark, but still too much light. I did however, get a great view of the lit-up Acropolis. I spent two days on the beach in Piraeus, always time well spent. And the remaining time? I just bounced around to various cafes. I read. I wrote. I smoked shisha. It was everything that I dreamed it would be. Also, the second shisha place that Katrina and I found in the first round of Athens, was called YaDria. Let’s just say they got to know me and look for me around a certain time most days of this week. There were two other places that I also sampled. They were fine as well.
I can’t say that I am looking forward to leaving and getting back to normal life, but how can I complain? It has been a memorable experience and I am grateful for having gotten the chance to have lived it. I will carry it with me for the rest of my life. Now when I read about ancient Greece or the parts of the Bible that take place here, I will have a more accurate vision in my mind of how these places looked, which hopefully will lead to a more accurate understanding of the events I am reading about. And I hope that the insights that I have gained and will continue to gain will provide me with fresh vision and renewed energy to fuel the remainder of my time on Earth. Of course, I hope this will not be my last trip to an exotic or meaningful location and that whatever future trips I take will also add fuel to the fires of life. May you find the same.

Hellenistic Odyssey Part 2: Corinth

When I was brainstorming the places that I wanted to go this summer, Corinth was pretty high on the list. I listed it because it was one of the main Greek city-states (like Athens or Sparta), but then it dawned on me that this is another Biblical site. Paul visited Corinth after Athens and two books of the Bible are letters to the church that he started there. Although it would be cool to say I’m following Paul’s journey, we sort of picked up in the middle. He did go from Athens to Corinth, but he started in Macedonia and ended in Turkey. If my ultimate plan plays out, I will hit most of his stops, except the Turkish ones, just not in order.
Arrival
We took a taxi from Zeus Hostel to the bus station. There was some confusion about which platform to find the bus so we had to wait for the next one, which isn’t so bad, they run every hour. After a brief nap on the bus, we arrived at the canal station of Corinth, which turns out was the wrong bus stop and had to catch a taxi to our hotel, Hotel Acropolis. It was also decided that Katrina would ask about transportation from now on so that I would not “Randall” any of it again. The canal is beautiful though and I’m glad we saw it. You can take a boat through it although we did not. Hotel Acropolis is a small family-run hotel. Like Corinth itself, it is a nice quiet place. For the rest of that first day, we just kind of roamed around. There is a nice walking area along the harbor. The beach is rocky, but not too crowded which makes it relaxing. We stopped at a sea-side café, then roamed around some more. There is an area with nice restaurants, bars, cafes, etc., much like Athens. We found a traditional Greek place for dinner. We went to the beach and sat and star gazed for a while. Not the best place for seeing the night’s sky, but compared to Al Ain and Dubai, a great view.
Ancient Corinth
Essentially, this is the part that we came to see. Again, more ruins, but a pretty fascinating place. There was a famous temple to Apollo. Honestly, I was a bit sick this day and it was difficult for me to really appreciate it. We sat a couple of places to eat lunch and try to read 1 and 2 Corinthians, but were disrupted by a tour group (the same one twice). Having finally accomplished this, we continued. It was not until we reached the remains of the Bema, the building in which Paul was accused of causing trouble, that it finally hit me that I was standing in such a historic place. Again, there is nothing particularly special about Corinth. We made a quick visit and this is the major site and the only real one they we attempted to see. Just saying that I was in the same place as Paul is more than enough for me. Ultimately, this is what my entire trip is about. Seeing these places for myself.
Departure
The next day we packed and left our bags at the hotel and headed back to the beach. We stopped at a café for coffee, then got a chair on the beach itself. Turns out the café also operates the chairs. You do not have to rent a chair, but you do have to order something. Not bad at all. We chilled there for an hour or two, then grabbed our stuff at the hotel and were off to the bus station and back to Athens. We intended to go to the port that night and take an overnight ferry to Santorini. The bus dropped us at a metro stop and we took the metro back to the main square. We sat at the shisha place for a couple of hours until it was time to get back on the metro and head to the port.
Got Shisha?
They do not. We searched. We hoped. We asked. We were told there was once a “Turkish Nargila” place, but it closed a few years before. It is unfortunate, because, there were a few places that seemed perfect for it. Probably better for our lungs though.
Conclusion
There is nothing particularly special about Corinth outside of its history and biblical connection. It is a nice quiet beach town. I could have spent a couple more days there just relaxing. The Bible says that Paul spent a year and a half there, I can see why.