We hopped off the boat as usual for a wander through the streets, and honestly… were disappointed. We’ve obviously been very spoilt, since we now expect to be immediately charmed by a place. The locals obviously resent a sudden influx of tourists to their town (which we can’t really blame them for I suppose), and don’t speak very much English, so we didn’t get a particularly friendly reception.
Don’t worry, I still managed to find many things to snap pictures of.
Apparently the oranges are a bitter type that is not great for eating, but mainly used for making marmalade, which is why the locals don’t strip the trees of their fruit immediately.
This beach may be more popular in the summer season.
Once we’d exhausted the few attractions of the town itself, we created our own amusement by… holding up statues. Not very lucrative by the way, just in case you're considering it.
And trying to imitate the strange signs. Apparently this is supposed to be a pedestrian ‘STOP’ sign. I still don’t get it.
We very eagerly hopped on our tour the next morning to the ancient ruins of Delphi (proximity to which was the reason we docked in Itea).
We’re told that the Greeks favour a fairly romantic style to their ancient ruins. Rather than reconstructing the entire site the way it would have been originally as some countries do, they do just enough to give you a feeling of it, and you use your imagination to create the rest. Of course the other argument is that they don’t have enough funds dedicated to conservation. I like the romantic story best.
The weather wasn’t as kind to us this day as it has been every other day. No major problem.
This is a reconstructed treasury, a place where gifts from the visitors to the ancient Oracle of Delphi would be kept.
In an area that required rebuilding many times because it kept getting hit by earthquakes, this single retaining wall stayed standing, and still is today. Apparently it’s due to its construction – the way the stone blocks are cut to fit exactly together means it can withstand a great deal more pressure than a single brick pattern wall can. Note to self for future retaining wall projects!
It used to be the local noticeboard. Notices were carved into the stone.
This is the stone on which the oracle is supposed to have sat.
The place had the obligatory amphitheatre. Like how I say that so casually? Another amphitheatre, oh how terribly mundane!
We had to go on a bit of a hike to reach the stadium. Because the rest of the site is on such sloping ground, it was difficult to find a piece of flat ground long enough for a stadium.
Tom thought he’d better do some stretches to make sure he was ready for the walk back down again.
We visited the site museum afterward, but didn’t really get to appreciate it much because it was absolutely packed with school children on an excursion, so we escaped as fast as possible to preserve our sanity.
And that was Itea and Delphi! Delphi is certainly worth seeing, and we have to remember that Itea was merely a practical stop for us. We can’t criticise it too much for not being particularly tourist friendly
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