Last time we left the perfect beach in a little bit of a hurry to head south again. We found another beautiful spot, the Golden Beach. After some time well spend we headed south once more. Since Olympia or Archea Olimpia was just a few minutes from our normal route, we had to see the place. Join us for van-life experiences and the freedom it brings.
After the perfect beach
As frequent readers might know, we left in a little bit of a hurry last time and headed directly south again. Since we started to get the taste for staying a bit longer in one specific place, we decided to do that more often. So stocking up on food and water it was once again. You would not believe the amount of water needed per day or week – depending on the person. As we stopped the next time at another beach-bar, the Place seemed to be beautiful at first glance. Friendly and open, still isolated from the main streets we parked behind some reed to protect us from the wind. It seemed to be perfect once again until our young puppies discovered some colorful wooden beehives, left on the beach. And naturally, the buzzing insects caught their attention. After some snaps into the air, the insects started to defend themselves and stung the little dogs. Well, apparently they got a bit more aggressive, and we figured out to leave the place and look for another location.
The sight of wooden beehives left at parking spaces and on the beach in Greece is quite a common one. At least in the off-season, since I can’t think about them being friends with tourists and visitors. Without the dogs, there was absolutely no issue regarding bees, but with them and the fact, that puppies want to play with pretty much everything this should be something to consider in the future.
The Golden Beach
As we followed the road 3 minutes to the south of the place, literally on the other side of the central tourist locations, there was the so-called Golden Beach. A pristine area behind some reed and beneath a few trees. We parked the camper-vans as evenly as possible and, as always, went to the beach first. Some sand dunes separated our vans from the beach so this time we had no direct view, however, on the upside it protected us against some wind which came up occasionally over the days.
The moments I had on this beach and the conversations with my sister while watching the ocean were absolute gold. Just imagine how the place made our atmosphere for family discussions. A slight breeze sweeping over from the sea, the smell of the ocean surrounding us. At the horizon, the sun was going down as the day was fading and huge stormclouds heading up along the coastline. Looking over the sea, lightning rippling through the skies with the thunder arriving some seconds later. It somehow puts your world back into perspective, and that it’s not all about you.
The time on the beach flew by like we were only a few hours there. You can always tell, how good your time has been at a specific moment by merely checking, how long it felt. Everybody should know how long it feels to wait for somebody to show up or something to happen. Minutes turn into hours and hours to days.
In times like this it’s quite the opposite, what are days actually feel like merely a few hours and even if you do nothing else than sitting on the beach, enjoying a coffee the sheer speed of day turning into the night can be a measurement of a perfect time.
Archea Olimpia
Since the historic city of Olympia was just a few minutes inland from our path south, we did not want to miss the place, almost everybody has heard of at some point in time in life.
Pretty straightforward through the village there is a parking space where we had to leave the vans and get to the site. There was a bummer as we arrived, or two to be precise. The first one was that our puppies had to get back to the vans and stay there since no dogs are allowed there. The second one was the limited opening times. We did arrive a little bit late that day, and the time, the sites close are 3 PM. To be honest with me, both of the bummers are our own fault since the first thing is pure logic and the second one is just about ten seconds of effort to check before visiting.
You did not really think you can take the dogs to an archeological site, did you?
No, smartass, I did not think that this will be OK, I just did not think at all. It’s just the fact that I was not accompanied by a dog for a long, long time. So will you shut up and let me continue? Yes, great!
Another top-tip will be to arrive early enough to visit everything. We just had two hours for three sights. There is the actual Archea Olimpia, and two different museums to check out. As quite common in Greece, you buy Tickets to all three sites at once. Well, we managed two, and that was quite a good result.
The Archeological site
First of all, it was the actual old city itself. Getting through the entrance, which is on a small hill, you can already see a lot. But believe me, it’s just a fraction of the place.
I don’t want to get into too much detail here since most cities are quite similar in their appearance. Substantial religious buildings and entertainment facilities, as well as cultural buildings like bathhouses and stuff like that.
But the magnitude and size of the place dwarfed Delphi, the diameter of the temple’s pillars made the Pantheon in Athens seem like, well, nice instead of extremely impressive. Don’t get me wrong here – the Pantheon is impressive and compared to Olympia, it is far better preserved and repaired. Just the fact that you can basically get up really close to pieces of the pillars and can see the absolute, mind-blowing, massive size will start sparkles in your brain. There are a few things in our “modern” times that are not as impressive anymore if you have seen what mankind accomplished ages ago. No offense Eiffel tower, Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and stuff. You’re still great, and must-sees, but a building this size, almost completely made out of stone, with relatively “primitive” tools are a sheer projection of willpower, finesse and a real statement of power.
We managed to jam in one of the included museums of the place and once again the craftsmanship on display stunned us. Just imagine sitting down with some stonemasons tools and a massive block of marvel and forming it into a masterpiece. The patience and skill required for this task are beyond everything my mind can come up with. It feels like today we are a result-driven species, everything has to be achieved in the shortest possible time, and the results have to be almost instant. The process of hammering a sculpture of this magnificence out of a block of stone, over such a considerable amount of time, just to be one of many in a city already filled with art, is at least for my mind, unthinkable. There may be artists out there who can and will commit such an amount of passion to their projects. And maybe, just maybe, some of their pieces will be on display in the decades to come.
Final thoughts
If the people back then would know how the world looks today and even if we are technically advanced beyond belief (for their minds at least,) still standing in front of their creations with awe, would surely fill them with pride and the feeling that they helped to shape the picture of mankind.
I think sometimes, their qualities and sheer commitment may be lost in time, but on the other hand, it hasn’t. The achievements of our time are just not this visible at first glance. You have to look at it with a different perspective. From the creativity of simple Youtube videos to buildings like skyscrapers which dominate today’s megacities skylines up to spacecraft and medical advancements. I just realize, while writing the article that we may not have lost the drive to perfection. It only has different shapes and forms.
Looking at it from this perspective, the artwork back in the days may be viewed at like we browse the Internet today. Ah, another cat playing the piano. Wouldn’t it be a funny thought to have a screen in a future museum with the first viral “cat plays piano” video?
Maybe I’ve given you all a little bit to think about, feel free to share your opinion and join us when we visit the next beaches in Greece.
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