We woke up at Olympian Asty Hotel to another glorious day.  As breakfast was included, we ate a substantial meal as we knew it would be awhile before we would eat again.  It turns out that we are only eating 2 biggish meals a day, but it works great for our way of travelling and for the Greeks who take siesta for a couple of hours early afternoon.

We got tentative directions for the walking paths at Lousios Gorge from the lady at hotel reception.  She was very kind and helpful, and told us she'd spent a month at Laval University, learning about hospitality.  I put in a plug for her to come to Atlantic Culinary and Hospitality Institute on the Island.  

Anyway, we left Ancient Olympia not know where we were heading, but knew we were heading back into the mountains.  We got TOTALLY lost!  Hadn't got a clue where we were, but it was a great feeling.  No cellphone, no GPS and lost in the middle of the Peloponnese.  No problem.  We found this small archaeological sign pointing the way to the tomb of Alipheira, so when we finally got back to our apartment in Xiropigado tonight, I google mapped it to find out where we were.   

We were really off, but parallel to where we wanted to go, with about 10 mountains in between.  But, we eventually found our way back, the roundabout way, and finally found the village of Dimitsana where we had a big lunch before heading out to the gorge.  Meredith, I've eaten at least 10 olives every day since we've been here, and I think of you every time I eat them.  They're delicious!  But you know what's really different?  Here, with Greek salad, we don't get any balsamic vinegar, just olive oil and a huge chunk of Feta cheese with the tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, olives (and never lettuce) all sprinkled with dry oregano.  And another thing we've learned about meals here is that when everyone orders, its usually big enough to share. 

Enough about the food.  We eventually found the path leading down to the gorge, and began the treacherous, rocky climb down.  We walked straight down a little over an hour, and still, we weren't even close to the bottom, but we could hear water all the way.  As the sun was beginning to set, we had to climb back up, and then drive another three hours to get back to our apartment.  I'd been expecting a leisurely walk along a dirt path.  Not so.

Back in the car driving home, we zigzagged through the mountain roads and mountain villages again.  It's just like skiing in a giant slalom, left, right, left, right and slowing down a bit when we come to the villages where people, cars, cats and dogs are often in the middle of the very narrow streets.  Both of us have sore stomach muscles from all the to'ing and fro'ing.  It was wonderful to jump into a hot shower and relax when we got back.  Goodnight to all, xx