Vacation days in GreeceRichardson, Rufus B. (Rufus Byam)
History
Vacation days in Greece
Richardson, Rufus B. (Rufus Byam)
Greece -- Description and travel
When the cool of the day had come on we strolled over the sacred
precinct, and then with Mr. Kabbadias and his family took dinner at a
table set in the open air just behind the stage building. Close by us
was the fine _cavea_ of the theatre, resplendent with the light of a
summer full-moon. It is easily understood that such a visit is more
impressive than the usual one from Nauplia, in which most of the day is
taken up in coming and going and one has but about three hours to see
the place and take a hurried luncheon.
Rising the next morning at two o'clock from our mattresses on the floor
beside the statues in the museum, we struck into a more Alpine road
even than that by which we had come, into the roughest part of Argolis.
At eight o'clock we passed the water-shed between the Argolic and the
Saronic gulfs, from which both are plainly visible, and here, high up
between Ortholithi and the Didyma, we took our well-earned breakfast
beside a spring. At noon we were at the ruins of Troezen, and so almost
home.
MESSENE AND SANDY PYLOS
In passing from Olympia to Sparta by sea in 1891 I had put into the
harbor of Pylos at sunset; and had not fellow-travellers urged me on
I could not have resisted the powerful charm of the place. A hurried
visit to Ithome the next day afforded some compensation, and Sparta,
approached by the magnificent Langadha Pass through Taygetos, made
me forget my loss entirely. But for years that sunset and nightfall
lingered in my memory, accompanied by the hope of letting the
impression of Pylos deepen upon me by a second visit. Ten years and a
half later I found myself again in Messenia, with the full intention of
filling up the gap in my acquaintance with that corner of Greece; but
it was December, and a heavy rain set in and drove our party back to
Athens by rail.
In January of the present year six of us took the train at Athens for
Kalamata, the modern capital of Messenia. It was immediately after a
heavy fall of snow; and we hoped at least to revel in the sight of
Arcadia presenting a Swiss aspect, but indulged also the larger hope of
studying carefully Messene, and especially Pylos. Neither hope failed
us; Arcadia was magnificent in its winter dress. In Tripolitza, which
is over two thousand feet high, the snow lay several inches thick, and
the train threaded its way among mountains carrying heavy masses of it.
The journey paid for itself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account