Peoples Bank Platinum Club members and friends took off in March on their most ambitious trip yet, a two-week journey through Greece.
Despite the almost 13 hour flight to and from their destination, the travelers agreed that the trip was an amazing experience. “It was the trip of a lifetime,” said Tesa Duckworth of Magee.
After landing in the capital city of Athens and orienting themselves to the eight hour time difference, the group set out to explore the land which is called “The Cradle of Western Civilization.”
Of course, almost every site on a tour of Greece is a history lesson. The first full day of touring featured the ancient Greek Parliament and the Olympic Stadium.
Greece is also called “The Cradle of Democracy.” The word “demos” means people, which refers to Greece’s early form of government “by the people.” Now, however, the country is less democratic and moving toward socialism.
“I didn’t realize that it was such a socialist country,” said Betsy Osborn of Magee.
But the country is also full of religious and spiritual sites, many of which are important in ancient Greek mythology and pagan religion. The group visited the Temple of Zeus, the main god of the ancient Greeks, and the Acropolis in Athens, which was the religious center of Ancient Greece. They also visited the island of Delos, the birthplace of the gods Apollo and his sister Artemis.
There are also many Christian sites to visit in Greece, where the group saw the six Eastern Orthodox monasteries, built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that resemble the formations found in Bryce National Park in the U. S. The travelers were able to visit the Varlaam Monastery and the St. Stephen Monastery, and they drove by Cyril’s Monastery, which appeared in the 1981 James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.
The tour also included stops at locations recorded in the Bible. Tour director James Smith of Magee said, “The highlight of this for me was being able to climb to the top of Mars Hill, where Paul preached his famous sermons emphasizing the need to know God rather than worshipping the unknown god.
About 90 percent of Greeks are members of the Christian Orthodox Church. Others are Muslim, Jewish and other faiths. A small percentage of modern Greeks are Hellenists, believers in the powers of the ancient Greek gods.
Some of the group’s touring time was spent just getting to enjoy everyday life in modern Greece.
They visited Arachova, which is the largest ski resort in Greece, at the base of Mount Parnassus and also the home of the largest olive orchard in the country with over 1.2 million olive trees.
They were guests of a local family in Olympia which owns a large olive garden and produces their own brand of olive oil, one of the main food sources and exports of Greece. At a local quince and honey farm, they saw over 200 quince trees and thousands of bee hives and were able to taste the quince marmalade and honey processed there.
A highlight of any trip to Greece is a cruise to the inhabited islands of Mykonos and Santorini.
Though Mykonos is one of the smallest, it is also the most cosmopolitan island in Greece and has the reputation of being the playground of the rich and famous. When blustery weather kept the group from moving on to Santorini, they got to enjoy another day of relaxing and shopping on “the party island.”
The did get to spend the next two nights at Santorini, however, one of the most beautiful islands in the world, where they enjoyed the drive through the fascinating landscape of vineyards, white washed chapels and volcanic cliffs to the spectacular village of Oia.
“This was the ladies’ final day to shop, shop, shop,” said Smith, “and that they did!”
The day ended with a walking tour of the village of Megalochori and a regional three-course dinner in an open setting with a breathtaking view of the rich, blue Aegean waters. The next day they returned to Athens to depart for America.
The trip was coordinated by Collette Tours and sponsored by the Peoples Bank Platinum Club.
