Honeymoon Day 10: Climbing Mount Olympus Part III: Exploring Around Mt. Olympus and Heading Down!

Since Thomas had expertly suggested we climb Mt. Olympus that second day when the weather was nicer and the cloud cover had cleared, we had day 3 to explore more around Mt. Olympus and the refuge before having to head back down the mountain to Litochoro.

We took a quick side trip with Thomas up a small plateau behind Christos Kakalos. It was a steep hike, but worth the workout. At the top of the plateau was a small worship area called the Profitis Ilias Peak Chapel, the chapel at the highest altitude in Greece. It was made of stone with a thatched low hanging roof. You could barely stand up in it, and the inside was adorned with paintings of Saints, offerings such as juice, water, fruits and candy, as well as candles and personal items. Thomas indicated that people would often leave items in Profitis Ilias, in hopes that it would represent a component of their life or the life of a loved one that they wanted blessed. Thomas pointed out a small toy bus sitting atop one of the brick walls. He theorized that maybe a bus driver or a schoolteacher had placed it there and prayed for blessings from God and the Saints.

It was beautiful inside; cool, calm, and relaxing. It smelled of the herbs and scented candles people had left behind and everything about it was peaceful. I stayed inside for a long time looking at all the items people had left behind or dedicated.

The outside area of the Profitis Ilias had a large stone wall that ran around the entire perimeter. You could sit on the stone wall and experience beautiful views of the two refuges below the plateau as well as Mytikas and Stefani beyond the clouds. We enjoyed our time exploring Profitis Ilias and eventually made our way down the plateau.

Up above Christos Kakalos on the other side was another smaller plateau covered in small stone huts/rock piles that doted the entire surface of the plateau hill. We learned they were dedications to the Gods. Each pile had a small area to put artifacts and gifts to the Gods.

We stayed there for a little while longer and took some more pictures. Thomas took some really nice ones of us with Mytikas and Zeus’s throne in the background.

While exploring around with Thomas, I insisted he teach me some Greek words. Greek was a complicated language to master as it had a Hellenic alphabet with no romanized letters, making it difficult to even learn how to pronounce road signs or recognize words on menus. Greeks were incredibly friendly and kind and English was omnipresent. Despite this, I always felt presumptive and arrogant assuming everyone would speak English to us, so I tried to learn the few words that I could.

To help me out, Thomas typed out some words down for as a note in my phone with English phonetic pronunciations so I could learn. I practiced with Thomas the entire way down the mountain. I now practice on Caroline whenever I have the chance. Here’s what I learned from Thomas:

γεια: hello (ya)

σας ευχαριστώ: thank you (eh-fha-ree-sto)

αντίο: goodbye (yassas)

ζήτω: cheers (yamas)

πολύ καλή: very good (poll callah)

είστε: you are (ee-say)

ναι: yes (neh)

δεν: no (oh-hee)

Σ ‘αγαπώ: I love you (sey-a-ga-po)

εντάξει: okay (ola kalla)

είστε ευπρόσδεκτοι: you’re welcome (palla callo)

The next refuge, called Spilios Agapitos, was about half way down the mountain and probably the nicest refuge we experienced. It was large and beautifully built, with 110 beds, running water, showers, electricity, a telephone, and a small restaurant. It functioned largely the same way as the other two refuges, with a front desk to check in, shoes to wear, and beautiful views of the surrounding mountain area. We found our rooms, settled in, and shared a glass of wine with Ksenya and Thomas.

We had a nice dinner of chicken and rice and stayed up all night with Thomas, chatting and enjoying the nice weather. Tomorrow, we head to the bottom and on to Meteora!