October 28th is a Greek holiday known as Oxi Day. Oxi translates to "no" in English. It commemorates the Greek leader saying "no" to the Italian ambassador when he delivered the ultimatum of either letting the Italians occupy strategic locations in their land or face war. As a result the Italians stormed the Greek border and thus began Greece's participation in World War II.
I hadn't realized this at the start of the day and as we were traveling through towns, they all looked shut down. I was thinking "Wow, the recession must really be hitting the Peloponnese hard." Then I discovered Oxi Day and actually they are just closed for the holiday.
Also, the response from the Greeks wasn't actually "Oxi" but rather the French "Alors, c’est la guerre”, which means"Then it is war", but Then It Is War Day doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
I do not have great internet tonight, so I won't be able to upload pictures of the travels. We left Olympia this morning and stopped in ancient Isova/modern Tripoti and saw a Gothic church remain and a dilapidated house; then to Bassae with a large Temple to Apollo Epikourios; one last stop at Megolopoli where there was a Temple to Zeus Soter, an Agora, a theater, and a commerce building; finally we have landed in Kalamata (like the olive) for the night.
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