Katakolon, Greece…I woke up this morning to the town of Katakolon, the gateway to Olympia. As much as it may be interesting to see the original home of the Olympic games, I decided to invest my time at a day swimming in the crystalline Greek water.

I strolled through town at first and was amazed by the silly stuff that is being hawked to tourists…ugly leather sandals, bad linen wear, and Greek “evil eyes” made into every imaginable charm, and that’s only a few of the atrocities I saw!

My striving to have “out of the box” experiences has begun to compromise my sanity…I made a series of silly choices today; I rented a 4 wheel ATV (more on that later), forgot to pick up a towel on the ship before disembarking, and left my beach shoes behind. The latter two were not the biggest deal, but the first was totally STUPID!

I knew I wanted to go to the beach, Agios Andreas, which is little over 2 km from town…how to get there? Bus (no way after my Athens experience), Taxi (seems so unadventurous), or rent a Motorbike (seems so cool).
I stopped at the motorbike rental spot and the guy gives me a once over as I stood there in my Marc Jacobs shades and says “you sure you know how to drive a motorbike?” Hmmm…I guess not!
The rejection and doubt drives me to rent a 4 wheel ATV! This decision is as bright as a burnt out lightbulb! Me, driving a bike with a clutch? I barely can work an automatic vehicle! Well, looking like the Great Gazoo from the Flintstones in my helmut, I take off for the quick ten minute ride to the beach. I get out of town and on the first hill, it stalls! I call the store and they come to my rescue…I flooded the engine and drove in the wrong gear! Well I continue to do this and stall 3 more times, but at least I make it there and back in one piece…a few tantrums, but no injuries!

The water was amazing, but it was a rocky pebbled beach that woulda been much easier if I had my beach shoes. Regardless, it was a great day with a large dose of dumb thrown in to make the memory that much more interesting!