She says: For our day in Katakalon, we booked one of our only two tours for this cruise. Katakolon is the "gateway to Ancient Olympia" and the archaeological site of the early Olympic Games gets really busy with bus tours. We thought we'd beat the crowd by hiring a guide. I found Andrew Stathopoulos on tripadvisor and contacted him some time ago. He agreed to take us to Olympia, the a winery and back to the ship.

We ended up being joined by a pair of Australian grandmas, Kay and Pat (Andrew had double booked the date, so we got a discount), and the five of us crammed into Andrew's cab.

We got to Olympia early enough that the site was manageable, though, as is becoming the norm for this leg of our journey, we almost immediately sweated right through our clothes and remained soaked for the whole day. We drink liter after little of water and never need to stop for a bathroom break. That's one advantage to all the sweating.

The ruins of Olympia were pretty great, and a manageable size. I brought Rick Steeves along on my Kindle and he gave us a pretty thorough and entertaining tour. My favourite part was the Zanes (plural for Zeus, who knew?), the podiums where sixteen Zeus statues rested at the entrance to the Olympic stadium symbolizing cheaters in the Games. Honor was a very important part of the Ancient Olympics, and the athletes would take a vow to play fair, and stomp on castrated bulls' balls to indicate their commitment to this vow. Those who used illicit herbs or drank bulls' blood (like Red Bull, apparently!) to enhance their performance were kicked out of the Games, shamed, and had their names inscribed on the bases of the Xanes. On the way onto the Games, athletes and spectators would spit on the Zane's to show their distaste for the cheaters. Hilarious to me.

Matt's favourite was the stadium itself, which still has all twenty starting block and the marble finish line in place. We watched crazy people run the whole length of it. I made a video of Matt running ten meters and then pooping out. I didn't even try to do that much. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the shot put competition was held in the ancient stadium.

We also visited the Ancient Olympics Museum on the same site. By then, Matt was totally over it and didn't want to hear another Rick Steeves fact. I self toured alone as he tried to stay cool.

Our next stop was an adorable local, family-run winery. We had a tour around the property and I heard my name being called from inside. Who knows me in Olympia, Greece? I spotted the face of another Internet friend, Melissa (mother of Madison and wife of David, from Syracuse, NY, who we'll be doing our only other prescheduled tour with), glowing through the window. She exclaimed that the wine was "Really, really good!" Matt quickly grew tired of the tour. Sometimes I feel like I'm travelling with a surly teenager. This was further confirmed when we chatted with Melissa and she told us that thirteen year old Madison was also yawning throughout the tour.

Matt DID keep himself entertained by quizzing the sweet Greek winemakers about their cork-soaking practices (if you don't know, don't ask).

The tour ended and we were rewarded with FULL "tasting" glasses of fantastic white wine and OK red wine. When Matt asked for seconds of white, they happily obliged. After a hot, sweaty morning at Olympia, I understood why Melanie was so effusive about her praise. This place was awesome! We were also served heaping plates of "Grandpa's tomatoes" that were the reddest, juiciest tomatoes I've ever had, fresh baked bread and olive oil (that Matt swore tasted exactly like donuts), and unbelievable cheese, salami and olives. We left the winery with three bottles of wine to bring back on board.

Back in the cab, we were all a little rosier and didn't mind the cramped backseat quite so much. Pat and Kay started telling stories that Matt was devouring. Pat told us about sneaking two water bottles full of whiskey onto her last cruise only to find her companion was not a drinker and having to smuggle them home once again. Kay made plans to murder "Grandma" and live with Grandpa of "Grandpa's tomatoes" fame. They also started telling us horror stories about blowing a engine on an overseas flight, which got Matt into a tizzy. Kay said, "It would be a good way to go, nice and fast. You'd pass out before you ever hit the ground. Pat and I don't want to dement. Do we Pat?" We liked our cab companions so much better after a few glasses of wine.

Andrew had two more surprise stops in store for us. We went to an incredible bakery on his tiny hometown where we were treated to free ice cream treats. Matt tried a cookie and asked the price of more. She told him 5 euros - per kilo! We got four...cookies, not kilos! I also got a couple kinds of baklava and the whole lot was packed in a beautiful box and cost us four euros.

Then we went to Andrew's own beach, which, to Matt's delight, had free Internet. San Andreas beach was rocky and stunning, and wild doctor fish were slurping on my toes as I sat on a rock. Free pedicure!

My favourite thing I overheard at the beach wads family arguing on the stairs. The dad said to the son, "Well, you've ruined today." To which the son replied, surprisingly not upset at all, "Well, Sophie ruined yesterday." It's nice they're keeping track.

Andrew took us back to the ship and gave us olive oil pressed from his own olives. He's a good dude. If you find yourself in Katakolon, look him up.