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We first talked about going to Sounio in late October when we had visitors from London. We didn't actually make the trip, however, until early December. Jan was suffering from a lightly sprained ankle so rather than taking the more direct route on foot we took buses and trolleys across town to the terminus for buses to Lavrio and Sounio.

The Sounio Point

We learned there that we had to go to Lavrio and change. Direct buses are less frequent in winter. That was fine with us and so we boarded a comfortable coach that took us to Lavrio where we arrived at about noon. After asking around and learning that we had an hour to wait for a bus, we grabbed the chance for a sandwich, and then sat down to wait hoping that a) we had been given accurate information, and b) that we had understood it correctly. One thing that we had learned about Greece is that there are often as many answers to questions as there are people to ask. One of them is always right but it's not always easy to tell which one. It didn't matter over much. The weather was nothing short of spectacular and we were perfectly happy to sit in the sunshine munching our toasted sandwiches.

Restaurant below the Temple

The bus did come as predicted and so by 1:30 we were disembarking at the bus stop just below the site. From the number of parked cars, there were clearly lots of people around, which is only to be expected on a Sunday, and especially on such a beautiful Sunday.

View of the Temple of Poseidon from Below

We made our way up to the site and past a very nice looking restaurant which made us wish we hadn't just eaten. Then on up to the gate where we learned to our surprise that like the museums in Athens, the Sounio temple site was free on winter Sundays. Free Sundays was perhaps the best part of our winter holiday.

The Temple of Poseidon

And so finally we got to the temple itself and were blown away. Such a lovely temple and such a wonderful site with views from the point out to sea and to a half dozen nearby islands. It was breathtaking. It was hard to know in fact whether to gawp in admiration at the temple or at the view! And in spite of the crowded restaurant, the site itself was not over crowded.

Ancient Graffiti on the Temple of Poseidon

We found some rocks to perch on, Jan in the sun, Gerry in the shade as usual, and read our books for half an hour before taking a walk beyond the temple as far as Jan dared risk her ankle.

The Village of Sounio

And then it was back to the bus stop to retrace our steps back to Athens. While waiting, Gerry scrambled up to the site of the Temple of Athena. Much less well preserved than the Temple to Poseidon it is also much less well visited. His visit was brief, however, because just then our bus arrived and we and half of the remaining visitors at the site climbed aboard for the trip back to Athens.