Post from Michelle:
We spent the day on the beach of Olympos with our new friends from the boat cruise. It was another lazy day. We sunned on the sand, every so often running to the sea to cool down. For lunch we bought pastries and soda from a man who carried his goods on a large circular tray balanced atop his head. He paced up and down the beach all day enticing our business by the sweet aromas of freshly baked bread.
In the late afternoon we headed back to our tree house abode, a couple shades darker. We showered, ate dinner, and by nine o'clock our stomachs were full and the moon shone brightly above. We boarded a mini bus with other tourists and set off to see the Chimaera, a group of flames that naturally blaze on the slope of Mt. Olympos. After a long drive in the darkness, the minibus stopped at the base of the mountain. With the aid of flashlights we hiked twenty minutes up a steep path until we reached a rocky clearing. Scores of yellow and blue flames burned in patches around rocks. Other tourists were already up there sitting quietly around the flames, observing the natural phenomenon. A resourceful man took advantage of the flames and tourists and set up a drink stall over to the side, tea pots perched on the flames.
It is said long ago sailors on the open sea used the flames as landmarks. It is unknown what causes the flames û except they believe it's gas escaping through holes in the rocks and when it comes into contact with air, bursts into flames. The whole sight was a bit surreal.
In the late afternoon we headed back to our tree house abode, a couple shades darker. We showered, ate dinner, and by nine o'clock our stomachs were full and the moon shone brightly above. We boarded a mini bus with other tourists and set off to see the Chimaera, a group of flames that naturally blaze on the slope of Mt. Olympos. After a long drive in the darkness, the minibus stopped at the base of the mountain. With the aid of flashlights we hiked twenty minutes up a steep path until we reached a rocky clearing. Scores of yellow and blue flames burned in patches around rocks. Other tourists were already up there sitting quietly around the flames, observing the natural phenomenon. A resourceful man took advantage of the flames and tourists and set up a drink stall over to the side, tea pots perched on the flames.
It is said long ago sailors on the open sea used the flames as landmarks. It is unknown what causes the flames û except they believe it's gas escaping through holes in the rocks and when it comes into contact with air, bursts into flames. The whole sight was a bit surreal.