It wasn’t easy to reach the spot in the Peloponnese where I slept with Helen of Troy but I dutifully followed instructions given to me by the Oracle at Delphi and circumnavigated much of the rugged Peloponnese peninsula to get there. That intriguing part of MedTrek is described in the 18th chapter of “The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean.”

The Oracle at Delphi instructed The Idiot to MedTrek around the Peloponnese peninsula.

18. Prancing About The Peloponnese

“A god moved him – who knows? – or his own heart sent him to learn, at Pylos, if his father roams the wide world still, or what befell him.” – Medon in The Odyssey

         The Oracle at Delphi didn’t just tell me to make my way to Crete to discover the birthplace of Zeus. She also gave me specific instructions about my circumnavigation of the Peloponnese, the rugged mountainous peninsula that has technically been an island since the Corinth Canal breached its link with mainland Greece in 1893.

The Peloponnese, known for its tortuous terrain and craggy peaks, is where the early books of The Odyssey, called the Telemachia, occurred after Telémakhos left Ithaka to seek information about his father. I was instructed by Circe to meet a number of Homeric characters, including King Nestor and Helen of Troy (Circe actually wants me to sleep with Helen which seems a bit far fetched), and check in on Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, considered the world’s best living travel writer. Another tough assignment.

“It would be smart to stay at the Tzaki Hotel in Rio on your first night,” said the Oracle, referring to a small community in the northwestern Peloponnese. “They’ve got glorious sunsets and, yes, Wi-Fi.”

To get to the Peloponnese, The Idiot crossed 2.9-kilometer bridge that stretches over the Gulf of Corinth.

The Idiot takes a SideTrek to Zakynthos.

The Idiot has a breakfast fit for a MedTrekker in Kyrimai.

The Idiot climbs to the citadel at Mystra.

The Idiot looks back on the Peloponnese from Palamedes Fort.

Want more? Simply download the interactive and/or paperback versions of “The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean” @ http://followtheidiot.com/purchase.

Next week: An excerpt from the chapter Seeking a Blind-Drunk Cyclops when The Idiot finds contemporary art in ancient Sicily.

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."