The best way to get into Greek MedTrekking mode is to pay a quick visit to the still-free British Museum in London just before flying to Athens.

A meander amid the Elgin Marbles and the vast array of treasures in the numerous rooms dedicated to ancient and classical Greece has definitely gotten me enthused about MedTrekking around Crete during the next month.

The comforting Nereid Monument at the British Museum.

It’s a joy to analyze different scenes that once adorned the Parthenon and debate whether the Elgin Marbles should remain in London or be returned to the new Acropolis Museum in Athens.

This scene is thought to have inspired John Keats to write "that heifer lowing at the skies" in his "Ode to a Grecian Urn."

It's a delight to be in the centaur of action.

Basic Greek history lesson #435: Stirrups hadn't been invented.

The thematic exhibits at the British Museum also bring me up to speed on everything from the role of women and the role of gods to the role of potheads.

Everything you always wanted to know about Greek women but were afraid to ask.

Everything you always wanted to know about Greek gods but were afraid to ask.

Potheads (academics who study vases) have a field day at the British Museum.

I’m spending two nights in Athens before ferrying to Crete on April 19 to resume my reporting/walking/researching for my next book “The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean.”

Keep apace with my adventures at Follow the Idiot.

Text and Photos: Joel Stratte-McClure

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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."