Before reaching Corinth, we stopped for lunch next to the Corinth Canal that was dug in 1893. During Paul's time, Corinth was important because it was the point where ships or their cargo were transported over land across the Peloponnese peninsula to connect to Attica. We sampled some more Greek delicasies and I walked across the road to get some pictures of the canal.

Then we celebrated the Holy Mass at Cenchreae. This is the port where Paul left Corinth from and he may have entered Corinth from here. In addition it is known that he got his hair cut here. Father Bob suggested that the hair cut was an offering for a promise that Paul made to God. Father Paul believed it was a symbol of his severing his ties with a Jewish Order and the redirecting of his outreach to the gentiles. You can hear/see Father Bob's sermon on the readings by downloading the video at Cenchreae Homily . So many of us took part in the readings, including myself, that I couldn't tape that part.

Anyhow following the Mass we wetted our feet in the bay and enjoyed the warm sunshine. The big rocks around us are the remains of an early Christian Basilica that was on this site. I understand that someone collected some seashells for souvernirs that turned out to be alive when she was going through customs on the return trip. I'm not sure how that ended up. We won't go there.

Leaving Cenchreae Aleca took a vote and we decided to visit the newly opened Isthmia Museum. This museum is located on the site where they are recovering artifacts from some ships that had sunk in the bay many years ago before it silted over.

The treasures creating the most interest are stained glass windows that were on board a ship. One of them is a large replica of Plato. There is still a lot of recovery work to do here in order to separate the calcium deposits from the artwork, but one can see from what they have accomplished so far that some beautiful stained glass may one day be displayed.

Then onward to the site of the ruins of the ancient Roman City of Corinth an area where Paul was quite successful in his ministry. The Temple of Apollo being the most distinct structure we would see as we drove up.

Immediately within the entrance to the site we came upon a Neolithic Period water storage chambers that we hewn out of the rock near a spring in order to facilitate the gathering of the water.

Moving quickly through the ruins, we arrived at the "Tribune (Bema) of Gallio". This is the court where Paul was brought during his visit in the town and accused of inducing people to worship God in ways that are against the law. See Acts 18:12-17, or if you have high speed internet access, view the reading and interpretation by clicking Here .

Following the readings we scattered and roamed around the ruins looking at the various pieces of columns, capitals, and inscriptions that were all around. Eventually we made our way back to the bus at the prescribed time, and several visited the ice cream venders that were parked there.

Panic set in for a short time, when we could not locate Rosalie. Eventually we found her asleep in the back seat. She couldn't cope with all the walking.

Before heading back to Athens we stopped at a pottery shop near the ruins site. They had all kinds of statues of the gods, but most were a little larger than one could carry in ones luggage. I think Gregory found some nice gold chain, and we found a St. George Icon for our friend George.

A beautiful ride back to Athens and then we rested up for a little bit before we went out to dinner on our own. A group of us headed to the Plaka and found a nice restaurant on a corner. I tried a tasty lamb selection and I believe the others were satisfied with their Authentic Greek selections. I know I took pictures, but they are hiding from me for the time being. When they reveal themselves, I'll amend this page.

After dinner we walked along the streets looking inside several of the shops. We spent about two hours at the Ergon jewelery shop. They didn't have a cross like I was looking for, but he let me look through a catalog for one I liked and then ordered it from a shop nearby. He promised it would be ready the next day.