Top 10 Travel Experiences: Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion, Greece

Temple of Poseidon - Cape Sounion, Greece

Today I begin a series of post based on my Top 10 recent travel experiences.  I will use travel from 2010 until now since those are freshest in my mind.  In 2010, I began international travel again, after stopping after 9/11.  Some of it was initial fear, but most of it was opportunity and finances.  I did travel to many national parks in the US during that time and some with my parents.  I'm so glad I was able to travel with my parents.  

Although this is the first in the series, it is not necessarily #1 or #10.  It is hard to put these in order since they are based on feelings of awe and wonder.  Those are hard to measure.  You will notice a theme that many of theme involve sunrises or sunsets.  Some I have covered in other blog posts and others are new.  I hope you enjoy this series.  

In July of 2021, a group of friends and myself took a tour to Greece.  We did it in the middle of the COVID-19 restrictions.  I thought (correctly) that it would be a great time to visit a popular tourist area during the busy season.  We were able to get good prices and low crowds at these amazing sites and this will be a trip I will never forget.  One member of the group had a recommendation from a friend that we not miss the Temple of Poseidon at sunset.  Although it was not part of the tour, we booked a separate tour to this site and I am so glad that we did.  It is a reminder that personal recommendations are some of the best ways to experience must visit locations.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Temple of Poseidon is an ancient Greek temple on Cape Sounion, Greece, dedicated to the god Poseidon. There is evidence of the establishment of sanctuaries on the cape from as early as the 11th century BC. Sounion's most prominent temples, the Temple of Athena and the Temple of Poseidon, are however not believed to have been built until about 700 BC, and their kouroi (freestanding Greek statues of young men) date from about one hundred years later.^[1] The material and size of the offerings at the Temple of Poseidon indicate that it was likely frequented by members of the elite and the aristocratic class.^[2]

It is important to visit it at sunset.  Otherwise, it is just another set of columns.  :)

As part of the tour, we had the opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean Sea.  You can see the temple in the background.  That was where we were headed after the swim.  Notice the smooth rocks on the bottom of the water.  They were a little difficult to navigate. 

Two of my favorite travel partners, we also had dinner/lunch included as part of the tour.  They are showing a traditional Greek salad, that became a favorite on the trip.  I still make this type of salad.  Of course, it never seems to taste as good as it did on this trip.  Perhaps it is the quality and freshness of the ingredients.  

We were blessed with a beautiful day and were treated to an amazing sunset.  The pictures below speak for themselves.  

I'm so glad we added this tour to our trip to Greece.  Highly recommend.