Greece- the wrap-up

The past month and a half have gone by so very fast; I can't believe I'm back in Beograd again. I left for Athens early June and stayed with some friends for a few days enjoying not teaching and looking at amazing old dead rocks (yes, it's irreverent, but you must admit it's accurate). The Acropolis was incredible, looking out over a city is always one of my favorite things, but the detail and just feeling the weight of history was amazing. The Parthenon was a thing of grace and beauty despite its trappings of scaffolding as they work to restore it. The Archeological museum had so much in it but I missed having someone who knew the stories with me to make it that much more real. Linear B is pretty darn rad though (early writing) as were some of the sculptures. Again, the sheer age was astounding (and I've learned a bit more since then, so that's great). Otherwise really enjoyed just hanging out at Mike & Traci's place in Filothei (lovely folks Rebecca got me in contact with).

I headed to Korinthos after a few days to join the dig. Korinthos (Corinth) has many parts: there's Acro, the old fortress up on a mountain/big hill (500+ meters) that overlooks Archaia (Ancient) Korinthos, which is the archeological site as well as a small village where we were based. There was an earthquake (mid 19th C?) and so the main town, Neo Korinthos, is a few kilometers away on the coast proper. It's a good sized town, had banks, shops, lots of cafes and internet access (huzzah). When I got to Rooms Marinos Susan and Andrew were there, it was like having home come to me. Andrew's a lot bigger than last I saw him two years ago (being 5 will do that), that's for sure.

I won't go into painstaking detail about the next few weeks but basically the days started at 6 a.m. breakfast and then everyone caught the bus to Kenchreai to go work (leaving me and a sleepy Andrew to plot our next move). Andrew and I would go on different adventures as we fancied until 2 or 3 when Susan would come back, the rest of the crew (we were around 50-60 at the height) at 3:30. Then hanging out, staying out of the heat until our 8:30 dinner. Naps became quite necessary for basically everyone. Andrew and I often went to the beach with John, Helen and Thomas (the two other kids on site and their dad) although they left after 2 weeks. We also explored our environs, making trips to Neo Korinthos via bus to play on the "big" playground, run errands and then go sit in a cafe and color while I drank frappe. Now Andrew knows how to pick a café - look at the seating and pick most comfy looking ones. It was a pleasant challenge keeping things interesting for a dynamic 5 year old. He was adopted by all the staff as well, making afternoons fun as we played with the "big kids."

On the weekends the education program had trips around to different sites. The first Saturday we hiked Acrokorinth - Andrew and I made it to the top on our own! Again, I don't want to become a total travelogue, but there are tons of things to see in the area. Unfortunately often we were pressed for time as herding around a group of over 30 students took more time than planned. Paracora was gorgeous - it's a sanctuary for travelers where they'd stop on their way out to sea. Also Mycenae with its massiveness (the lion gate is there) and an excellent little museum. Andrew and Susan came on that trip so going through the site was highlighted by Andrew having been "kidnapped by the Sea People" and thus hiding behind me being invisible to one and all. Luckily our guess that he'd been taken to the cistern was correct (bad guys tending to go to dark places) and he was restored to us. Huzzah.

We had a long weekend off starting with the educational program taking us to Athens. I ended up hanging out with Mike, crashing with Mel (a friend of his) who's working at the Agora. His roommates had organized a party, but then some people came and said it'd been canceled. Turned out to be the best canceled party ever with lots of folks from the Agora dig showing up and hanging out. I enjoyed pretending to be an archeologist for a bit (although I'd come clean about my full part on the team after awhile). Bizarre dynamics though - our Kenchreai crew had much better bonding, basically no catty drama or anything of that sort. The next morning Mike and I headed to Hydra, a totally pedestrian island that we explored most of upon arrival as we looked for a place to sleep (a fun game). By the end we'd been directed by an old woman (Mike speaks Greek) to basically the highest house (which had rooms) where the man said he had nothing but would call his travel agency and see if they could help. After a short rest (this is all between 12-14h by the way and HOT) we headed back down to port. There was no room at the agency but a hotel, one of the first we'd passed, had things free. So always check the first stuff you pass. Later we explored the labyrinth to go up to a monastery/church overlooking the town below. Ate a little picnic, watched the sun slowly set- completely lovely. Almost as much as not having to get out of bed at 6 the next morning. I really do enjoy islands - we explored more the next day, ate excellent seafood and then caught a fast boat to Athens to take train to Korinthos; it was hard to go back to "the daily grind" even if had only been a few days out.

I fell in love with Nafpilo, a coastal town that was briefly the capital of Greece during the early days of the Greek state. It had the best gelatto ever (Italian run place), great walks, little beach (not the best but still easy to access). I ended up staying basically two weekends there - it was part of the excursion one weekend and I and some others just stayed, finding a pension. That weekend everything took 3 hours - frappe, dinner, ouzo on the sweet little balcony of our room. Really enjoyed relaxing with Katie and Mike. When I left the dig (Susan was flying back) I just went back because I liked it so much. Went swimming, ate more gelatto and seafood, tramped around more with Mike- a great way to end time in Greece.

In short a wonderful experience and one I was sad to have end. It was a great group of people not in the least because of their unfettered dork-ness and love of jokes (alright, so not everyone liked them. But still). I mean, any group that supports my throwing basically 3 birthday parties is one worth being around isn't it? As promised, there are photos as well. I'd go on and on, but feel I'm stretching word count. Next installment: new apartment!