Peloponnese Tour - Day 2 and 3
The Lion Gate at Mycenae greeted us upon arrival. We were able to view some of the finds from this site - death masks, jewelry, household items such as golden cups and other kitchen items - at the National Archeological Museum of Athens earlier this semester. After exploring the ancient city, surrounded by the mountains and taking in the hilltop views, we drove to the nearby Beehive Tomb. The shape of the tomb made us sound like angels when we sang, and our group doesn't claim to be fabulous singers! The shape was such that one can stand on one side of the tomb, whisper, and someone else can hear it on the opposite side of the structure.
We stopped at a ceramics works store that is an an active workshop making pottery pieces. It sold items like jewelry, olive oil soap, and ceramics. Then we approached the beautiful town of Nafplion. We climbed to the high fort and the Palamidi Castle to explore. Afterwards, we drove back down the mountain to the sea town of Nafplion to have free time. But before we were allowed to roam, we heard the history and explanation between gelato and sorbet and ice cream. And even gelato, if it's the real thing, is seasonal - watermelon flavor in summer, fig in winter, etc. if it's not seasonal, you know it's not fresh. There is a difference between gelato and the others, and there is a history. All the students are willing to be taste testers! I can't describe the charm of Nafplion. Words won't do it justice. The shops, the restaurants, the buildings and pathways, the vines overhanging (oh, imagine the summer color!) from building to building across the street, the friendly shopkeepers, the tame loose dogs, the turquoise of the sea, the castle at the top of the mountain in the distance... Goodness. This town will require multiple visits to explore every lovely square inch.
We continued our journey. The top olive oil producers in the world are Spain, Italy, Greece, but for extra virgin olive oil, Greece is by far the number one producer. We then heard the historical background of Olympia - the Greek god myths and the historical facts. This particular land has seen famine, plagues, war, the reinstitution of the Olympian games, which lasted for 1,111 years, and the madness of the Greeks for the sports and athletes. We arrived at the beautiful hotel and ate a delicious supper, ending a very good day.
The next morning, an early start was on the agenda. We were at Olympia before the sun had time to warm the earth, although it wasn't warm at all - even by lunchtime. We're taking the cold air with us on our journey. After touring the ancient site, we toured the museum which houses the artifacts found there. Next our "learning caps" came off and our "adventure caps" got put on. Well, I shouldn't say that; we had several who haven't skied before, so they are still in learning mode. The group was excited about skiing! We got our second wind!
...A few hours have passed since the above...as we head down the mountain, we're a bus full of people with different emotions. We've done a lot physically and emotionally today. We raced in ancient Olympia today and celebrated the winners of the slightly under 200 meter run. And we skied in the Peloponnese mountains above the town of Kalavryta. Since our group had many first-time skiers, we got some good laughs. Most had a fun time learning and caught the hang of it with a bit of practice. Others said, "Thanks but no thanks; it's not for me, but I'm glad I tried; I think I'll go ride the lift and enjoy the scenery and then hang out in the ski lodge!" So on a 1-10 scale, we're split. There's not exactly a medium. Either you like the physical activity of the day or you didn't. However, even if physical exertion isn't someone's thing, we still, learned a lot from our tour and had plenty of time to bond with each other. We grow and learn to give and take, to appreciate the differences in each other, to celebrate the diversity. That's a big part of developing relationships. We've been living and eating and leading together for five weeks now, and I see relationships among the students growing and maturing as they show interest in each other. It's beautiful to witness, and I'm thankful for it. Home again, home again...
The Lion Gate at Mycenae greeted us upon arrival. We were able to view some of the finds from this site - death masks, jewelry, household items such as golden cups and other kitchen items - at the National Archeological Museum of Athens earlier this semester. After exploring the ancient city, surrounded by the mountains and taking in the hilltop views, we drove to the nearby Beehive Tomb. The shape of the tomb made us sound like angels when we sang, and our group doesn't claim to be fabulous singers! The shape was such that one can stand on one side of the tomb, whisper, and someone else can hear it on the opposite side of the structure.
We stopped at a ceramics works store that is an an active workshop making pottery pieces. It sold items like jewelry, olive oil soap, and ceramics. Then we approached the beautiful town of Nafplion. We climbed to the high fort and the Palamidi Castle to explore. Afterwards, we drove back down the mountain to the sea town of Nafplion to have free time. But before we were allowed to roam, we heard the history and explanation between gelato and sorbet and ice cream. And even gelato, if it's the real thing, is seasonal - watermelon flavor in summer, fig in winter, etc. if it's not seasonal, you know it's not fresh. There is a difference between gelato and the others, and there is a history. All the students are willing to be taste testers! I can't describe the charm of Nafplion. Words won't do it justice. The shops, the restaurants, the buildings and pathways, the vines overhanging (oh, imagine the summer color!) from building to building across the street, the friendly shopkeepers, the tame loose dogs, the turquoise of the sea, the castle at the top of the mountain in the distance... Goodness. This town will require multiple visits to explore every lovely square inch.
We continued our journey. The top olive oil producers in the world are Spain, Italy, Greece, but for extra virgin olive oil, Greece is by far the number one producer. We then heard the historical background of Olympia - the Greek god myths and the historical facts. This particular land has seen famine, plagues, war, the reinstitution of the Olympian games, which lasted for 1,111 years, and the madness of the Greeks for the sports and athletes. We arrived at the beautiful hotel and ate a delicious supper, ending a very good day.
The next morning, an early start was on the agenda. We were at Olympia before the sun had time to warm the earth, although it wasn't warm at all - even by lunchtime. We're taking the cold air with us on our journey. After touring the ancient site, we toured the museum which houses the artifacts found there. Next our "learning caps" came off and our "adventure caps" got put on. Well, I shouldn't say that; we had several who haven't skied before, so they are still in learning mode. The group was excited about skiing! We got our second wind!
...A few hours have passed since the above...as we head down the mountain, we're a bus full of people with different emotions. We've done a lot physically and emotionally today. We raced in ancient Olympia today and celebrated the winners of the slightly under 200 meter run. And we skied in the Peloponnese mountains above the town of Kalavryta. Since our group had many first-time skiers, we got some good laughs. Most had a fun time learning and caught the hang of it with a bit of practice. Others said, "Thanks but no thanks; it's not for me, but I'm glad I tried; I think I'll go ride the lift and enjoy the scenery and then hang out in the ski lodge!" So on a 1-10 scale, we're split. There's not exactly a medium. Either you like the physical activity of the day or you didn't. However, even if physical exertion isn't someone's thing, we still, learned a lot from our tour and had plenty of time to bond with each other. We grow and learn to give and take, to appreciate the differences in each other, to celebrate the diversity. That's a big part of developing relationships. We've been living and eating and leading together for five weeks now, and I see relationships among the students growing and maturing as they show interest in each other. It's beautiful to witness, and I'm thankful for it. Home again, home again...
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