Pet Patrol

Well, now that the excursions are over I guess I should start choosing other topics to blog about.

One of the funniest things we've noticed about Greece, and one of the hardest things to get used to is the incredible number of stray cats and dogs there are here! It's not an unusual sight to see a dog trotting down the street, or a cat running between tables, chairs, and the waiters' feet in an outdoor restaurant. For some of us, it's fun to see but it's been hard to accept the fact that you can't touch them! It's so tempting to give the dogs a scratch on the head or run your hand down a kitty's back, but for fear of ticks, fleas and parasites... you can't!

We've seen cats walking across glass roofs of restaurants and dogs chasing down motorcycles. Some are mangy, and we've even seen kittens dead in the bushes...they certainly have their fair share of mischief... but it's fun to see most of the time... especially for college students who are usually starved of animals during the school year. Enjoy the pictures!

A pup at the Acropolis in Athens...

At the memorial to Leonidas...

A tiny little kitty at Epidavros... see his fogged over eye? 

Nap at Olympia... I felt the same way buddy.

Pretty fun huh? Man's best friend is all over this country!

Cutting the Cord: Aegina

To be honest... I just really want to be caught up on this blog! For a good while we have been doing WAY too much... one thing right after the other... for me to possibly stay on pace with blogging. But now classes are starting and life is slowing down a little bit here in Athens. So here I sit, on our first thunder stormy day we've had (actually the first cloudy day at all,) discovering the joy of a coffee macaroon and thinking "hm... I think i'll catch up!"

This Saturday my roommates, a couple other friends from the program  and I decided to venture out on our own for the first time. Up until now, everything we've done and every placed we've visited has been orchestrated by Aphrodite and the BCA program. Friday marked the end of our BCA excursions, so Saturday began our own adventures. There are plenty more to come, but we started out with something we thought would be quite simple. Aegina.

At 7am my friends and I headed to the metro station, where we took the metro to Piraeus. Piraeus is the main port of Athens, where all the ferry lines leave from to go to the Greek islands. Aegina is one of the closest islands to Athens... about an hour long ferry ride. The picture above is from pulling out of port at Piraeus.

We ended up having a great day, after receiving some much needed help from a friendly fisherman who helped us communicate with the guy selling tickets at the bus station who did not speak any English. Language barriers haven't gotten in our way much until that experience. We were glad that the Greeks lived up to their friendly reputation that morning.

Anyway... we took the bus across the island to one of the coolest, and most complete anient sites we'd seen so far. The Temple of Aphaea has lasted against all odds. Most of it's pillars are still standing! We were lucky too, to arrive at the temple before any other tourists... it made for some great photos!

My roommate Ally has an underwater camera! She has some great ones... I only took this one from her for now! Candid shots are the best.

After exploring, we caught the next bus to Agia Marina, one of the best beaches on the island where we enjoyed a perfect day. Can't believe we're still on the beaches in October! (Maybe not for long after this stormy day...we think it's bringing a change in the weather.)

I'm glad to report that our first independent trip was a huge success! I would say it was one of the best days I've had since arriving in Greece.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Πελοπόννησος- The Peloponnese

We just returned on Friday from a three day excursion to the Peloponnese. Like I said in my last blog, the Peloponnese (Πελοπόννησος in Greek) is the peninsula south of the Corinth canal. Some of the most famous ancient civilizations, Corinth (as in the NT book of Corinthians), Sparta (We are SPARTANNSS!) and Olympia are all located on the Peloponnese, and were all locations we visited.


The only disappointment of this trip was that due to a strike the archaeological site of Corinth was closed for the day, so we weren't allowed to go beyond the gates. I was really disappointed because Corinth was one of the places I was most excited to visit. I read 1& 2 Corinthians in the weeks leading up to the trip just to make the experience even more meaningful. Oh well though, one thing I'm learning here is to just let myself roll with things. I think my family and I will return to Corinth when they come in November. It's a quick drive and it's something my parents will be really interested in too! Something to look forward to! Of course, I still got some pictures.

Behind me is the main temple of Ancient Corinth, and the hill above that is the Ancient Agora. We would have probably gone up there, had we been permitted inside.

From Corinth we took the bus to Monemvasia; probably the least well known of the cities we visited. Monemvasia is the result of Anicent Greek National Security measures. It is a huge rock that springs up off the east coast of the Peloponnese. From the mainland side of the rock, you can't see that on the far side there is an entire city built into the island. Greek naval generals and their families live in Monemvasia to this day. What beautiful views we had, too.

Behind me to the left is the Aegean Sea and to the right are some of the ruins of the ancient city that is located above the modern day restored city... another hike!

A view of the modern city. No roads go through the town. Outside the city wall is the parking lot for everyone who lives there. All deliveries to stores are brought only to the front gate, then carried to their final destinations.

Sparta and Olympia were both very cool also. Sparta is now one of the larget cities in Greece, behind Athens and Thessoloniki (N.T. Thessalonians). We visited the ancient city there... which as usual, was WAY above the modern city. All in the name of protection and a long hike. Seriously, no wonder the Spartans were known for being in great shape. 

Olympia was very cool as well. It's modern day town is small and touristy, but also very charming.  The Olympia museum and archaeological site were great but almost the best part about it, is that the excavation is not complete! There is still mystery to this site. We visited the spot where the Olympic torch is still lit every 4 years, and even got to jog on the track of the ancient stadium. 

Standing in the entrance to the stadium, where the athletes would parade in with their coaches.

On the pedestal where the winner was awarded with a wreath of olive branches (Thanks Aphrodite!) and the title of champion. No gold medal... or bronze or silver. Actually, 1st place is the only award given; 2nd place and 3rd place are only celebrated in the modern games.

Alright. Starbuck's internet is really killing me. Also, there's a man here who won't give up his outlet! His regular smoke/chat breaks from whatever work he's doing on his computer make his hogging of the only power source in this place all the more frustrating!