January 20

So yesterday was the free day and I got to spend a whole day doing nothing. I woke up and went downstairs to have a nice, big breakfast. The Marriott’s breakfasts are wonderful, and they serve everything you could imagine. Then I spent the day reading, watching tv and packing. I did have to buy a new suitcase. I didn’t trust my current suitcase to last the week, let alone the next 4 months. The one I got is great, though, and everything transferred very nicely.
We had to wake up early, again, so we could catch our flight. I think I was asked to show my passport about 15 million times. The flight was fine enough. I finished my book, The Hours, and listened to James Taylor as I read. The heaviness of the thematic content needed a nice, light, musical background. Flying over the Mediterranean and into Greece was the best part.
We landed on Greece and met our bus driver, Spiros, and the double-decker bus that is to be our home-away-from-home for the next month. There are tables on the lower level and more seats on the upper. I think those who want to sleep (the boys) will be upstairs for the most part, and those who want to chat and do some work (the girls) will be downstairs. I spent the drive just gazing out the window. Picures just don’t do justice to the little white painted houses with the blue doors. I now want a white house with a blue door – regardless of where I live. Even though Egypt is exotic and fascinating, I absolutely prefer Greece. Everywhere you look is beauty. The water is a bright cerulean and the hills are rolling and green. The breeze has a fresh, crisp feel that wakes you up without making you feel cold.
Since we were taking the ferry to Crete, and the ferry didn’t leave till 9 pm, we stopped at a few sites in Greece. First, we went to Thorikos, which is an ancient theater in the outskirts of Athens. This theater dates to about the 6th century BCE. The Belgians came and restored half of it and left the other half as is. Prof. Krentz thinks they did more than just restore the present materials—it looks like they did a lot of reconstruction and moved several stones to different locations (an action largely frowned upon by archaeologists). Once you move an artifact you can never put it back they way it was. I think of it like tampering with the evidence at the scene of a crime. There is so much to learn from the context of the object exactly where it is found.
We decided to trek it up the hill to the very top so we could take some pictures. There was a fence that intended to prevent us from doing such a thing, but we strapping young lads and lassies are not to be trifled with and we easily found and climbed through a hole. When I mean hill, I mean it technically is not a mountain, but coming from the Lowcountry, it might as well have been. I was huffing and puffing by the time I reached the top (which took about 15-20 minutes), but it was so worth it. The view from up there was incredible and just having that feeling of accomplishment made up for any fatigue. There was even a random column up there, so Allie and I took some cheesy senior yearbook photos to commemorate the moment.
We headed back to the bus and decided that a nice pit stop for some food would be great. Having had breakfast at 7 am followed up by some always satisfying plane food, we were very hungry. So Spiros stopped at this little Greek sandwich shop and everyone ordered a Gyro. They were incredible! Even watching a lamb’s head on a rotisserie right behind you doesn’t matter when you have chicken, feta, and tomatoes wrapped up in a warm pita. I topped it off with a Coke Zero. Greece got a zillion bonus points for having excellent, cheap food.
So back on the bus for another site. Next we went to a region called Sounion. Here, we went to the Temple of Poseidon and then the Temple of Athena which date back to the 5th century BCE. Lord Byron even scratched his name onto one of the columns at the Poseidon temple, but because of the new ropes around it, Prof Krentz couldn’t show it to us. This temple was beautiful. There is something about being able to see the age of a building that makes it even more beautiful. It’s like seeing a beautiful, older woman who isn’t ashamed of her years. She’s proud of what she’s seen and accomplished and doesn’t mind the toll that it has taken on her body. She is proud of her past.
The sun was setting as we visited this temple, so the pictures are beautiful, but we had to move quickly. The Temple of Athena was basically just the foundation, but Prof. Krentz took the opportunity to teach us how to read these remains to determine the original function.
We made it to the ferry by 7pm, only to find out dinner didn’t start till 8pm. But after dinner, we gathered to discuss what we had been learning and debated whether it was right to dig up cemeteries in order to learn about ancient cultures. We didn’t really come to a conclusion (how can you if you really think about it), but in the argument, I tended to argue the side which wanted to respect the beliefs and desires of the person. In ancient Egypt, the dead built such marvelous tombs and buried all the possession with them because that was to be their home for eternity. And in modern times, the burial grounds of the Native Americans are just as sacred. Again, we didn’t come to a conclusion.
The room I am staying in for the night is very small. There were four us of in one tiny closet-sized room. We have to leave the ferry before 6 am and will be lovingly awakened by something along the lines of a fog horn, so I have decided to set my own alarm and take a shower to help wake me up.