Mt. Olympus

So, I have a lot to catch you all up on...

A couple weekends ago, our study abroad group went on a hiking trip up Mt. Olympus. The mountain we climbed after grape-picking was more of a small hill compared to this. I literally thought I was going to die at at a few points, but first let me give you some history.

Mount Olympus is the biggest/tallest mountain range in Greece. It is located along the borders of Thessaly and Macedonia. It is famously known as the home of the Gods. It was the home to Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apolla, Artemis, and Hestia. During our second day we actually got to see the "Throne of Zeus":

We woke up early on a Saturday and took a two hour bus ride to Litoroho, the city in which our ascent began. We filled up our 1.5 liter water bottles from a spring at the base of the mountain that released pure and natural mountain water. It was the most refreshing water I have ever had the pleasure to taste. After re-adjusting our backpacks and of course taking group pictures, we finally began the 3 hour climb to our first refuge.

My roomate, Rain, and I quickly became hiking buddies. Luckily, her and I were going at a very similar pace. We had some great conversations and we stopped every once in a while to take in the beauty of these mountains. The pictures give this mountain range no justice whatsoever.

We also got to see some donkeys making their own descent from the mountain! Though I sound excited about this now (and for a short time on the mountain I was), these donkeys nearly knocked us off the mountain. The path we were taking was no more than 3 feet wide, so trying to let a donkey pass was quite a difficult feat. Luckily, I survived this first near death experience.

When we made it to the refuge we were exhausted and starving and cold! Luckily, the pasta there was inexpensive and DELICIOUS and thankfully we packed warm pants and a scraf! For the rest of the day we hung out at the refuge, warmed up by the fire and had a glass or two of wine. It was very relaxing. We all went to bed around 9 or 10 so that we could get a good nights rest before another day of continuing our hike.

The sunrise the next morning was indescribable.

This refuge was 2100 kilometers high of a total of 2918 km. Unfortunately I did not make it all the way to the top. I made it 2600 km, but I'm still pretty damn proud of that. Now i have no excuse for not climbing up Mt. Greylock yet. Absolutely no excuse.

The second day of hiking was more brutal than the first. We all hiked for an hour and at a resting spot we all split off. Some went the hard way to the top and some went the easy way to another point that was close to the top. I of course decided to go with the easy route. After a beautiful, non-intentsive afternoon of walking along the mountain we had some tea and coco at another refuge at the top. Our hiking guide then gave us the choice of the quick, new way back or to just go back the way we came. Feeling exhausted and knowing we had another 3 hour descent after this anyway, we decided to go the quick way. If I have learned anything while being here, it's that the quick way is NEVER the easiest. There were a few points on our descent to the refuge where it got a little scary. No one was prepared for this kind of descent. I would have taken pictures if 1. my camera hadn't died right before we got to our point of interest, and 2. if i wasn't so focused on trying not to tumble down the mountain to my death. I'm not trying to scare anyone either, nor am I being over-dramatic. It was just a big part of the experience on the mountain and I would be wrong to not include it.

We got an hour break before we began the last 3 hour descent to the bottom. We ate some more spaghetti, swapped stories of our day and then continued on. I've never been more happy to be on a bus in my life.

I would love to continue with more adventures, but I must be off to Cinema Club. Oh yeah, I joined Cinema Club because there is going to be a huge film festival here in November. OHHH and speaking of movies, Taking Woodstock comes out this week in Greece. Unfortunately I won't be able to see it opening night because I will be in Santorini...darn.

kalimera kai adio! (good afternoon and goodbye!)

Grape Picking In Sykia

Hello from Greece!

I figured I would start a blog so I don't clog your inboxes with all my stories. I figured I'd save the emails for more personal stories...ooh la la!

Anyway, last weekend was probably one of the top five weekends I will have here. A small group of us were offered a discounted trip to Sykia, a small coastal city in the region of Chalkidiki, Greece. We got the opportunity to help a local Greek family pick grapes from a vineyard. After about 8 hours of picking delicious grapes in the warm Greek sun, we then all hopped in a huge barrell and stomped grapes for a little while. It was very sticky experience. The family then cooked us a delicious meal of greek salad, fish, and bean soup accompanied by the sweet homemade wine. It was the best dinner of my life.

Speaking of the food, nothing here has high fructose corn syrup or salt and it is all soo tasty. It is amazing how easy it is to tell the difference. I honestly probably won't eat anything at home now because I've already grown accustomed to the clean taste of all the food here.


But I digress. After we dinner a few of us went exploring in the "backyard". We climbed a small mountain (at least it was small compared to Mt. Olympus) that we named Pride Rock. Of course I started singing Lion King songs. After climbing back down with scratched up and sore bodies, we went back to our bungalow to settle in a little and later walked down to the beach. I touched the Aegean Sea for the first time! Then we all went to bed, exhausted after a hard days work and the next morning we woke up early and enjoyed a relaxing day on the beach. It was so refreshing to touch the ocean (well, sea) again.


Unfortunately, this small blurb of this weekend does not even begin to describe how peaceful, relaxing, and eye opening it truly was. We got to have a hands-on experience with a family that hasn't been tainted by the greed or obsessions that so much of the world has. They were the happiest and most welcoming family. I wish that we were able to have more opportunities like this. At the very least, I am grateful that I was able to participate in this amazing experience.

Until my next adventure, Kalinita kai Adio (good night and goodbye)

Sweens