One week!!!

One week left of the program and I can't believe how quickly it has gone... and yet, I feel like I've been in Greece for years now. I miss home so much, but I can't wait to experience Athens, Santorini, and Barcelona with Jason. These past few days have been fantastic both in the great things we have been able to experience and also in the pace of the program. I think our Professor has realized that some of us have already checked out and are ready to go home, so he's slowed the intensity of the sites we've been visiting and has given us plenty more breaks and free time to enjoy the city at our own leisure. It has been wonderful!

The last time I wrote, I mentioned the hiking up to the Korikian Cave. I obviously had no idea what I was getting myself into, because it had to have been one of the most intense hikes of my life. I took the hike up the mountain at a faster pace than I should have, but I was afraid that if I stopped or slowed down, that I would never make it to the top. But once I got there, it was all worth it! The moment you entered the cave, you could feel the temperature drop by at least ten degrees. It was cool and dark. There was a large cavern near the opening and as you stepped farther back into the cave, you needed a flashlight to walk around (which we luckily had). There were several side chambers on the right of the cave and neat stalagmites and stalactites. We poked around these areas and then found an upper chamber to the cave. The only way to get there was to climb the smooth and slippery cave surface which a couple of guys did with the help of a rope that was anchored there. The guys made it look so easy, so I decided to put my rock climbing skills to the test and follow suite, but as I got halfway up the climb, I couldn't find any good foot or hand holds and my tennis shoes kept slipping on the smooth surface of the rocks, so I realized that if I climbed any farther, I wouldn't be able to get down (rope or not). So I turned around and scooted down on my butt. Sometimes you just have to know when to give up. :) As the guys were exploring the upper caverns, we discovered down below some niches where other people had left votive figurines (including a clay human, snake, and a cobra). It was super neat. The ancient author, Pausanius, said that (back then) this cave had 40+ rooms and was filled with offerings to the deities there. I'm sure it was an amazing sight to see back then, but it was incredibly fun to explore for us. After our caving adventure, our professor took our small group out to dinner and paid for us all. It was a fabulous and delicious meal and I really enjoyed the conversation. I had a great time!

The next day we left Delphi and headed for Themopylae. It was a neat site to visit and it helped to picture the military strategy that occurred back then between the Spartans and the Persians. There was even a large statue of Leonidas there to commemorate the location. We visited several other places these next few days, but one of the great highlights was the Archaeological Park of Dion. It was like visiting a theme park made specifically for archaeologists. :) It's a large area excavated by the students of the University of Thessaloniki, so there are several buildings to see. It covers a vast area of land and you can wander around for hours looking at city buildings/houses, theaters, and temples. It was super fun! We were also in the shadow of Mount Olympus, so there was a spectacular aura to the entire site.

Today we visited Pella, the capital of Macedonia and the home town of Alexander the Great. We were able to see some neat mosaics, but some of them were recently lifted and taken to a different museum, so part of our group was disappointed. We also visited the site of Vergina (pronounced: "where-ge-na") which houses the supposed tomb of Philip the II and the royal Macedonian family. It was a neat site because you got to walk underground and they had all of the different tomb complexes lit up. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take any photographs, so I can't really convey how neat this site was. One of our stops in the middle of the day was to this town known as Edessa, which has several waterfalls and other neat places to see. We spent an hour there and I had so much fun exploring the town.

Our trip to Northern Greece is quicly wrapping up and we'll head back to Athens in two days. Tomorrow I give my site report on Olynthus: houses and households, so I hope it turns out well. I'm enjoying this trip, but I also can't wait to hurry back to Athens. I'll be home soon!

I love you all.