Day 14 - Nauplion

My last post found me in Crete after a wonderful day at the beach. It has been a couple of days, but the internet has been a little spotty since then at our hotels. I'll try to fill you in on events since then - hard to believe it was that long since we left Heraklion. We visited port towns and saw an awesome sunset the next day. A recurring photo theme amongst the guys on our trip is the "peace-sign" photo, tongue-in-cheek reference to many of the extremely enthusiastic tourists we have met on our travels.

Two days after my last post we packed up our things and hit the ferry back to mainland Greece. I spent the night studying for our midterm, but a choppy sea made it hard to read and study without feeling a little nauseous. I did as much as I could, and hit the cabin. Because of the strange time adjustment, I woke up a little after 4 AM, and took the opportunity to get up and resume studying. We were off the open sea, so it was much calmer, and I had no trouble logging a couple of hours and running through my material once more.

We arrived and boarded our bus for the Herodian, our hotel in Athens. We had a quick breakfast and began our exam. It went really well; it consisted of a choice of 5 (of 10) term identifications and then a longer essay comparing specific features of a couple of civilizations. I was happy with my work - although I had to scramble a little bit to finish my IDs in time - I filled an entire exam book with my essay! Once done, we had free reign of Athens for the day. We went to the shopping district and relaxed - spirits were high after a rough day of work. We bought some man scarves to fit in amongst the extremely trendy population - not sure they appreciate our take on their oft-ridiculous fashion sense, but we have gotten quite the kick out of posing in our scarves. 

We are now is Nauplion, which is part of the traditional territory of Argos. We are staying in a quaint motel - it's run by a big family who are exceptionally gracious. Our room is two stories tall - a nice change after the tiny rooms in Athens. The little city is on the side of a hill leading down to the waterfront - the pier here is very pretty at night, and the shops and restaurants are all awesome. It is also home to supposedly the best gelatto in Europe, which going from my limited experience could be correct.

We have been daytripping to parts of ancient Argos, and all of our days have been extremely full. However, there are usually hour-ling bus rides in between sites, which has allowed for awesome napping and reading opportunities. It is just fun to listen to music and watch the countryside, which I had no idea was so unilaterally picturesque. Today, we visited museums and the ruin of the first "classical med school" before stopping by our hotel owner's family orchard to pick and eat as many organically grown oranges as we could manage. They were about the size of both of my fists together - giant & delicious. 

Basketball is extremely popular in Greece; we've bought a ball and have been playing some pick-up in the afternoons - we certainly get funny looks; I'm not sure they see a lot of 6'4" blondies on the local courts. Running is also cool at dusk - the city lights up and the sun sets over the mountains across the bay. I've been napping off a gyro, so I think I'm about ready to lace up and head down there. I hope this post finds everyone in good spirits and health, and a special note to my Dad, who's health I am keeping in thought and mind. Get better soon!