Greetings from Mirtos! It is unbelievably cool weather for Greece, I was actually chilly outside! It was a much needed break and we all feel refreshed.
Last night was a perfect night. We ate at the tavern next to the hotel and while we were eating the Creten dancers and musicians preformed while we ate. Right as we got our food they called us up on stage and we all formed this conga-line-esque movement and went right out the door through the bar and then back into the restaurant! We were all laughing hysterically at our attempt at dance moves from years ago. After dinner we were walking back from our rooms and saw kids playing hide and seek. One of the boys we had seen the whole time and he even served us our drinks at the bar, we’re assuming he’s the owner’s son. We played with him and his two friends for about 30 minutes before we were too tired. I felt so Greek!
This morning we had the same routine for breakfast and everything but we went to Archanes and Vathypetro. In Archanes we saw these tombs from the Minoan period and we climbed up this big mountain/hill where we saw a decomposing sheep on the way...very appetizing. We learned all about how the Minoans buried their dead (just threw them on top of each other in this stone tomb thing) and looked around.
Then we drove to Vathypetro to see a structure there. It was said to be a villa for wealthy Minoans who wanted to move out of the city but now they believe it’s an administration building of some kind. The view was beautiful! He gave us time to explore and take pictures which I really love because I feel like I’m discovering it on my own.
Then we went back into the town of Archanes, looked at the museum there and then had some free time for lunch. It was a very cute village without many tourists so that was nice. We had Greek salad at a café with horrible service (which is actually the trend) but the olive oil and bread were fantastic!
We had a long drive of about an hour and a half along the Isthmis and the coast to see an American Archeology center for a tour. The director was supposed to give us the tour but someone else had to fill in because he “made the discovery of a lifetime” and couldn’t leave. So cool. She was nice and showed us how they sift through the stuff they find and how they put pots and things back together. Everyone was very nice and our teachers were very impressed by the facilities.
Our drive to our new hotel was very beautiful. I mentioned before how I love the juxtaposition of Greece: the ancient ruins next to the modern city. I’ve found on Crete another example of this and that is the landscape. You are surrounded by beautifully blue and crystal clear water but then behind it you see rocky mountains and islands. The land behind the beach is dry and brown, everything looks prickly and even the trees look dry but they are standing next to this beautiful water. I love this feature of Greece and it never gets old to look at.
Our hotel is quaint but cute with mint green accent walls and all white balconies. There is no internet sadly but we’re hoping to find an internet café around somewhere. We’re only 5 minutes from the beach so we’ll go exploring and then hopefully find some great dinner. Love you all!
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