Peloponnese TRIP

Wednesday, February 20
The morning started incredibly early - 5:45 am to be exact - because I got a good tip from a friend that there would be Dunkin Donuts at breakfast. Even though I was extremely tired all day, it was definitely worth it. We left the Artemis around 7:30 and picked up Katarina, our guide for the trip, on our way out of Athens. We crossed over and made a ministop at the canal, which connects the Aegean sea to the Corinthian Gulf - it was made around the end of the 19th century, although the plans to build it go all the way back to Nero! We got to the site of Ancient Corinth and first went to the museum. We saw lots of artifacts (I guess you do that in any museum lol) like a stone that said synagogue in hebrew, many Roman statues (including my first nude, in person statue), floor mosaics all made out of colored stones, and even girly things like tweezers and a mirror! We then ventured into the agora. Apollos Temple was to the left, with its monolithic columns. We kept walking until we reached the Bema. This is where Paul was brought before Gallio - READ Acts 18:12-17. We prayed as a group and sang "Jesus is Lord." Our next adventure was to the Acrocorinth, a naturally fortified, gigantic mountain (which I climbed, no matter how much I hated it). The view at the top was breathtaking! I took lots of pictures but there isn't a camera in the world that could capture that beautiful scenery! After that we hopped onto the bus and rode to Epidaurus. We went to the Asklepeion which was a sanctuary/hospital. People would go there to be healed...this is actually where the Dr. symbol comes from, the staff with a snake curled around it. We then walked thru a pretty green forest to get to the ampitheater. It had 55 rows, VIP seats, and AMAZING acoustics. Sitting on the very top row, a person standing in the middle of the stage, talking in a regular voice could be heard. Our group gathered in the middle and sang a few songs, and we actually got an applaude from a greek high school group! We then drove the Nafplio, where we stayed for the night. The roads on the way there were extremely windy and we went thru many small towns. Once we settled into our hotel, we explored the town and found our way to the beach during sunset. It was very pretty and we had perfect weather for a walk on the beach. That night the girls gathered in Dani's room for our 2nd girls devo. It was so awesome! I love each and every girl that is here and I'm so glad to have this opportunity with them!

Thursday, February 21
Our first visit today was the Palamidi Venecian Castle, built from 1711-1714. It is made up of 8 sections, all connected by a wall. It was very easy to defend because it was so steep. We were given 45 minutes to explore the castle, so of course, we took lots of funny pictures and went thru the section that was turned into a prison. To get back to the bus, we went down the 850 stairs, while gazing out at the beach, the gulf, and the mountains in the background. Next we drove to Mycenae to see the beehive tomb. All 33 rows of stone still remained, making the "beehive appearance" from the corbelling. We then went to the ancient Mycenae acropolis to see the cyclopean walls and lion gate entrance. We also went by grave circle A, which is where the mask of Agamemnon was found, and went down into a cistern (thank goodness for my flashlight). After a quick lunch, we set out for Olympia. On the way, we saw all the burned mountains from the fires in Auguest. I never realized that it burned so much! We drove by burned mountains for about 2 whole hours! I half fell asleep and starting having a dream, in which a glass soap dish was falling from the wall...so naturally I yelped and thrust my arms out to catch it. Unfortunately, the yelp and thrust weren't just in my dreams...when I opened my eyes, there were about 5 or 6 people staring/laughing at me! Good thing I was in the back of the bus! Also, at some point, we stopped at a gas station and on the door there was a "Don't Mess with Texas" bumper sticker!!! How awesome is that?!?!

Friday, February 22
Happy _ _ th birthday MOM!
We went to the Olympia museum first and we got to see lots of amazing statues and artifacts including the famous statue Hermes with Dionysus and Miltiades' helmet. Then we walked to the sanctuary and festival meadow.
we passed by:
training facilities - changing and oiling rooms too
the Prytaneion - kept the ever burning flame
the Palestra - place for wrestling and long jump
workshop of Phidias - creater of statue of Zeus
temple of Zeus
Temple of Hera - the oldest preserved temple here
Hera's altar - where the olympic flame is lit with a concave mirror and the sun
the 16 statues of shame - cheaters in the olympic games
and finally the Olympic stadium - my favorite place so far! We lined up on the starting line and ran down and back. It was crazy to think that this is where athletics started!! After a quick, strange lunch of this noodle mush, we drove 4 and a half hours to home sweet home!