Day One, May 16^th 2005

The Flight to Greece was a very interesting and nerve racking ride. IT was the longest plan ride I have taken somewhere. I slept most of the way there, with the occasional tasty meal given to the passengers. I awoke the right as the sun was gleaming into my window. I looked down and we had found land after flying over the Atlantic.  Below us was Italy. It was a beautiful site to see this land. The land was spread out with different islands floating above the water. We arrived in Athens, Greece a few hours later. The city was like any other city you would encounter in any other country. There were tiny little cars everywhere, and with little scooters flying by you in the street. We caught a bus to our hotel. I had been traveling with Justin Howard so far, and as soon as we got checked into our hotel we hit the streets. We wanted to explore our new home for the next few weeks, so what’s the first thing we do, we go get a beer.

             Our whole group met up later that evening in the hotel lobby.  We all walked down the streets of Athens to go see a view of where we would be going the next day. Where it was on a hill on the outskirts of the city, where we could see these wonderful structures of the Acropolis. It was a beautiful view for the start of a beautiful journey.

Day 2 May 17^th 2005

            We started the day walking through the streets to the Acropolis. The architecture of this place is incredible. Athens was full of life, people talking and interacting in the streets. There were vendors selling food and art everywhere.  Before we went into the Acropolis, we walked on top of the rock that the Saint Paul stood on to preach to the people below to convert them to Christians.  After this we walked over the entrance of the Acropolis. There were hundreds of people trying to get in at the same time that our group was trying. When we entered basically the whole area was under construction from destruction from past generations, and from the acid rain and pollution in the area. The monuments were built with marble from the surrounding area. On the hill of the Acropolis was the Parthenon, the Temple of Prapylaia, Agustus’ temple when Rome was conquering, and the Ercectheion, and The Temple of Nike. The Parthenon was built around 432 BC. It was built for the Goddess Athena, during the reign of the Athenian Empire. The building is a Doric based temple. It has Doric columns lining the entire structure. The architects were Iktinos and Kallikrates. The Erechtheion was an Ionic order. It was dedicated to Gods of Attica, Athena and Poseidon, and was built in 420 BC. The Temple of Nike was built for the conference of Gods, and showed scenes fro battle on one side. It was an Ionic order of columns, and was built in 420 BC.

            After the Acropolis our group split up to go have lunch. Aaron, Justin, and I went to eat lunch. We all met back up at the gate to a huge courtyard called an Agora. First we walked into a place known as the Stoa, where ancient Greeks came to talk, lounge, and eat with one another. The architecture was built so it would receive a constant breeze to cool the people. There is a roof, and then an open side with repeating columns, so the viewer wood be inside and outside all in one. We walked out from the Stoa to the theatre of Dionisis. Here plays and speeches were held. Further up the hill we walked to a temple called Hephaistos, which looked over the entire Agora. This Agora is where Socrates and Plato once walked. Also the Agora was the first place to have a juried conviction in a trial.

            After our first day we went back to our hotel to pack for our trip to the first island. We hitched a ride form our hotel on a train to the docks down by the ocean. We caught the fairy we arranged ahead of time to the next island.  Except what I thought was a fairy, a small boat, turned into being a cruise ship, so I was pretty excited.  We took our things to our room, and threw them down. We got ourselves a drink, and said goodbye to Athens, and hello Crete.

Day 3 May 18^th 2005

            I awoke from our nine hour boat ride to a whole new world it seemed. We left the boat and as soon as the bus came to pick us up the sun rose over the tops of these rolling hills off in the distance. I t was fantastic to see this sight, so of course I took my photograph of that. Crete was different from Athens. It was filled with more culture, here we could see real Greeks hard at work, and living from the land. Crete was relaxing and peaceful. The hillsides were covered with greenery, and beautiful trees. There were orange plantations everywhere you would look. We took a bus up this steep hillside. We traveled to the top of what is called The Samarian Gorge. The mountains here had to have been near 11,000 feet tall. We got off the bus at the top, and began our descent. The trees were amazing, growing from the sides of the mountain. Due to erosion and weathering the trees grow outward form the hill. The water came straight from the mountain, so it was the purest form of water filled with minerals. It had an aqua marine tint to it. I t seemed to look as if it contained eternal life. This color is probably due to the calcite in the limestone surrounding the river. The main rock in Greece is limestone, so the water flowed from the earth right above us.  Another type of rock formation in the gorge is Brachia which occurred during mudslides, molding rock with sediment.  The hike finally ended, it was about ten mile or so. It was probably one of the most amazing things I have encountered. The trail ended up running into the ocean at a town called Samaria. It is a small town with really only a few locals, and more tourists. We grabbed some lunch, and then caught another fairy to our next destination.

Day 4 May 19^th 2005

            The town we stayed next was Matala. This was located on the southwest end of the island of Crete. The town was just perfect. The population of it was small, probably just a few thousand or so of people. The city was tucked back into this amazing cove. The city just rested on the ocean front and people lived all right there, with mountains surrounding the back side of their town. The ancient Minoan site that our class went to visit was called Phaistos. The city was exposed by the sun and had a location on top of a hill. The Minoan civilization that lived here was one of the first European cultures. It was ruled by King Minos. The palace was built around 3,500 years ago. The palace had a central courtyard where everyone would congregate. The city had storage units that were placed bellow the houses and the pathways, where food and other items were placed. The city was also built where agriculture wealth was collected (gold, metal, copper, tin, silver. and farming) by trade. The stones used were Ashlar. Sometimes Gypsum was used. The Minoans were good crafts men and were able to cut stone, and move the heavy stones very well.

            When we returned to Matala, we hit the beach for a swim. The beach had this really granulated sand that made it hard to walk on the beach. Also tiny pebbles laid further back from the water. Each pebble had its own color and design on it. It seems like these rocks over time merged together forming a mixed stone. The site of all these rocks was very intriguing. We all gathered after the beach and went to the rock face that helped form the cove that surrounded one side of Matala. Inside the rock face there caves that had been carved in the sides. These caves lined the wall that was in front of us.  These caves were built during the Roman reign, they were graves built for soldiers. On the opposite side of Matala was an old Byzanntine village. There really wasn’t much left of the city but rubble. We wandered through this and found some very old pottery from about fifth century BC to about the medieval times. In Matala we discovered a drink known to the Greeks as Raki. To us Americans it is there moonshine. A very strong liquor drink made from grapes. We chased our shots with fruit such as apples and watermelon. I also had some fantastic shrimp on the ocean front. We ate and drank as the sun set over the mountain off in the distance.

Day 5 May 20^th 2005

            Our first destination of the day was to another Minoan site. This place is known as Ayia Triada. The buildings here were also built with Ashlar and Gypsum. The lay out of the town was similar to Phaistos the day before. Here we discovered evidence of an earthquake down one of the earliest stair ways ever built. Right down the middle a crack split the stair case in half. Also on some of the ashlar blocks there were cracks that ran down the side of them.  We also discovered once taking J.R.’s compass and seeing that the city was built directly according to magnetic north, they may have built there city according to a certain degree facing somewhere, then this shows the Minoans new direction and have made a compass. Even Phaistos had the same reading; if this is true then the Minaoas were the first to use compasses rather than the Asians. Our next destination was to the city of Gortyn. In this city one of the walls that surrounded a courtyard had the first ever written law code. Until this time there had never been laws that were followed and actually written down. The villa that was in the center of where the law code was written was made with roman concrete and brick. By learning how to make such a sturdy stone, allowed these people to make long lasting buildings. That is why so many of their buildings are still standing today. Further down the walkway was one of the first churches that allowed Christianity to be practiced. Maybe the Byzanntines were one of the first to use this place for that reason.  

            Later in the day we went to Skoteino Cave. It took us a while to find this place. When we got there there was no one there. It was off in the countryside. Here the rock is about 65 to 100 million years old. The land is on a sink hole. So the earth below it keeps shifting. Many floods have come through here made these deep layers. We hiked down into the cave. As we got deeper all sun light was lost. So we had our headlamps to help guide us. At the bottom many ancient cultures had come down there to make religious offerings, because they thought this cave resembled hell in a way. There were Stalactites that grew from the roof of the cave, and stalagmites, which grew from the ground. The rock formations grew due to water seeping down from the rock and earth above. The water just drips over long periods of time forming these incredible rocks. We left Skoteino and headed back to our hotel in Matala for another night on the town.

Day 6 May 21^st 2005

            We awoke this morning and traveled to the Diktaean Cave, This cave was much more crowded than the last. Here is where Zeus was supposively born. I learned the Zeus was born from the earth and his plant was the oak tree, and his animal was the eagle and these represented him. Here the cave went down into a crevasse where a path was laid down for you to get to the bottom. More stalactites and stalagmites lined the walls of the cave. These grow from calcium carbonate from the ground water that leaks from the above limestone.

            After the Cave we passed over the Lasithi Plain. Her were some very old windmills that the Byzanntines used to ground wheat and make olive oil. We drove down the mountain to the city Mochlos. Here there was an island about 200 yards away from the main land that we could swim to. Once that island was attached to the main land, but due to subsidence and the forces of the waves and water the land was taken by rising sea levels. Subsidence is when two plates from the earths crust overlap one another. So I jumped in and swam across the cold water. Hell when do you get to swim across part of the Mediterranean?  The island was once inhabited by the Minoans, and there was evidence that earthquakes may have been effected the land that the people lived on. We found pumice on the island, so this showed a volcanic eruption may have taken place near here. Pumice is a rock that is formed from volcanic ash that has hardened over time.

            We arrived in our next city that we would be sleeping in. The town was named Sitia. It was fairly a busy city, but not very touristy. The city was also on the water front that looked out into the sea. Justin, Aaron, and I went out to eat. We ate at a restaurant that had a pretty important soccer game playing. Each time the team scored some of the workers lit fireworks out in the street. 

Day 7 May 22^nd 2005

            Today we traveled out of Sitia to another Minoan city. This place was called Palaikastro. The city was placed on a hill side over looking the ocean. The town had been placed here to get the sea breeze and the land breeze to cool the city from the heat. The town was supposed to house a statue of Zeus made from ivory. The town was ransacked by other cultures, or it was destroyed by earthquakes, thus breaking the statue. Also Palaikastro was known to have a eruption near by and one of the left behind buildings, people discovered ash there. There were signs of earthquakes due to the large cracks in the ashlar stone.

            Our next visit was to Gournia. We arrived late at this city. It had closed at three, so we just missed it, so some of our group snuck under one of the fences to get in.  Dr. Bauslaugh and I stayed behind to talk to anyone if they came by. J.R. and Dr. Chapin went in to take some measurements for our compass theory, but it turned out that Minoan city was not aligned with magnetic north.

            We then drove to our hotel in Nikolaos. This city was on the northeast side of the island of Crete. As soon as we got there we hit the beach. The ocean just gazed at you with her blue eyes. A mountain range lined the horizon in front of us, so it was a little unusual to see the sea in front of us and a mountain range in the distance. We swam for the rest of the day, and I used a mask to try and catch the fish below me in the ocean.  We walked through the city and got a bite to eat, and went out on the town for the night.

Day 8 May 23^rd 2005

            It was a new week for the trip. We awoke and went to the palace of Knossos. This palace was the largest occupied site in Crete. Most of the stories and myths came from this palace. It was a Minoan palace. The palace was a Laerinthian site; it was called the house of the double axe. Stones were carved to look like an axe, and there were bronze axes throughout the palace. There were an estimated1300 rooms in the city.  Arthur Evans excavated this place in 1900. He reconstructed most of the palace to conserve it. All frescoes and columns were redone, and the originals were put in museums. After Knossos we went to the capitol of Crete, Heraklion.  It was your typical city with loud cars and lots of people. We caught a bus to a beach further down the road. It was near the airport in Heraklion, so it was very loud. The wave’s here were the best I had seen on the island. So I tried to bay surf and ride them in.

Day 9 May 24^th 2005

            We went to the Heraklion museum downtown. There were so many artifacts in this museum. The time period ranged from 20^th century BC to the Roman Period. Lots of the artifacts showed men bowing down to a woman figure. Most of the sculptures were of people praying and bending over to worship things. There was some amazing jewelry that looked like it was made today. The Minoan culture was said to have started around the 16^th century, most of the artifacts came from this time period.

            I went around by myself for a little bit downtown. I came across a woman with two children on the sidewalk, and they were asking for money. This is what I want to capture in my photographs. The true essence of what lies beneath the surface, and for me to show what really goes on in the world. I knelt down with the camera at my chest pointed at them. I snapped a shot of her without the camera up to my face, because I didn’t want to offend her. I through a 20 cent Euro piece in her hat, and I walked away. We all caught taxis to the port to get a fairy ride to our next island, Santorini. We boarded the boat and set sail to our next experiences. We arrived and took a bus all the way to the top of the main island of Santorini, Thira here our hotel was.

Day 10 May 25^th 2005

            We woke up for our trip to the volcano named King George the first. This man discovered the volcano and studied it. The islands of Santorini were caused by the Theran eruption. What scientists call this incident is the formation of a caldera. Mass amounts of ash exploded into the atmosphere. The lithosphere below the island collapsed, forming a giant hole where land used to be. This formed the caldera. The volcano contains basalt, rhyolite, ralsonite, and sulfur. We got back on the fairy that we took out to the volcano and went to Therasia. Her we ate lunch for about two hours or so. This little piece of Santorini basically housed local fisherman. Not many tourists come to this island, that’s what made this island special. We left Therasia, and went right over a natural coral reef. The boat we were on had glass panels that the passengers could look down at to see the ocean floor. We then got to swim in some natural hot springs around the bend called Paleo Kaimena (old hot springs). They had a very strong odor coming from the sulfur under the ocean floor. It was very warm and very relaxing. The warmth came from the heat of the volcano near by. Our boat took us to a city named Oia. Her we docked and walked up the winding road all the way to the top. Here we sat and ate ice cream on top of Santorini. Oia is connected to the main city of Thera.

            That night I walked around by myself before we went to dinner. It was here when I found a walkway that stretched for a while; that was parallel to the waters edge. Only for the fact that it was a straight drop off to the ocean, which was about a thousand feet below. But I watched the sunset, and thought to myself how could it get any better.

            Back to my Homepage

Next Journal Page