the home stretch

ok everyone so i am in thessoloniki... in my last week here at greece and i feel like i am way overdue for an update.

CRETE:
Absolutely amazing. Every day we went to a different ancient Minoan ruin, led by our crazy archeologist guide, Andreas. We saw the site of the oldest known theater, as well as the setting for various mythological happenings, for instance the story which gave the continent of Europe its name. Although each ruin had something unique to offer, such as examples of early refrigeration methods and original frescos depicting bull-leaping contests, they got a little old by the end of the week. Andreas was particularly banal, as he would not stop talking, even when he began to foam at the mouth from dehydration. He also prefaced every archeological hypothesis with "We do not really know what happened here because we do not possess a time machine." This time machine phrase was used very often and without even a smile as I think he was always dead serious. I've come to learn that jokes are always lost in translation. Even so, Crete made up for his oddities with its mysticism. We went to an amazing beach in Matala. The water was so warm, and mountains surrounded the sea on three sides. On one side was a wall of caves carved out of the mountain side. The caves were first used as tombs and then as homes and then finally as dwellings for squatting hippies in most recent times. Great pics to come...
Another favorite aspect of the island was the Hotel Ideon in Rethymnon where we spent several moonlit nights. From my room, I had an amazing view of the ocean and adjacent bustling tavernas. The town itself was quaint, and the restaurant owners unbelievably welcoming (and generous with their homemade alcohol - raki). Maria was a star with her Greek dancing, bending so low to take a shot of the ground. The locals loved it to say the least.
While we were there, we also had the opportunity to visit a great little Venetian village and ate dinner in a cafe situated right along the Mediteranean - rough life. Hiking the Somaria Gorge was another high point. The swim afterwards was out of this world.

PELOPONNESE:
We switched guides! Nina took over for foam-ridden Andreas. She was definitely an improvement, though her favorite phrase was, "Isn't it?" For example... "These mountains are very tall, isn't it?" Again, her attempt at connecting to her audience... lost in translation slash poor grammar. Anyway, we visited several monasteries, moving forward in Greek history. The most impressive was indeed the monasteries on top of high mountains in Mystras. It was a wonder how the monks could travel to such impossible areas. One of the peaks even had a rail car that transports ill/old monks still today, though you couldn't pay me enough euros to set foot in one.
We also went to some key landmarks, like Delphi and Olympia. There are pics. Not much to say but more impressive views and accompanying history. We have definitely grown to be spoiled if you couldn't tell. Every day we ask ourselves how we are getting credit for living in paradise.
Nafplion was probably my favorite place in the Pel. but we spent nearly 5 hours per day on the bus which made us all want to die. I'll continue more later but I have people waiting for me. My new nickname is Alkropolis. I think it's funny. I'm overtired. Though I have definitely adapted to the Greek lifestyle.. going to bed around 4 and waking up at 7 and drinking a strong greek iced coffee called frappe to keep me going through the day. I'm a trooper. Love this country but I'm definitely going to be ready to come home when the week is through.
Until tomorrowish.
Alka