Alex Assaf

Kait Barber

Ally Begly

Charlie Clark

Dallis Fox

Jerry Guo

Kate Ginsburg

KT Holroyd

Joe Indvik

Chris Johnson

Ben Kahn

Alex Maceda

Kathryn Mammel

Jason Spellmire

Sarah Murray

Professor Faro

Professor Christesen

Week 11

Saturday, June 6th

Sites Visited: the Aegean Sea 

Where did we stay tonight?: Athens

Leaders: Ally Begly and Kate Ginsburg

Babies go hooome!

This morning we slept in on Syros, then checked out of the hotel with time enough to make our 12:15 PM ferry.  After buying our last round of periptero snacks (*tear*), we got on the high speed ferry to head back to Athens.  We had a busy boat ride completing our end statements and course evaluations, but the usual card players managed to squeeze in one last game of rook.  We disembarked for the last time in scenic Piraeus and took the train back to the Astor Hotel.  At the Astor, CJ used his innate abilities to find us a bowling ally, and we all prepared for our fabulous bowling and Brazilian food festivities.  Words can not describe the performances of CJ, Jason, and especially Ben (who bowled a 197) during our outing.  As usual, Barbski held it down for the girls with many strikes.  We then proceeded to a beautiful Brazilian restaurant tucked away in a remote neighborhood of Athens and had a delicious, many course dinner.  Dinner was interspersed with speeches, toasts, and humorous reminiscences of the crazy times that we’ve had together on the FSP.  We all went back to the hotel afterwards and presented Sarah with her gift, a highlight reel of some of the funniest incidents from the trip.  Afterwards, most of the group ventured out for a classic Athenian clubbing experience at Lava Bore.

            Early this morning, Barbski and Ben were the first to leave on their Italian excursion.  The rest of us will all be leaving at some point between now and Monday.  Overall, this FSP was a once in a lifetime experience that none of us will ever forget.  To our wonderful professors and amazing TA, thank you for all of your hard work and for making the trip the incredible experience that it has been.  Now, as sad as it is, it’s time for the babies to go home.

PS—Be sure to check out our end statements and portraits (taken by our excellent photographer Alex Maceda).  Thanks to everyone at home for keeping up with the blog.  We hope you enjoyed experiencing Greece with us!

Week 11

Friday, June 5th

Sites Visited: Syros Archaeological Museum, Chaliandri (attempted), Kastri (attempted)

Where did we stay tonight?: Syros

Leaders: Dallis Fox and Joe Indvik

FSP To-Do List (as of 6/5/2009 at 9:30 a.m.)

Incomplete

• One last museum (in all its three-room glory)
• One last navigationally challenged near-death island car adventure
• One last hike through the thorny, rock-laden foothills of Greece
• One last (and first, and hopefully only) escaped herd of goats to be corralled (see Joe’s ending statement for more info)
• One last sandy beach along the Aegean
• One last Greek dinner (tomorrow’s will be Brazilian)
• One last perpetration of a fashion faux pas on the unsuspecting streets of a small Greek town (see picture)
• One last American ruckus raised on the otherwise-peaceful restaurant district of said town

Complete

• Three hikes up precipitous, thorny, rocky cliffs in search of peak sanctuaries
• Two all-night ferry rides, confined to close quarters with wild Greek teenagers
• Two bad experimentations with facial hair
• Visit over 100 sites
• Explore the underground, cavernous store rooms of the British Museum
• Visit the world-famous Acropolis!
• Climb to the top of the Proyplaia
• Enter the Parthenon itself, much the chagrin of nearby tourists
• Scale the ancient towers of Orchomenos
• Avoid death on the winding, cliff-hugging roads of the rural Peloponnese while travelling twice the advisable speed in a charter bus
• Perform a chilling rendition of the alma mater at the theater of Epidauros
• Sneak into the ridiculously well-preserved temple at Bassae
• Visit Hades
• Participate in the Dartmouth Olympiad…at Olympia
• Study in Aristotle’s School

A cat waiting for us in the Syros Archaeological Museum

Benghis Kahn and his trusted war-donkey

Chris takes one for the team.

Ally and Dallis enjoying their Greek meal

Beach!

Ben and Joe looking back down the valley

One last Greek dinner

Port at Syros

The aforementioned escaped herd of goats

The team's successful herding adventure

The fashion faux pas

Week 11

Thursday, June 4th

Sites Visited: Delos

Where did we stay tonight?: Syros

Leaders: KT Holroyd and Ben Kahn

This morning we woke up nice and early to grab the ferry from Mykonos to Delos, our last major archaeological site (a sad sad day for the FSP). After a breezy 45 minute boat ride out to the tiny rocky outcropping that is Delos, we came ashore and drew (maybe our last) map for Professor Christesen. PCC then led us in a whirlwind tour of the island, including showing us the various temple remains and a giant marble base that would have held a colossus. We took a quick look into the museum, then had a quick break for lunch, and then quickly headed up to the theater quarter to analyze some big Roman houses. Everything’s quick when you are on a ferry schedule, and we finished just in time to catch the 1:30 boat back to Mykonos. Back at tourist central, we all split up to spend our last couple hours on Mykonos in different ways. Some went back to the hotel to lounge around the pool, others meandered around the tiny maze-like streets. We all gathered up again to grab the ferry to the island of Syros, our last stop in the Aegean. In the midst of the relaxing hydrofoil transportation, PCC sprang a map quiz on us (Jerry woke up for 30 seconds, did it, then fell right back asleep). We docked in Syros and settled into our beautiful hotel by the sea, ready to enjoy the last few days out here in paradise. 

Jason and Kate take detailed notes at Delos

Chris poses next to an intriguing statue...

Dallis is very excited by Ally's festive socks

Charlie and Joe peek into the trident house

Week 11

Wednesday, June 3rd

Sites Visited: Mykonos Archaeological Museum

Where did we stay tonight?: Mykonos

Leaders: Jerry Guo and Chris Johnson

The odyssey of the Dartmouth Classics FSP continued today with (surprise, surprise) more travel. And what better way to travel than by ship, the noblest form of transportation after the quadriga. Like long-suffering Odysseus, seed of Zeus and sacker of cities, we set sail from the island we were marooned on; farewell to beautiful Naxos, land of colossal kouroi and Mexican food.

And what was our destination? The pirate (tourist) haven of Mykonos! We pulled into port around noon, and we immediately set off in search of the Mykonos Archaeological Museum. Three kilometers and 30 minutes of wandering through the winding streets of the town later, we arrived at the museum and proceeded to do presentations on various pieces of art. Highlight: musical shaker/tongue scraper.

After the museum we were given a couple hours off, and some chose to go to the beach, some chose to lounge in the hotel pool, and some chose to explore the touristy desolation of the island. We reconvened in the evening for an Odyssey discussion group and finished the day around 10pm. Tomorrow: the last Cycladic island and site of our FSP, Syros. 

Harbor at Mykonos

The Mykonos Archaeological Museum's greatest treasure

Hotel pool!

Sunset at Mykonos

Week 11

Tuesday, June 2nd

Sites Visited: Naxos Archaeological Museum

Where did we stay tonight?: Naxos

Leaders: Alexander Assaf and Kait Barber

Journal of the Leader of the Kahnquestadors:

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

9:55am: Scouted the wild city in search for the Kastro, the antiquated walled stronghold of the city surrounded by modern overgrowth.

9:58am: Asked one of the natives the direction of the Kastro.  She pointed right as she said “left.”  This is a land of many strange customs.

10:15am: Reaching the border of Naxos town.  The native spoke untrue words.  Is this a trap?!  Running the other way to avoid any hostile

10:25am: Reoriented myself in the proper direction.  Relative direction of the Kastro is becoming clear.

10:30am:  Left our camp in search for the Kastro path

10:35am: Uncovered the route and traversed the Mediterranean island relatively unscathed.

10:39am: Lost in the Naxian jungle of unmarked trails.  A little free-styling is in order.

10:42am: The Kastro has been sighted up in the distance.  We are headed the wrong way.  Corrective procedures are underway.

10:45am: Found a trail near the water, and created our own path towards the Kastro.

10:48am: Impeded by a wall.  Our kahnquestadors valiantly scaled the wall with myself at the helm prepared to fight off any native that hindered my group’s progress.

10:50am: Made our way up into the Kastro and found our way to a museum

10:58am: A friendly face awaited the band of Kahnquestadors to lead them into the holding spot of the island’s relics.

11:36am: Our friendly guide finished debriefing us of the secrets of the island’s relics.  We departed in search of them.

1:00pm: Reported our finds through various documents.  The relics were in some protective case.  Since we could not take them back home, we had to sketch and describe the unique items we saw.

1:45pm: Our company finished lunch and reported back to camp.

8:00pm: All the Kahnquestadors took a break from working and feasted on Mexican food to remind us of our ancestral counterparts, the Conquistadors.

10:20pm: All has been a great day.  My men settled in camp tidying up their belongings preparing for an early departure with the rise of the sun.

Alex A. in the back studying the landscape as Ben, Joe, Charlie, and PCC look to him for answers.

Charlie in his Kahnquestador hat and Jerry with his adventurer's hat making their way through the Naxian jungle.

Kathryn spots the Kastro through the urban overgrowth!

Exotic flowers in the wilderness that is Naxos.

Natives selling local fruits to three of the Kahnquestadorettes.

Week 11

Monday, June 1st

Sites Visited: Archaic Naxian Marble Quarry

Where did we stay tonight?: Naxos

Leaders: Charlie Clark and Kathryn Mammel

Travels of Gulliverian Proportions, or: FSPers on Naxos, land of sizable extremes

Dedicated to the memory of Sarah C. Murray

     After a short flight on a small plane, we found ourselves this morning in the land of very littleand very big things. The people seem to be normal sized, for the most part, but the airport, the cars, the Jacuzzi in Professor Christesen’s hotel room, the margaritas, the marble sculptures—way out of proportion, all of them. Welcome to Naxos the land of extremes.

     We left our hotel in Athens, realm of normally sized Greek people and things, around 9:45 and fought our way for seats on the bus to the airport. Once there, we checked all of our normally sized bags (so as to avoid excessive weight fees), and hurried off to eat McDonald’s ® meals of varying sizes, ranging from Assaf’s Super-Size Big N’ Tasty ® to Kathryn’s itty bitty Happy Meal ®—let the extremes begin.

     Things got kooky soon after, as we sought for our departure point (in fact a bus stop disguised as an airport gate) among the sequentially-challenged gates and duty-free liquor shops. And then things got small. Really small. We climbed the stairs to our plane (all four of them), and hunted among the rows of seats (all 13 of them), and counted the propellers—yes, propellers—both of them. We climbed to our cruising altitude (1500 feet), and were quickly presented with a not-so-vast array of drink options (three—water, orange juice, and Nescafe ®). The flight attendant wheeled out the drink cart soon after takeoff, and by the time she had reached the final row, our descent had begun.

     We narrowly avoided landing in a goat pasture, and descended the steps to Naxos Airport—all three rooms of it—and made our way to the five feet of baggage claim conveyor belt. Needless to say, we were surprised and relieved, to find that our luggage had not been shrunk by the journey.

      We took a van (a surprisingly spacious automobile for this island of little things) to our hotel, where we realized that things were more complicated than they first seemed. We found ourselves in spacious accommodations featuring a dazzling array of showerheads, at least one plus-size Jacuzzi (party in PCC’s room?), and bed canopies. What sort land is this?

     We then settled in the hotel lobby on tiny stools for a lengthy discussion of a little bit of Odysseus’ long journey home and discourses by your humble correspondents. Size confusion continued further, as five of us piled into a teensy yellow rental car to take a longish journey to see a biggish kouros and really biggish kouros in the ancient marble quarries in the inner part of the island.

     Back in Naxos town, we ventured to Picasso, famous (and only) Naxian Mexican (Naxi-Mex?) restaurant, home to colossal iguana décor and itty bitty drink umbrellas. We feared the large iguanas might have eaten the itty bitty beach goers. Sipping margaritas in miniature (margarita-itas?) as an aperitif from the friendly normal-sized expats, we contemplated how to best achieve ultimate happiness on this strange island via dessert.

     We settled on Waffle House [read: Vaffle House], where we faced nearly infinite options of flavors and an incalculable sum of calories to consume. And consume we did.  We then retired to our big rooms for a little well earned unwinding and a long night’s sleep. Soon we will drift to sleep in this strange land, thinking of tomorrow and hoping the assignment will be tiny and the grade inflation large. We like it here on Naxos, land of extremes.

 Itty Bitty Baggage Claim

Wandering the Naxian Countryside

Day 72 Photo Gallery

Jerry, KT, and Alex M resting on the way to the airport

Assaf!

CJ gets his hockey fix in the Athens Airport

Small Plane

Small Airport

 

Small Baggage Claim

Small Rental Car

Big Kouros

Off to see the Kouros

Sites Visited: Sounion

Where did we stay tonight?: Athens

Leaders: Jason Spellmire and Alex Maceda

             Another day in Athens, and this blog writer’s earlier high-minded resolve to abstain from the nearby McDonald’s crumbled. Concerns about cultural imperialism are considerably less delicious than strawberry milkshakes and cheeseburgers for one Euro (or a Happy Meal, in Alex’s case).

            Having most of the day off, we all did different things. Money was spent. Souvenirs may have been bought. There are lots of tourist shops that all sell the exact same things. We went to them. After the delightful shop proprietors in Istanbul (“Hello! How can I take your money?” “Lady!”) who were bizarrely familiar with towns in rural Ohio (really), their Athenian counterparts were a little dull, though one gave Alex a lucky Greek penny.

            Around 4 in the afternoon, we got on a bus for Sounion, on the southern tip of the Attic peninsula, sans professors. TA and Blogmistress Sarah was our leader, a last hurrah before she left for her job in the Argolid, where we understand she holds court in a silk tent wearing a peacock-feather peplos and flanked by leopard cubs, occasionally sending for her litterbearers so that she may survey the progress on the site and toss coins to the people. Clearly a step up from babysitting clueless undergrads.

            At Sounion there is a temple to Poseidon. On the temple Lord Byron carved his name (he thought it was pretty just like us, but never described it so eloquently), but we couldn’t find the carving. Sarah delivered a stirring lecture.  We intended to watch the sunset, but a crabby guard kicked us out. Then Sarah left, and we were very sad.

            So when this blog entry and most of the rest of them are late to be posted, and poorly formatted, and the photo captions are just not witty…realize the genius of Sarah. Seriously. We miss her. We speak for everyone when we say that our trip wouldn’t have been half as fun OR informative without her, and one or more of us would probably still be wandering around some remote part of Greece, or maybe even across some international border, were it not for her efforts.  And in case you didn’t realize, the blog formatting and pictures and videos were all her, and it is no mean feat uploading everything. She also had the best cat impression we’ve ever seen. ‘Twas truly inspired.  Good luck, Sarah.

Day 71 Photo Gallery

Waiting for the bus to take us to Sounion

Temple of Poseidon at Sounion from a distance

Sarah's swan song lecture

A temple! Are you tired of them yet?

A sneak?

We embarrass the institution yet again.

A friendly parrot joins us

Our thank-you gift to Sarah: a cat calendar

The sun sets over the temple and on Sarah's time with us.

Saturday, May 30th

Sites Visited: none (day off)

Where did we stay tonight?: Athens

Leaders: Joe Indvik and Kate Ginsburg

Today was a day off, with all the associated activities.  As it was a weekend, the laundromats were closed, so a week’s worth of dirty laundry continues to fester in our frame packs.  The girls shopped (as usual) and the boys slept (as usual).  Some of the group went to the famous Kolonaki pasta restaurant for dinner, while other members of the group were regrettably left behind, confused, lonely, and desperate for companionship—a testament to our inability to communicate dinner plans without regular access to blitz.  Fortunately, those left behind salvaged a small group and proceeded to have a fantastic evening at the local TGI Friday’s.  Take that!  (I’m not bitter.)  The evening was spent hanging out and broadening our cultural horizons at a local club after unsuccessfully attempting to bond with a rival group from Duke, who did not seem eager to compare our schools’ reputations for partying.

Day 70 Photo Gallery

Inside the pasta place in posh Kolonaki

Happy after shopping and eating.

Friday May 29th

Sites Visited: Paleontological Museum of Samos, Beaches

Where did we stay tonight?: Athens

Leaders: Ally Begly and Chris Johnson

This morning we woke up and had breakfast in the Astra Village. Since we had the morning off, all of us went different places. In the morning, Professor Christesen, Sarah, Ally, and Jason, made the trek to the epic Paleontology Museum of the Aegean. Highlights included a stuffed polar bear, bones from a short-necked giraffe that once lived on Samos, and, of course, the Kaplani, a ferocious cat that swam 2 km from the shores of Asia Minor, washed up on Samos, and terrorized the village of Pythagorio until it was defeated by two brave brothers. CJ and Professor Faro went to the beach, and the rest of us worked on our Iliad papers and Ephesus assignments which were due that afternoon. Around 3:00 we went to the airport, and flew from Samos to Athens, which took just as much time taking the bus and the train back from the airport to the hotel. Back in the Astor, we wasted little time and after getting our bags, had our final Iliad discussion in the dungeon/conference room in the basement. Afterwards, we all went out to eat. Tomorrow we have a day off, then one more day in Athens before we head on our final trip to the Cyclades.

Day 69 Photo Gallery:

Prof. Christesen, Jason, and Ally investigate the paleontological finds from Samos.

A dino diorama at the paleontological museum.

Making it educational.

Natural History of Samos.

Ally poses with "The White King"

Jason admires the regal plumage of the peacock.

The "Kaplani in the Vitrine" a wild cat who swam over to Samos in the 19th century, terrorized villagers, and was killed and stuffed by two brothers.

"Embalmed Chaplain", according to the helpful signage.

Forest friends.

A sneak.

Hatchling.

Koalas grow on trees.

Ally and Jason consider the Kaplani.

Aquatic life.

Aquatic life.

The Moray Eel - good to eat, but indigestible.

A rickety wooden stair on the way to the Potami waterfalls on the Northwestern coast of Samos.

The day's only live fauna.

The Potami gorge.

More Potami gorge.

Jason checks out the non-Classical sites of Pythagoreio.

Charile and Alex A. indulge in a game of Chess back at the hotel.

A smooth flight over the Cyclades back to Athens.