Welcome back! As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m excited to share some of my favorite memories from my January 2024 trip to Greece & Turkey with you all. Please note that these stories will not be in chronological order, and I will probably go on lots of tangents. đ
Let’s start with one of the most magical experiences of the trip: swimming with dolphins in the Aegean Sea.
It was January 17th. We were about 2 weeks into our trip, and this was our last day in Greece before crossing the border into Turkey. The previous night, my friends and I had stayed out until the wee hours of the morning singing karaoke at a bar in Thessaloniki. But that’s a story for another time…
I arrived at breakfast around 6:45 am with about 3 hours of sleep under my belt — yikes!
I sat down to eat at the table next to my professor (Jason) and his wife (Amy). They knew we had all wanted to go to karaoke, but most of the group decided not to go after realizing that it didn’t even start until 11 pm. Jason said, “I’m so sorry you guys couldn’t go to karaoke last night. I know you were really looking forward to that”.
I looked at my friend Ellie. She looked at me.
“Well, we actually did end up going…”, we replied.
Jason and Amy’s faces lit up. They asked us which songs we sang, how late we were out, etc. I could tell they were happy for us, despite the fact that we would be visiting Ancient Phillipi with bloodshot eyes and foggy brains.
I was determined to not let the lack of sleep get the best of me. I can balance work and fun, right?!
We spent the morning visiting the Baptistry of St. Lydia and the Phillipi archaeological site. There are two things that I remember most about the Baptistry of St. Lydia.
- There was a cute dog that made it very difficult to pay attention during my classmate’s declamation
- Jason explained a lot of the art inside the church, and I thought it was very interesting
As you can see in the image above, the artwork tells stories about important events such as Paul’s imprisonment.
At Phillipi, I actually got to see where Paul was imprisoned!
I remember being very proud of myself for asking questions, actively participating in discussions, and staying engaged throughout the entire morning. Like I said, I was determined to prove to myself that I could stay out late and still be a good student đ.
After visiting Phillipi, we had a short bus ride to Kavala. We were given a few free hours to do whatever we wanted; we just had to be back to the hotel for class by 7 pm. By this point in the day, a nap was sounding really nice. But how could I nap when I’m in a new city and the Aegean Sea is a 10 minute walk from our hotel?!?!
As soon as our bags hit the floor of our new hotel, my friends and I put on our swimsuits and started walking towards the sea.
On our way, we saw very impressive aqueducts which were used to carry water throughout the city during Roman and Ottoman times.
Eventually, we arrived at a staircase leading down to a rocky landing and the beautiful Aegean Sea. Nobody else was around. We had the entire place to ourselves (probably because it was January đ and 45 degrees).
I dipped one toe in the water, and it was FREEZING cold.
So, I dived straight in.
After a few minutes, my body was completely numb. I begged my friends to join me, and most of them did!
We had just gotten out of the water when all of a sudden, I saw something moving in the distance.
DOLPHINS!!!!!!
We all screamed and looked out to the horizon to see a whole pod of dolphins swimming past us.
As I watched the dolphins disappear into the sunset, I thought to myself, “Wow. I am going to remember this moment for the rest of my life”.
Until next time,
Clara