Santorini

We have been busy, busy, busy! So far, we have done four big hikes, learned some basic geography, stratigraphy and pieced together the timeline of the events that took place on the island. We took a boat ride to Nea Kameni which is the currently active volcano. I jumped in a hot spring and smelled like sulfur until we got home.

We also found olive leaves that had been preserved in the soil layer between two of the caldera forming events (in geology they call it paleosol). We also found pieces of Minoan pottery, which has been one of the coolest things I’ve had the opportunity to do.

One of the days we had off, a group of us went into Oia. We found a bookstore that I’m pretty sure I would have been entirely content on living in for the rest of my life, and a pool overlooking the ocean.

And then we had our first group dinner where we get all dressed up. We went to a winery that had a set 3 course meal for us, and it was so good!

And you can’t forget the beautiful sunsets!

Athens

We spent the first two and a half days of our trip in Athens, exploring the geology and history of the city. We had about a half day by the time we got to the hostel, and most of us were exhausted, so not too much happened that afternoon. The first full day we visited the Acropolis and it’s museum, which were completely overrun with tourists like myself. Also, none of the artifacts in the museum were in cases, which made it beyond tempting to touch them and feel the history. The security guards were fairly intimidating though, so I managed to refrain from touching the art.  We also went to a rooftop bar that had an absolutely amazing view of the Acropolis at night, when it’s all lit up, and it was absolutely breathtaking.

On the second day, a group of us went out to explore the area a bit more. We grabbed some gyros for lunch and headed out to the Roman Agora. This one wasn’t as large, but still had a couple of entryways standing, almost perfectly intact. There was also an old observatory there which of course I loved, even though it was a small, empty room tucked away in the corner of the agora.

After the Roman Agora, we walked down the road to the Ancient Agora and it was entirely incomparable to the previous one we had seen. It was massive and included everything from what is believed to be a prison, a road where all the marble workers worked, to temples for Athena and Zeus. It was absolutely amazing. The group ended up leaving a little bit before me, but I stayed to walk around more to soak it in. On the walk back there was another ruin I stopped in, an old library this time though. It was amazing, and I felt a connection and appreciation that I haven’t really felt before, but I’m pretty sure is coming with age. 

I’ve already decided that I want to come back to Athens and explore it to the extent it deserves. But for now, I have almost a month to study the geology of Santorini!

Airplanes

It wouldn’t be an true adventure without some trouble getting to your final destination.  Currently my ten and a half hour flight from Chicago to Athens is delayed for maintenance. Of course, they don’t tell us what is wrong with the plane, which is probably a good thing for my sanity.  However, my faith was restored when I watched a truck bring the maintenance crew a new roll of duct tape.

It must have worked though, because now they’re loading us on to the plane and the pilots are in the cockpit. The flight ended up being delayed about a half hour, but all things considered, that’s not too bad.
Greece, here I come!

I guess I spoke too soon. It’s now been an hour and a half since our scheduled departure time, and we’re still on the ground. Hopefully soon though, but it looks like they might’ve needed more than the single roll of duct tape. 

Two Days Out

It's two days before I begin my month long trip to Greece, but before I can enjoy the warm sun and nice beaches and amazing history, I've got the long flights out there.  I've traveled internationally before and I'm used to the flying and traveling, however this will be the first time I do it on my own, without my family or friends with me.
The trip is a study abroad class through NAU's Geology program.  I do not have a huge geology background at this point, but I intend to expand my knowledge through this trip and the classes I take after.  This class is particularly about the volcanology on Santorini and how it has shaped the history of this area.
I fly out of LAX in 48 hours, and I'm probably not as ready as I should be.  I still have to repack my bag, do a bit of laundry, and make sure I have everything in order.  I tend to procrastinate these kinds of things, but they always get done so I don't worry about it much.

A New Adventure

It’s finally time for a new adventure. I haven’t been abroad for four years and practically leaped at the first chance I got. I was sitting in my introductory geology class when a professor came in to talk to us about a program she runs in Greece. For a full month, students get to go to Greece, first to Athens and then Santorini, and study the local geology and history of the area. I sent her an email as soon as I could to tell her I was interested. That night, I called my parents and told them about the opportunity. And now, a couple of months later, here I am preparing to go to Greece for the first time. 

I decided I wanted to go on this trip because I knew it would directly play into my future career. I’m not a geology major, but I am an astronomy major and I am most interested in planetary science. Since joining the trip, I decided to add a geology minor because every time I learn something about geology, I’m intrigued and I want to know more. Now, I get to go explore the volcano on Santorini and study geology in a beautiful, new, exciting place. 

I will try to keep this blog as updated as possible with all of my adventures, however I will be in the field six days a week, and exploring as much as I can on the seventh, so I can’t promise a set time and day for new posts, but check back every so often, and hopefully I’ll have some good stories and beautiful pictures!