Mykonos and Paros

The island hopping adventure continues! Thursday Journey to Greece students docked at Mykonos and immediately hopped onto a ferry to Delos where easyCruise had a set up a private tour of the archeological site. For most, this was a difficult endeavor due to the early departure time of the ferry from Mykonos (10:30 AM); most of the students had to be rolled out of bed but woke up on the rocky boat ride over to Delos. Upon arrival the students were welcomed by their tour guide who promptly escorted the group into the site; the first stop were the aqueducts followed by an upscale Delian mansion with its own mosaic and marble floors. The most amazing part of the island, though, was the summit of the “mountain”. Only a few students made it to the top, but the view was worth the climb. A panoramic view of the entire island greeted the weary climbers and provided a perfect background for pictures; the wind at the summit was blowing so strongly that students could lean forward and not fall. Friday Journey students entered the port at Paros. EasyCruise Life dropped anchor just outside the docks and the Journey students took small boats into the town. Most of the students hit Naoussa beach, went swimming, and sat out in the sun. After the sun began to set, all of the Journey students migrated back to the boat and the internet café in order to prepare for their arrival in Athens.

The Island Life!

Sorry for the delay on posting but we have been cruising the Greek Islands! easyCruise Life has taken the students on a week long island hopping excursion where there has never been a dull moment. As our master schedule stated the students were on the island of Kalymnos on Sunday taking in the sun at the beautiful beaches and enjoying the surrounding countryside. The students stayed all day in Kalymnos and broke off into smaller groups of four or five to go bike riding as well as to go kayaking around the island. On Monday, students were treated to a stay in Bodrum, Turkey where there is quite a shopping district. There were deals to be had and great food to be eaten while on shore. What was interesting about Turkey was that many of the shops preferred Euros or United States Dollars to their own currency while we were there grating the students even better deals on different clothing and accessories. At night, many of the students stayed on board the ship and went to the club located in the main dining hall to meet some of the other passengers; the ship holds quite a diverse population of people from the United Kingdom all the way to Australia! Tuesday holds the record for the best day on the cruise so far, the boat docked in Kos and the students all hurried off to hit the beaches. Kos was beautiful, to many of the students Kos was the epitome of what they had expected to see when they had come to Greece: beautiful beaches, small tavernas, and delectable food (I have never had better taramoslata). The water was as clear as glass, you could see the sea floor without a pair of goggles and there were plenty of small fish swimming around. After the beach, many of the students brought the day to a close writing in their Archeology journals or working on their Greeks in America projects that helped to wind down the day. Today (Wed.) the students landed on the island of Syros, a bit off schedule, due to weather near Paros that prevented the boat from getting near the island. This did not deter the students from going to see the beautiful Orthodox Church that lies at the peak of the town, or walking around the plaka in the island sampling all of the local Greek desserts. Syros is one of the smaller islands the students have visited but the food (every Greek rates the places they have been by the food!) again, was phenomenal. I only wish the food back in Athens was this good. As I bring this post to a close all of the students wish you the best and are looking forward to the rest of their island cruise, some are beginning to miss home and the certain amenities they took for granted (French fries and ketchup) but overall the students are having a great time discovering their roots.

For those who have not seen the schedule here is the remaining itinerary:
Thursday- Mykonos with an excursion to Delos
Friday- Paros
Saturday- Athens

E-Bulletins

Hello all blog readers! Please note that there are links to download the new JTG E-Bulletin on the right hand side of the page. We have spent a significant amount of time putting this together for you so enjoy!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD JTG Session 2 Bulletin #1