Beaches, Protests, and Some Pretty Cute Turtles

A three hour ferry ride landed me on the Greek island Mykonos, covered in distinctive white-walled houses topped by bright blue roofs. I had reserved an apartment at Artemoula's Studios, where the real Artemoula herself greeted us at check-in with big hugs and vigorous cheek kisses, exemplifying the famous Greek family hospitality. The rest of the day was spent exploring the stunning nearby beaches, eating an authentic gyro plate, and renting a scooter to take turns touring our area of the island. Chill out though Moms, one of my friends used to race motorbikes professionally and I refused to ride with anyone but him(mostly because he actually went fast, but that's beside the point). Deciding to get creative for dinner, we bought a bunch of hot dogs and small one-time use grills. For reasons I still don't understand, I was assigned grilling duty and it's a miracle no one caught on fire or died of food poisoning. The evening was a foray into the city center, filled with a variety of nightlife options and twisted streets meant to confuse long ago invaders. The next day and night were consumed with relaxation and enjoyment. Wandering along a coastal path my friend and I discovered a secluded beach that must have jumped right out of Robinson Crusoe. Shopping was next on the agenda, followed by an interesting evening where one Greek man tried to proposed to me and another gave me a free gyro from his shop. Obviously the man with the food won my heart, despite the fact he was balding and pushing 50. The ferry back was a bit sad, Mykonos had been the perfect escape from the nonstop hustle of our itinerary.

Our final evening in Greece was interesting for less frivolous reasons. My friend Kelby and I decided to brave the public bus system to see downtown Athens at night. Since the Greek alphabet barely resembles our own, even reading location names was difficult and somehow we ended up riding around on the same bus for about an hour before getting to Syntagma Square. Unfazed, we just viewed it as a free bus tour of Athens- overall not a very attractive or exciting city. The main square had plenty of excitement though, where a small crowd was gathered in the makeshift tent city listening to impassioned speakers. Watching casually on the far fringes were policemen decked out with riot shields and cameo. We wandered around for about 30 minutes, taking pictures and trying to interpret banner meanings. In front of the Parliament building was a demonstration with slightly more menacing undertones. A young man was tapping out a military march on a snare drum while people took turns shouting verses through a loudspeaker. After observing them for a few minutes, we saw policemen gathering together near the unintimidated group. It might've just been an intimidation move, for no one else was really reacting. We, however, were plenty intimidated and caught the next bus towards Piraeus and back to the ship.

My last day in Greece was purely educational. In the morning, four representatives from the National School of Public Health came to talk to my bioethics class about general health care topics in Greece and the impact felt by the economic crisis. I'm not going to pretend it was the most thrilling 3 hour lecture I've ever been to, but my afternoon activity was a bit more on par with my interests. Tagging along on the Marine Biology class's trip, I visited the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Rescue Center. After a presentation about their preservation and rescue efforts around the Mediterranean, we had a chance to see (but obviously not touch) the turtles currently recovering in the center. Though fascinating, some of the stories were upsetting, especially about the animals that are brought in because of intentional harm by humans.