Day 3 - February 21st

Hi everyone! I'm in Greece at a lovely little internet cafe where the space bar doesn't work all that efficiently. I'm sorry that I missed a day but obviously there wasn't a computer available on the plane!

The flights went well, although they were long. The last flight on Aegean Air was a little difficult. There were a couple of points that were a little tense, including when he was rapidly descending over the sea and it looked like there was no runway. When we first arrived in Thessaliniki, there was a large haze that looked like smog. Apparently it turned out to be from a sandstorm in Libya. It lasted for the night, and by the next morning, it was a beautiful blue sky! The weather has been nice here so far. It's definitely t-shirt weather, although the locals think it's cold. It's gets a little chillier at night, and it's windy at times, but other than that, I'm sure everyone over in Canada right now would switch for this!

Today we went to Vergina to see the supposed tomb of Phillip of Macedon. There are these wonderful little tombs hidden under a tumulus, but unfortunately you can't take pictures. We also went to Dion, where we essentially saw the ruins of a little city. I can now say that I've sat (yes, sat) on an ancient road.

The Greek countryside has been beautiful so far. We drove around Mount Olympus today (or rather our driver, George, drove us around). The route was incredibly windy, but the view from some of the mountains was spectacular. We also had the opportunity to see sheep, goats, and dogs...lots and lots of dogs. There seem to be strays everywhere, but they're very friendly anyway!

So, before I left for Greece, my roommate, Alex, gave me a stack of letters for everyday. Included in each letter is a quote, a riddle, and a dare. I've decided that I'm going to share these with you everyday, so you can keep up on our progress! So here it goes:

Feburary 19:

dare: to talk to a stranger on the plane
success?: I tried. Everyone I talked to spoke another language so I resorted to smiling and waving excessively.

quote: "Anywhere is walking distance if you have the time." - Steven Wright

riddle: A lady's delight, lovely and round. I shine in pale light, grown in darkness...
answer: a pearl. Jacob got this one. We've all decided to keep count. I should also add that the answer comes the next day if you all want to play along!

February 20:

dare: to eat something new
success: I ate the leg of a squid. It tasted like fish.

quote: "You've got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." - Yogi Berra

riddle: Waterless sea, large as a mountain, small as a pea. Endlessly swimming in a waterless sea.
answer: an asteroid. We all failed. Touche Alex. We guessed a desert. We like our answer better! (but only because we lost)

Febuary 21:

dare: to take a picture with a local
success: I took one with the reception lady. I would have taken one with some random person in the countryside but we were driving too much. Still a success though!

quote: "A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu

riddle: I welcome the day with a show of light, I stealthily came here in the night. I bathe the earthy stuff at dawn. But by noon, alas, I am gone...
answer: I'll tell you tomorrow. We have a good guess, but we're not telling!

Anyway, that's it for now! Tomorrow we're going to see the cliffs of Meteora. They look pretty amazing from our view driving in! I bet they're even better up close.

-Natalie :)