Day 2: The Aegean Sea

Coming from a week and a half of no sun or sky in Copenhagen, I was ready for beaming rays and clear skys....Greece did not fall short. Each day was 75 degrees and sunny, and I would close my eyes and look up to the sky as if I was seeing it for the first time. I have become so pale, that within a day, I got a tan line on my feet from my birkenstocks. As many know back at home, I do not tan, so this goes to show just how much sun I have been missing in Scandinavia!

My second day in Greece is, by far, the happiest I have been abroad. It was the pinnacle of my travels. I cannot tell you precisely why, but something about seeing the ocean and being engulfed by the brisk salt water brought me back home. I journeyed to Cape Sounion and climbed to the Temple of Poseidon overlooking the Aegean Sea on a cliff. From the top of the temple, I could look out and see Crete and the sea in one direction and turn around and face the mountain ranges of Greece in the other direction. But the most memorable part of my day was not the actual temple; it was the adventurous trek down the side of the cliff and leap into the ocean.

If you can imagine a collection of large boulders, crumbling stones, and blanket of sea urchins, you just pictured the exact context I was swimming in. It may not have been the ideal bathing spot, but I did not care. There was no way I was coming to Greece and not going in the ocean. So, I flipped off my birkenstocks, threw a friend my camera and glasses, and I jumped into the sea in my clothes. No later was I joined by a few other classmates of mine, and we floated out away from the cape laughing, tredding water, and making all sorts of ruckus.

The adrenaline combined with excitement and awe, gave me the best feeling in the world. I passed my time in the water floating on my back with a direct view of Poseidon's temple on a cliff against a setting sky and the sea. I never wanted to get out of that water. However, the sun was setting fast. I was so reluctant to get out of the ocean, but eventually I came back to shore careful not to step on those lovely spiny sea urchines.

As I walked back towards the bus, I turned around and my last view of Poseidon's temple was its black shadow against the sunset. I will never forget this day, and I will never regret getting into the ocean...even if it meant I had to uncomfortably sit at dinner sopping wet.