By: Julia - Melbourne, FL (Cape Coast VBC) and Lexi - Jacksonville, FL (JJVA)
            Early in the morning we awoke to the sound of Jodie’s voice telling us to all get up and head to breakfast. After a delicious meal full of bread, bread, and some cereal we headed to the gym on campus to train with the Greek national team coach. We were worried that the practice would be insanely difficult, but it ended up being a lot of fun and a great experience.
            After showering and becoming presentable, we took a bus ride over to the ruins of Mycenae. The tour guide was fantastic and taught us all about the history of the acropolis. We even walked through the Lion’s Gate into the prehistoric site. At another nearby site, the Treasury of Atreus, there was an underground beehive tomb which we visited and took a trillion pictures in front of. The tomb was about 10 meters wide and 12 meters high. They buried their dead with all of their possessions, including food and drinks, to assist them with their journey through the next life. We all had fun playing with sounds in the chamber. It echoed like crazy, especially if you stood in the center of the tomb.
After another hour long bus ride, we skipped to the Theater of Epidaurus, the most well preserved ancient theatre in Greece. We learned a lot about the hypocrites (actors) and chorus as well as the great surround sound of the time. This theater could seat 14,000 people which is more than most of the large cities of that time. Our guide went to center stage for a demonstration of the acoustics. While she stood on the altar of Dionysus, the patron god of theater, she clapped her hands very softly over and over. As she got louder with her clapping, you could hear a “buzzing” of the echo coming back from the seats. She then had us all get seats all over the theater, some people even ran to the very top. Mrs. Swalchick volunteered to sing from the stage. She sang a little scale, then the first few notes of “Ave Maria” and all of us could hear her perfectly. She has a great voice!
            Lastly we made our way back to the camp to dress for the barbeque that night. It was a lot of fun and the food was absolutely terrific (besides the dessert that tasted like a bland muffin oatmeal block? origin…unknown) We even got to watch Greek dancers and learn the beloved art. The night ended with the farewell of Andreja (going back to Slovenia to prepare for her wedding in 10 days to our tour lead Cory) and Bailey and Courtney (who are heading home for a wedding), leading to another long day ahead of us.

WE MISS YOU BAILEY!!!

By: Megan “Happenin Daily” - Mountain Brook AL (BVC), Taelor “Lover of Greek Men” – Jacksonville, FL (JJVA)

            We woke up with the sunrise to absorb the atmosphere of Greece. Then we went and picked fresh olives for our breakfast. Then to help out the Loutraki community, we volunteered at a local orphanage. The joy on their faces was worth more than the gold statue of Zeus. Then we jumped on our mopeds and zoomed off to the sport camp gym. Then we woke up and realized we were almost late for breakfast!
We ran to the gym where the Greek national team coach which we affectionately called Yannis was waiting to run us through a practice. We honed our skills and had a wickedly awesome time. Then in a mad dash we rushed back to our luxurious cabins to shower/hose ourselves down with our miserable shower hose. Then we enjoyed a gourmet lunch at the local diner that consisted of nutritious Greek food.

After our lovely lunch we took a seat on the bus and set our course for adventure! An hour later we arrived at Mycenae where we marveled at the feats of the Ancient Greeks. The cyclopean walls were grand in stature. The Lion’s Gate was inspiring as a symbol of ancient power and prestige. We could tell you about the secret stairs…but then we’d have to kill you… Then we walked into the somber tomb of…the royal family perhaps. We returned to the bus to head back to our beloved sports resort where we had ten minutes to get back on the bus to head to our beach barbeque bonanza. To our horror, when we arrived, we realized that a Greek barbeque requires a certain level of dress and decorum which is higher than that of American barbeques. We decided to face adversity head on wearing shorts and t-shirts and enjoyed the best meal ever served in the entire history of the galaxy. We then were dazzled by the charming waiters and then found our KOSTOS!!!!  Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants anyone? Then we rode home and slept for 4 hours before getting up for the ferry ride out to our next adventure on Poros Island.