Wednesday, August 6th

Today’s first post is brought to you by Carina in Ms. Hrvatin’s English class.

Trekking up to Tinos’ highest point while battling ferocious winds and an equally tough cold was just as rough as it sounds– but also more rewarding than one could possibly imagine. Before I get ahead of myself, let’s rewind to the start of the day. At 8:00am rolled around, my alarm rang through the room rousing me from my sleep. With an early 8:45am class start, students were waking up while remnants of the twinkling night sky were still visible and the cicadas buzzed. After rapidly getting ready for the day, I headed downstairs for breakfast leaving my sleepy roommates behind. Many students had already gathered in the hotel restaurant to fuel up for the busy day ahead of us. 

For this particular day, Ms. Hrvatin’s English class and the Photography class joined together as we explored the vibrant city of Tinos. To immerse ourselves in our travel writing unit, my class wandered through the town seeing it through the eyes of travelers and adventurers. Through the cozy streets we strolled, marvelling at the colourful cafes and sparkling stores. A refreshing breeze swept past us like a cool breath of air in the sauna-like heat. We stopped at a quaint cafe called “Holy Hood” where we had the chance to replenish ourselves with delicious food and drinks while taking in the town. I enjoyed a peach smoothie as the scent of freshly baked goods wafted through the air. After our little pit stop, the group continued through the town until we came across the carpet path that stretched from the port all the way to the Church of Panagia Evangelistria (or Our Lady of Tinos), our journey’s destination. This carpet path was laid out for pilgrims to—as a form of devotion—crawl along whilst they prayed. The church itself was a magnificent sight with gleaming white arches and domes, and red carpets that stood out against the sprawling tile floors. As we entered, a deep melodic tone echoed through the church grounds as a service was in session. Walking around a place with such significance and devotion made me feel moved in many ways. The odd clanging of bells, murmurs of worshippers, and shuffling feet all created their own harmonious music. We held class in the church taking time to read through our lessons on our own. As I rested in the centre of the pavilion with a few other classmates, I felt serene and peaceful in this moment of sunny stillness. 

From the church, we journeyed back to the hotel to finish class. On the way, we passed the bustling port preparing for a day full of ferries. I captured shot after shot of various sights and shops including the blue-green sea shimmering with sunlight and the modern gallery/cafe filled with unique pieces. To conclude class for the day, the Photography class taught us about photo composition and tips for taking photos for a future assignment. 

During our adventure around town, the other English class spent their time at a cute bookstore where they wrote about their favourite memories from the program and enjoyed some delicious coffee. During the lunch break, some students from Ms. Amelio’s English class visited the Church of Panagia Evangelistria as well. Emily described it as an “insightful and memorable moment. It was really cool to pray there and go inside the church”. Following the theme of exploring cultural sites, the Ancient Civilizations class hiked to an ancient archaeological site filled with old ruins. In the words of one student, Mikayla, “It’s a place filled with lots of history that was really interesting to learn about.”

After a morning full of wandering and learning, lunch came around and my friends and I ventured into town seeking sandwiches. Before finding food, we stopped at the supermarket to purchase some fresh fruit. Here in Greece, they weigh your produce and give you a sticker with the price, which you bring to check out, something we found out the hard way. Hidden in the streets overflowing with stores was a sandwich shop that caught our interest due to one thing—pesto. In an unfortunate turn of events however, the one thing we’d been searching for had mysteriously turned up on their menu even though they’d never had it in the first place. Despite the pesto setback, we ordered scrumptious sandwiches and hurried back to the hotel where we scarfed down our food and continued reading our novel, Circe. 

At 5:15pm, everyone met in the lobby to set off for the big event of the day—a hike up Exomvourgo hill. A stark contrast to the sunny humid day, we were all dressed in hoodies and windbreakers to prepare for the whipping winds atop the mountain. One by one we piled into the bus as students chattered excitedly about their days and thoughts before the hike. Our tour guide, Manthos, shared many bits and pieces of the history of not only Tinos, but also surrounding islands such as Mykonos as well. Something that really stood out to me was when he shared that people say, Tinos is a “handmade” island as everything is made of stone: the dovecotes, the terraces, and so much more. As we wound our way through the hills, I noticed many small stone walls forming a wave-like pattern, as if the grass were running down the hills like water. We looked out the window as the bus teetered along the cliffs exclaiming with fear and wonder at the heights we’d reached. 

Before our sunset hike, we stopped for a village tour of Arnados where my friend and I vlogged and interviewed other students and teachers using the GoPro. The village, though similar to others, had its own charm and was a quiet, but vibrant, town. It was an oasis of stark white buildings and colourful flowers in the endless hills of wheaty grass. Manthos continued to share more pieces of history and cultural context as we toured the town. Finally, we got back into the bus as it brought us to the Monastery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the start point of the long-awaited hike. In its glory days, the mountain had been a Venetian fortress and contained a city, which seemed unfathomable to me as it appeared small and uninhabitable. When Manthos had concluded his teaching, we set off into the mountain. 

We soon realized that the winds were no joke and might possibly sweep us away. The trek up, although short, was steep and rocky. I kept my eyes glued to my steps for fear of slipping and tumbling off into the sunset. The cold I, and a few other unfortunate students, had fallen victim to was not helping my climbing abilities, but we pushed through because that’s what travel is about—not letting setbacks stop you. Along the path, we stopped at a tunnel leading through to another side of the mountain, accompanied by an unreal view. Atop the mountain, we were greeted by the most breathtaking sight. The sun had just begun to set creating a beautiful “golden hour” with the warm sun spilling its golden rays across our faces. Endless stretches of hills, sea, and city from all points of the top expanded far beyond what we could see. The blue sky was streaked with hazy tones of red and orange as the sun sent its final goodbyes before the moon said hello. Pictures were taken and shared while clothing and hair went wild in the wind. When the sun had finally set and night began to rise, we made our way back down the mountain–a much quicker trek this time–and headed off for dinner. After a long adventurous day, we feasted on pork, fries, and salad, before heading back to the hotel and straight to bed to prepare for the next full day ahead. 

From this day full of exploration and learning, I felt fulfilled and curious to learn more. I’d had lots of fun going around towns and historical and culturally significant sites and learning about them. I learned that there’s so much hidden culture and importance in places and there’s so much more I want to see. It’s so valuable and important to learn about the world and its people instead of isolating ourselves in an ignorant bubble. The purpose of doing a program like this is to expose ourselves to different cultures and histories so we can learn and see from a different perspective. Today has been such an eye-opening experience, and I can’t wait to explore many more places during the rest of this program. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow, when we travel back into the mountains and explore the towns of Volax and Pyrgos!

 

Today’s second post is brought to you by Eddie in Ms. Amelio’s English class.

Schoolwork and Climbing Mountains

Some days feel like they drag on forever on any trip you go on, while others stand out from all the rest.

The day began with the familiar sounds of breakfast at the hotel: clanging forks, coffee pouring into mugs like a waterfall, and quiet morning conversations. Outside, the sun shone across the hills of the small island of Tinos.

Our small English class walked into town after we ate. The streets were still quiet from the long night everyone had. We found a small coffee shop where the morning coffee was still being brewed and managed to find space upstairs to start our lesson. Some people got coffee and drinks, while I just preferred water. You could almost hear pens talking as everyone worked on a couple of travel writing exercises from the workbook we had printed for the program.

After class, we returned to the hotel. Some people decided to take a nap and spend this time vacationing, but others, including me, wanted to read Circe, one of our assigned novels. Working through the book felt like no time passed at all, but sooner than I thought, we were on a new adventure.

In the late afternoon, we traveled on a small bus that wound its way up the narrow streets. The bus just barely fit, and everyone squeezed in. The road climbed higher with each sharp turn, bringing more of the island into view. The higher we went, the more silent everything felt, as these villages up on the mountain are closely-knit communities where everyone knows each other, just like peas in a pod.

After exploring the villages, we took the bus again to a small church up near the summit of the mountain. There, we met our guide for a tour of the church and the summit we would eventually climb. He talked about the history of the church and why its height made it such a good vantage point. It gave us an amazing view over most of the island, making it great for a fortress and for taking pictures that spoke a story, making it seem like you were there yourself.

And then we started the climb.

The trail was steep and rocky, with only the sound of people gossiping and the crunch of gravel underneath everyone’s feet. The wind started picking up, and the burrs all around started poking at people. Our guide pointed us to a small cave off the path, and most people went into the opening that looked like a gaping mouth of teeth. Nothing special was in there, but it was a good place for others to try scaring their friends. After a short break, we continued the climb.

We reached the summit and marveled at the sight that was laid out in front of us. Below us, the island stretched out in all directions, a great place for photos. The wind was screaming at us up there, and most people had to put on an extra layer if they had one. Many photos were taken, but nothing could compare to the feeling of being there, standing on a mountain on an island in the middle of the sea.

We came down the mountain later in the day, feeling as though gravity was pulling us down. We finished the day at a restaurant that nobody noticed on the way up. We ate our meal together, everyone talking about their experience on that mountain and how it was one of the highlights that would come out of this program. We ended the day where we started, at the hotel, as night descended on the windows like a shadow. Everyone fell into bed with sore legs and amazing pictures.

Some days drag on, while others, like this one, go straight into your memory and stay there.

We are looking forward to yet another adventure tomorrow, when the entire group travels to the villages of Volax and Pyrgos.