Bungee Jumping over the Corinthian Canal!

Last Saturday, I travelled to Corinth, Greece, with a group of 12 college friends, to go bungee jumping! Below is a picture of the narrow Corinthian Canal that I jumped into! Scary looking, huh?!
I was the third person in our group to jump. I was so excited (I have been planning on bungee jumping in Corinth since I heard about it this summer). Below is a picture of the bungee instructor strapping me all in and instructing me on how to jump. He said I needed to jump far out and not feet first. One last picture with the instructors before I took off...

Here I am on the edge, about to jump. I wasn't too nervous, just extremely excited. Everyone counted down: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....Here I am.... flying in mid air! I did a big swan dive all the way down! It was surreal and happened so quickly. The next thing I knew, I was hanging upside down, finished.I couldn't stop smiling as they brought me back up - the adrenaline rush was overwhelming and I was so proud of myself!
It was totally worth it and it didn't make me feel sick like I thought it would. What a once-in-a-lifetime thing to jump over the Corinthian Canal! I definitely recommend it and would do it again in a heartbeat!!

The Cruise.... Opa! Night

One night on the cruise ship, we had "Greek Night." We had a four-course authentic Greek dinner and then entertainment of all the Greek dances. It was so fun learning how to ZORBA!! As the Greeks say... Opa!!

The Cruise.... Day 3, The Island of Crete and Santorini

On Sunday, we stopped at Greece's largest island - Crete. It was sprinkling on us as we toured the Palace of Knossos, a huge ancient palace with over 1,000 rooms. Below Kristina and I are standing by giant pottery.

That is part of the palace, reconstructed. It was disappointing because most of the palace was reconstructed; hardly any of it was actually original. : (

Our last stop was on Sunday night, to the island of Santorini. I was really looking forward to this because we would get to ride donkeys up to the top of the island - 600 steps! Although I felt somewhat sorry for the donkeys, I really enjoyed the gorgeous view on the way up, not having to walk up on my own two legs, and trying to avoid getting smashed up against the wall by my donkey.

When we got to the top, we shopped, and then just sat on a wall and soaked it all in. That was the best part. Here, we are watching the sun set while our feet dangle over the edge of the cliff

The sun was making sun spots on the ocean, which looked like mini spotlights. This and the cool evening made the Santorini view my favorite.

The Cruise.... Day 2, The Island of Patmos

Saturday afternoon, we stopped on the small Greek island in the Aegean Sea called Patmos. Patmos is mentioned in the book of Relevation in the Bible; it is the place to which the apostle John was exiled and where John received a vision from Jesus. The weather on the island was overcast, and the island had a feeling of seclusion and peace, maybe because tourists were constantly told to keep quiet in honor of the sacred sights. Below is a picture of the mosaic at the entrance of the Cave of the Apocalyse, the exact place where, according to legend, that John the apostle received the vision recorded in the book of Revelation. The mosaic depicts Polycarp (the scribe of John, exiled on Patmos along with John) and John, dictating his vision to Polycarp. Our whole group huddled in the tiny cave and sang "Hallelujah," which echoed and gave me chill bumps. The monk supervising the cave said he had not heard such beautiful singing in all his years of service in the cave!

In a monastery dedicated to Saint John, this bearded monk watched the entrance and read.

Here is a picturesque view of Patmos from the top of the hill.

Below is the monastery of Saint John again.

The Cruise... Day 2 Ephesus

The second day, Saturday morning, we arrived early in Turkey, particularly to visit the ancient city of Ephesus. In ancient times, Ephesus hosted one of the seven churches of Asia, mentioned in the book of Revelation in the Bible. Below is a beautiful view of the whole city.
Below is the remaining facade of the Roman Celsus Library. Our tour guide said that people used to read out loud in this library, and it was not a quiet place, like the libraries we have today.

Below is a picture our whole group standing in the middle the ancient Ephesian theater, with an estimated 44,000 seating capacity. It is believed to be the largest outdoor theater in the ancient world. Because it is known for its great acoustics, our Harding group gathered in the center and sang a hymn that incorporated all tenor, bass, soprano, and alto voices. It sounded neat and many tourists stopped to watch and listen to us.

Here Samantha and I are sitting on ancient toilets - Gross! The latrine was a very popular place in ancient times, for men only, to come and sit and visit for hours and hours. The wealthy men would send their slaves ahead of them to reserve their seat and warm it up for them!
Here I am standing in an ancient baptismal. It is cool to think how long people have practicing baptism.

Also, in Turkey, I shopped a little bit... and got forced into my first impulse buy. The Turkish vendors were very pushy. I had no intention of buying perfume, but one man offered name-brand perfume bottles (probably stolen) to me for 20 euros (approx. $30). When I told him 'no' and left, he followed me. He piled the perfume bottles in my arms and whispered in my ear, "All that, for 15 euros." Overwhelmed, I gave in and bought them - having no idea what they smelled like! After I got back on the cruise ship, I smelled them and only like one of them. Next time, I need to say 'no' and say it more firmly. : )

Mediterranean Cruise!

Early Friday morning, we took a 90-minute bus ride from our hotel to the port, from where we would board our cruise ship, the Ocean Countess.

We had several hours aboard the ship before we would stop anywhere, so my friends and I lay out on the deck, which felt amazing. The sun kept me very warm, and the cool ocean breeze was just enough to cool me off. I felt like I was in heaven as I fell asleep.

Here is a map of the Greek islands. After we left from the Port of Pireaus, we visited the island of Mykonos, the city of Ephesus (or Kusadasi in Turkey), the island of Patmos, the island of Crete (or Heraklion), and then the island of Santorini.

More about the cruise in my next post...

More Athens Pictures

This is my first Greek meal out on the Plaka!

This is me at the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis on Sunday!