AROURA 2014 - Post 2

Today we finished the forms for the batch of artifacts we were working on, and we started labeling artifact bags from the 2010 and 2012 seasons. The work is not too exciting but I like it. I think I like helping Wes with the photography best, but we didn’t have access to an outlet today so we didn’t do any.

Yesterday we went to the lake on our way back from Thiva and went swimming to cool off. It was warmer water than on the beach, and the rocky shore was much less friendly to our feet than the sand had been. Still, it was refreshing. It’s been very windy lately and the lake was rough. From the water we could see a wildfire burning on a nearby mountainside. There’d been another on Gla a few days before we arrived. The one we saw yesterday seemed to still be burning this afternoon.

Last night we were invited out by Dinos, a resident of nearby Kastro. We met up with him and his family in a taverna in Kastro and then moved on to a restaurant where we were fed souvlaki in the courtyard of a church across the street. Dinos insisted on refilling our wine glasses whenever they were less than half full, and consequently we all consumed quite a lot of it and stayed well into the night. The food and company were great, though, and we all made it through the morning with minimal difficulties, once we all woke up. This afternoon will mean naps for most of us, and Wes will be leaving shortly for a solo adventure overnight.

It’s another hellishly hot day, but the winds finally brought us some clouds and the temperature has lowered enough to be almost bearable. Right now, at 4pm, it’s almost 87 F.

Tomorrow I’m going with Molly and Cara to Athens. We have heard that on full moon nights, you can get onto the acropolis for free and enjoy it in the moonlight, so we really want to try it. I’m sure we will have a great time no matter what. I think Cara will be doing some work with Michael in the morning, but we should have plenty of time to enjoy the city.

Sorry I still don’t have any photos. I’ve been making an effort to stop living my life from behind a camera lens – it’s more important to me that I experience these moments than that I capture them. Still, I will be taking photos in Athens tomorrow, I am sure.

First Few Days in Greece

I spent a few days in Lisbon early this month, then flew to Athens on July 7. At the airport, I met up with Wes, who is staff on AROURA. We drove together to Kastro, a village near where we are staying. Wes is friends with a local man named Dino and his whole family, who invited us to share their dinner. They had a Cretan salad, french fries, and barbecued wild boar. It was amazing and the perfect start to our time here in Greece. We finally left their house after midnight and made our way to Κóκκινο (Kókkino), where the field house is. We met up with the project leader there, and settled in for a night of too little sleep.

At 6:30am on July 8, we got up and ready then headed to Θήβα (Thíva - better known to Americans as Thebes), where we have a little work space in which we store the artifact collection. We started cataloging the collection in great detail, and we've been working on that for two days now. The work day ends around 2:30, after which we get lunch and take siesta. Later on we may work in the evenings but for now we have just relaxed until dinner time, followed by bedtime.

Today the temperature was about 100.4°F, so after siesta we drove out to the shore and found a beach that Michael knew. We went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea there, which was delightfully cool and definitely worth the 45 minute trip.

I don't have any photos to share because I've been too busy enjoying myself to drag out my camera. I mostly wanted to let everyone know that I made it here and that our work is underway. It's the start of another great season at AROURA.