That's why we all nose-goesed.
*Shwungggg*
One word describes today: painful. Plus a large number of expletives, but I'll get to that later. Today was our first full day in Naxos and we spent the day touring the island with Vaggelis. We started out our day driving to Kouronochori village and then walking through it to get to Melanes village. And this is where the bad words come in to play. First off, Vaggelis told us that this was not a hike, more like a walk between the villages. Wrong. Next he was sprinting through it like we were being chased. We don't always get to see these things, and I would like to be able to look up at the scenery once in awhile instead of looking at my feet the whole time so I won't trip/slip/crash and burn. The walk was pretty cool though because we got to see the typical houses of the small Greek villages, and it is exactly like what I had always pictured in my mind. The second village led to the Kouros statues that were abandoned in the ancient times. They were just left on the ground after breaking and buried over time. The Kouros are on private property, and were found and left as they are today. After the Kouros is when the next round of expletives occurred. Truthfully, probably the most expletives I have ever said in one setting. After the HIKING/SPRINTING, I told Vaggelis to slow down because we wanted to enjoy the scenery and we were having trouble keeping up. Did he? Not one bit. And this time we were climbing up to the top of a mountain to see a supposedly great view of the island. Two minutes he said. Two minutes to climb this giant mountain. Two minutes my ass. And to top it off, this mountainside is COVERED in thorn bushes. Not like rose thorns; think more like barbwire on a stick. The entire climb up I am leaping over bushes and rubble to try to avoid scratching myself, which is basically impossible. I managed to make it up (very, very, very slowly) and the view was amazing. But, I was slightly fuming at Vaggelis. I was already scratched up, sweaty, and hot, and we still had to go back down. The way down was HELL. I fell 3 times INTO thorn bushes. You know what's worse than falling into 3 thorn bushes??? Trying to get back out of said thorn bushes. I have battle wounds. I was bleeding the entire way down the island and had to hop like a kri kri to avoid cutting myself more. I had thorns sticking out of me everywhere, a sprained ankle, and a ridiculous temper by the time we got back down. I was the only one that fell IN the bushes and therefore had to be helped down by Barnes, Steph, Vaggelis, and Kelsi. F*** and s*** have never been said that many times in a row ever, and I complained the whole way down. We all have our days and this was definitely mine. I apologized to Barnes later for being such an ass, but I was in pain so at the time I didn't care. We settled that Vaggelis owes me ice cream...expensive ice cream. After the God-awful mountain we set out for a Kitron distillery. Kiltron is a type of alcohol that is in the family of Raki, but with a more citrusy flavor to it. Not horrible, but still not good. After the distillery we drove to a local pottery maker's workshop. We got to watch him make a pitcher, and it was really something to see. He was talking to Vaggelis the entire time and looking away, yet the pitcher was pretty much perfect within a few minutes. Then Sadie got to try her hand at it. She struggled, but it was funny and he is going to fire the clay and bring her pot to her later. We got to shop around, and his work is amazing! He can make anywhere from 50 to 100 pieces everyday and it ranges from pots, to vases, to unique items you can only find in Naxos. He just sells straight out of his tiny shop which is kind of off the beaten path, and this is where Vaggelis and I got into it about how a shop like that in America would not be able to support itself. Maybe I was still mad about the thorns in my foot; getting your skin ripped off by sharp objects can really put you in a funk for the rest of the day. After the potter's, we went to the Temple of Demeter at Sangri. It is believed to be one of the very first temples in Greece and set the tone for all the temples built after it. It was different from any of the other temples we have seen in that it had full walls on some of the sides instead of just pillars all the way around. It also had a pure marble ceiling instead of the typical roof ceiling found in all other temples. I guess you could say it was more of a prototype for cult temple building in the centuries B.C. The temple was surrounded on all sides by hay fields, and if there wasn't that giant temple there, it would be just like the fields I used to rake at home. So weird, but nice to see something so familiar! Then it was beach time for us. We ate at a Tex-Mex restaurant right on the water, and a taco has never tasted so good! I experienced I guess what you could say was my first semi-nude beach. No, I did not participate. We all don't need to know each other THAT well.
Now back to how my day was painful...again. There is this large rocky/dirt hill that leads from our hotel to the rest of the town. On our way to dinner tonight, I tripped over a rock and busted my toe open. It of course gushed blood and I had to go all the way back up the hill (we were already nearly down) to clean it up, stop the bleeding, and get it bandaged up. The irony is that I was just in the process of explaining to people that I REALLY AM more coordinated than they perceive me to be, then bam. F***. By the time we got back to the hotel, my shoe was covered in blood and my toe was throbbing. Thankfully Steph helped me out and we finally got to dinner. Vaggelis, along with everybody else, proceeded to make fun of the way I walk, my eyes, my complaining today, etc. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, even if it was at my expense. I am just a wreck today and feel like I just need to go to sleep and start this day all over again. Vaggelis did slowly start to win me back though. We taught him the word "swag"; it was great. Now sleeeepppppp!
By the way, we are to the point of smelling our clothes one-by-one to see if they are suitable to wear for the next five days. There are some gray areas, and it's a struggle. These people are going to be surprised when we meet again and they realize that I don't really smell in real life.
My battle wounds
We traded hair!
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