Date: April 16
Partners for the Day: Pete Kitlas (text) Josh Drake (images)
Sites: None
Museums: None
Principal Buildings/ Monuments: Our Hotel
Time Spent on Each Site: N/A. Travel Day
Weather: mid 60s, sunny, gorgeous
Up at 0700. Embark bus at 0730. Debark at the dock at 0733. Embark on ferryboat at 0830. Disembark ferryboat at 1030. Attempt to enter archaeological museum only to find it closed 1100. Lunch at 1130. Embark bus at 1245. Disembark bus at 1315. Arrive at hotel at 1320. Begin work on paper at 1321. Begin blog at 1726. Finish writing blog at 1900. Dinner at 1915. Finish paper 2200.
This is the strict schedule of a “Super Student Traveler”: students with the heroic ability to leave on whims notice, travel lightly and never become exhausted from the constant moving! We will be touring the United States this summer hitting all fifty states in fifty days. Yes, we are that good. As a sneak-peak to the tour I will relate to you a few of our best kept secrets; those which separate the good travelers from the “Super Student Travelers”.
First: Never stop moving. This is the most important one because once you stop, you are already losing time. This of course does not mean that you, personally, have to be moving. It means that the vehicle you are on must be moving. If you are walking, limit your breaks to five minutes. After five minutes the insulin in your muscles will start building up and you will have to wait for 20 minutes to start walking again. TALK ABOUT WASTED TIME!!! If you are not moving you must take full advantage of this. You can nap, do work, clean yourself, and eat. Anything else such as playing games, talking, having fun, or introducing yourself to the captain of the ship and then steering it for a few minutes is completely superfluous and not an economical use of time.
Second: Wake up early. When the sun is up, you are up. This makes the most effective use out of the daylight and allows you to visit more places, see more things, and become a more intelligent and well-rounded individual.
Third: Do not get sick. This is rather self explanatory. Just do not do it!
Fourth: Pack lightly. In reality, you only need to bring one pair of clothes which can be washed nightly in a hotel sink. If you are moving to a different location everyday you are always seeing different people. They do not know what you were wearing yesterday or what you are going to wear tomorrow. In addition, do not add anything to your personal belongings that could hold you down. You must limit the weight you acquire throughout the course of the trip to 1 kilo. If you exceed this amount, you will start to slow down. This means that if you see something that is 1.1 kilos and you might never have the chance of buying this item again, you must “bite the bullet” and move on. What is it but a beautiful object that you might never have the chance of seeing again? A memory is weightless and just as good! You simply cannot weigh yourself down in this manner.
I hope you all have benefited from these tips. Please come and see us when we visit your state. A complete list of bookings can be found at www.superstudenttravelers.edu.
I obviously write in jest. This is by no means the way our trip is going nor have we been adhering to any of the “Super Student Traveler” guidelines save the sleeping on the bus suggestion. However, I have noticed that our group is becoming very good at traveling. We are lead by Professor Rutter who, despite his sickness, has continued today with the same speed and fortitude that he has had throughout the entire trip. We have traveled from Istanbul down half of the western coast of Turkey to Kusadasi stopping by all of the important sites in only nine days. It is not easy to understand the total amount of ground we have covered. I, for one, have not completely grasped the distance. This travel/ free day has given us the time to reflect on all of our traveling experiences. The “Super Student Travelers” are a very extreme case, but some of their suggestions are not bad. We have learned to make the most out of our bus and boat trips; whether this means sleeping, working on a paper, or catching up on our sanity. However, the “Super Student Traveler” guidelines do not allow you to experience the culture, or have fun. We have certainly made a concerted effort to do this. For instance, Gahl went up to meet the captain and steer our ferryboat today. Kristina bought a gorgeous Turkish rug which has been weighing her down, but she has never been happier. She explained to me that she had to buy it because she didn’t know if she would ever be back in Turkey again. And we have all been to some extraordinarily long dinners at local restaurants immersing ourselves in the culture.
A lot of us are happy to be back in Greece. Turkey was fun, fascinating, and extraordinary, but it was also exhausting. I am writing my blog on a balcony, listening to a bird chirp with the sound of the sea in the background. This is truly a relaxing experience that is much needed and well deserved. However, if we did not have those long, fast paced days in Turkey we would have missed many spectacular sites. This would have been a shame and an unthinkable situation. We now decelerate, after a full sprint, as we head into the final day of our program before we are released for our ISP break. At this point everyone is going solo, walking to their own drum. At the same time, everyone has work and sites to see over their break. After this stint in Turkey we all have a better perception of the amount of time that goes into travel and seeing sites. Hopefully, this will help everybody plan accordingly over their break so that they can make the most of their limited time in this beautiful and fascinating part of the world.
Mike tries to enjoy our 7AM breakfast at the hotel. Each hotel we have stayed at has had its unique take on a good breakfast. The staples have been bread, butter, jam, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, coffee, and tang. Despite some of the great new flavors, such as plain yoghurt with honey, some sorely miss American staples, like pancakes and maple syrup.
Our move from Turkey back into Greece featured the routine adventures of customs and passport control, along with the long waits in the port lounge. Group members have taken to roaming the duty free shops, catching up on missed sleep, or playing backgammon.
Our boat to Samos! Sadly not the luxury cruise ship on the right, but the small ferry on the left. Planes, trains, and automobiles are the well-rounded selection of transportation we are taking between destinations.
Gahl really had to work his people skills for a few moments at the wheel of our ferry. The Lord only knows how we did not sink, and Prof. Rutter’s tales of bygone adventures aboard these little island ferries are not the kind to settle your nerves.
No one should have the idea we are just running around the Aegean having fun. Our time at sites frequently channels into papers. Our ferry trip to Samos was no exception as every free moment is a time to get work done and enjoy the evening.
“Land, captain Gahl! I see Greece!” The alternative to working aboard ship or on the bus is to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Brooks has been a faithful observer, and photographer, of all the regions we have passed through.
Dr. “Indiana” Rutter and his sidekick Ray “Fez” DiCiaccio take joy in being back on European soil. Inexpensive funny hats are becoming popular souvenirs, and always provide an opportunity to get a goofy picture with Prof. Rutter.
Speaking of goofy; the result of living in our classroom, is not simply coming to a greater understanding of Greek antiquity, but also coming to a greater realization that none of us have really grown quite to the point where playgrounds are not fun.
Lunch and dinner are our best opportunities to sample the local cuisine. Turkey held its own with its lentil soup, Turkish pizza, apple tea, and Turkish delight. Quick lunches have driven us to become connoisseurs of the delicious Greek gyro. Gahl and Johann ordered up two apiece during our lunch break in Samos City.
Once we settled into our hotel in Pythagori on Samos, Lizz and Caleb set out to perform the task of checking out the town and finding an Internet café. Prof. Rutter is our expert on ancient pottery, while we each are becoming experts on locating the closest ATM, gyro stand, and Internet café.
Dartmouth students do not travel far from their laptops when work needs to be done, as Mike and Pete demonstrate. Having portable computers makes writing papers, and putting together the blog much easier. It is difficult for any of us to imagine when students had to handwrite papers during the program, and live without Blitzmail.
Pythagori is not the largest, busiest, or most important city we have stayed in. However, the smaller scale provides some postcard worthy views, and an atmosphere perfect for a free day.
Every town has its own local treasures. Using his guidebook, Mike located and explored the town’s castle ruins. Turkey lies in the distance, separated from Samos by only a few hundred meters.
Recycling is not a modern concept. The castle ruins of Pythagori have Classical, Byzantine, and modern implementations of the same stones. In fact, many great works of art from antiquity have been lost because of recycling the blocks in which they were constructed or carved.
Final Comments:
Returning to Greece, and therefore the European Union, forces us to double check our spending habits for everything from meals to souvenirs. While in Turkey the exchange rate with the New Turkish Lira allowed us to enjoy a bit greater spending and souvenirs that are more expensive. The poor performance of the US Dollar against the Euro however, means that once again how much we are spending is a topic of caution. Nobody wants to remember to factor in the exchange rate after they have purchased a pricy dinner, or gift for a friend.
