Thursday, September 12, 2013

Bus ride and Priene


September 12

         Today we had to say goodbye to the beautiful hotel and the owners. The hotel, Akropolis Guest House, was run by two women and a man named Acrument. In the three days we were there we became very close to them. The ladies would push us in the pool, tickle our feet, and make wonderful meals for us. The last night I ate at the hotel with Jessica (our resident counselor) and Kiki ( art teacher). We had a delicious salad, rice, beans, and meat. It was so tasty and a nice change from eating kabobs. The owner ended up giving me my meal for free which was so kind and much appreciated.
         This morning Acrument gave all of the girls little bracelets with the evil eye beads, and we gave the women hugs and kisses goodbye. We are so blessed to have them take care of us. Another person whom we are so grateful for is Izette, our bus driver. He reminds me of my Uncle Jon; he is bald and looks like a very strong, stern man, but his crystal blue eyes show so much love and compassion. And when he cracks a smile, it melts your heart. He loves taking pictures of us when we are laughing and playing around. He, along with the hotel owners have truly become part of our One Grand Brotherhood.
         After a 4 hour bus ride we arrived in Priene, and we got our room assignments. We will be staying here for 7 days, and I am rooming with Meredith, Emily, and Alaina. I love having 3 roommates, but the showering situation is not the greatest :p  Most everyone jumped in the pool. Nadine bought a soccer ball from Bergama so we all played water polo in the pool. After cooling off we met at 3:30 for a hike up to the top of the mountain. The hike was all uphill and took about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The view was beautiful. Below you could see the ruins of Priene. We also walked through some ruins and a herd of goats on our hike. Off in the distance you can see the Aegean Sea and an island. A cool fact is that the land that we saw below used to be apart of the sea in which two harbors resided. Everything was so magnificent.
         Alaina and I decided to run back. We made it back to our hotel in 20 minutes. It was worth it once we jumped into the pool. Soon after more people joined us. Then we all had an amazing dinner of yogurt dip, bread, beats (still don’t like them), beans, string beans, eggplant and tomato dish, stuffed peppers, and chicken or meatballs. Everyone is so happy with the dinner, and I have a feeling that we will be eating at the hotel again. Later on I think we are having a movie or game night. Until tomorrow J

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