October 26th & 27th

October 26 & 27

A group of us got up at 6:30 a.m. to visit the beach one last time. The water was chilly, but it was warmer than the outside temperature. It felt so freeing floating around in the water staring at the stars and running across the sandbar to the other island. It was such a great way to end our time in Crete. After driving back to the hotel we had breakfast and packed up to leave at 12. We drove to an ancient acropolis where we hiked and drew for two hours. We continued driving and had dinner near our ferry. At 9 p.m. we departed on a 9 hour ferry ride which would land us in Napflio on October 27^th at 5 a.m. (daylight savings happened). We are now in the hotel, which is so beautiful. I am rooming with Elissa and we took a nap in the comfiest bed followed by roaming around the town to have lunch. We walked down to the harbor, which you can see, from our hotel room. Many places here remind me of home. We are now back in bed until we join the group at 5 for church and dinner. 

October 25 th

October 25

         Today we had our last work day in Elafonisi. I finished another drawing and started on one more.  At 11:30 Tori and I ran to the beach where we would meet the group at 12. While there we finished our work out, relaxed, and wrestled the group in the water. I am truly enjoying the brother and sisterhood this group has developed. All of the boys have become brothers to me and we definitely play like it too. I often find myself getting tackled by Casey or Dallen. I like to think I can take them on, but they always win. We drove back to the hotel where we worked on more art and had dinner. After dinner we were assigned to make our little apartment into an art show. Instead of doing your normal art show, we hid our art pieces around the house. We had a lot of fun planning it. 

October 24th

      Today Noelia and I went on a short run followed by a mini ab workout with Lauren and Nadine. We had breakfast and worked on our artwork. I just finished my wave drawing which is the first picture I am really excited about. I sorted out some videos so that Austin can use them for a video which he will make for the campus, and started on another drawing. We went to the beach at 12 and played volleyball in the water. Dallen and I swam out to an island which took about 30 – 40 minutes round trip. We have been having work days the last 3 days, which is wonderful, but there is a lot to get done before we leave Elafonisi. 

October 22nd

October 22

         Today began with an insanity work out and our first American style breakfast since leaving the states. After metaphysical we had some free time so clearly it was bath time! Then I finished unpacking and we headed out to the beach at 12. The beach is about 2 miles away so we drove there. This beach was amazing. You walk along a wooden boardwalk past some shack style shops and palm tree umbrellas. We kept walking through the sand and straight through the water along a sandbar. We kept walking until we hit the island and walked through some sand dunes to our destination. If you are looking for a better idea of what I am describing, look up Elafonisi island/ beach. So far it is my favorite beach. The sand is white with pink along the shore and tons of little shells. Tori and I jumped in the water and went snorkeling right away. There were a few reefs so we saw some new fish. We saw a few needle fish, a puffer looking fish, a flounder, and various other fish. While I explored a rock area Tori even saw a jelly fish! After about 45 minutes of snorkeling we swam back to shore to lay out in the sun for an hour. We only have two hours a day at this beach, but it was a perfect two hours. Now I am back at the hotel working on a drawing. 

October 23rd

October 23, 2013

            Today six of us woke up to attempt a run to the beach. We ran twenty minutes until we had to turn around. When we got back to the hotel we discovered that the beach was actually about a 3 and a half mile run one way. So later that day Jessica and I ran to the beach while the others drove. Altogether we ran about 7-8 miles, plus a 40 minute hike to a different beach when we met up with the group. It was a great day of working out. When we arrived at the beach some of us went snorkeling in the crystal clear blue water. We saw the usual fish, but the rock formations here were much cooler. After an hour of snorkeling, we headed back to the cars, where we met up with the rest of the group and drove back to the hotel to work on art. Then we began cooking preparation for tonight. Our group made pasta so we started cutting up veggies and making the sauces. At 5 we had church lead by lauren followed by lots of pasta cooking. We made 4 big bowls of pasta and currently still have 3 full of left overs. We brought our food to the dining room where the boys had cooked chicken and steak, another group made fruit salad, Caesar salad, and a Russian salad. The last group made dessert which consisted of cookies, brownies, and ice cream! We sang to Thanda as it was her birthday and she blew out the candles on the brownie. We all had so much fun cooking and there was a sense of genuine happiness tonight. Everyone worked so well as a team. Even cleanup only took 20 minutes. What an amazing day. Happy Birthday Moma!