So yesterday we got pretty adventurous, we traveled to the south part of Crete where we visited the Village and Church of the 10 Saints, the Gortyna Archaeological Site, and the Matala Bay Neolithic Caves and Beach. The bus ride was around 1 and 1/2 hours each way, so on the way back all of us basically passed out from all the wandering we did!
Our first stop was the Village of the 10 saints, where we got to walk through the village and see the small, beautiful houses it was made up of.
After walking for about 5 minutes through these small alleys and road filled with vines climbing up houses, we reached the church in which the 10 saints were executed.
They were executed by the church because they were all Christian, and refused to worship the shrine of Decius as the god of Rome. At our visit, we got to go in and see inside of the church. Inside, I was able to get a picture of the Holy Marble in which the 10 Saints knelt down on when they were executed. There were big holes in the marble for their knees, and I thought that this was super surreal to see in person.
The woman at the church was really wonderful, and gave us postcards from the church so that was super cute too!
We also got to visit the tombs in which they were buried. At the site, there were steps that led underneath ground level where the tombs were and we were able to see the them through a glass. There were pictures, candles, and other memorial items placed next to the glass; along with all around the site at ground level. The tombs and the church were nestled in a beautiful town with the outskirts flooded with agriculture. It was a great way to start off our day :)
Next, we visited the Gortyna Archaeological Site where we were able to learn a little more about Greek mythology and The Great Inscription. The Great Inscription was the Law Code of Gortyns that was inscribed on the circular wall of the Odeum. This wall stretched far and was locked behind a gate to insure that there would be no way of us tampering the remains. This was an incredible monument, and was inscribed to be read similar to t he shape of a snake, so left to right, right to left, and repeating that pattern until the last line.
Also at this site was the Odeion, a typical Roman Theatre of the 1 AD century. There was a huge stone stag facing a semi circle of audience rows. The performance space was huge, and it made me think about what it would have felt like as a performer to perform on that stage. That was an awesome experience; to stand on that stage and look out and see what Ancient Roman performers saw in 1 AD.
Finally, we visited the Matala Bay Neolithic Caves and Beach. Well... actually... just the beach.
The caves were nestled right against the beach, which we could see from the outside. However, this beach had incredible cliffs that hung out over the sea, and we couldn't help ourselves to not swim out and see what all this Cliff Jumping was about! By the time we were finished cliff jumping it was time to leave so we never got to see inside the caves :(
We swam out to the rocks that came out enough to climb on top of, and we climbed to the tip of one of the cliffs. There were already a few German boys there, seeming like they were trying to jump into the water. But, after standing up there for a while, we realized how badly they were stalling and that they were too chicken to go first. So, being the impatient and impulsive person I am, backed up, ran toward the edge, swerved around the boys and jumped right off the ledge. It was a long way down, but it was the most incredible feeling. When I finally hit the water it was so relieving and exciting at the same. My adrenline was still pumping. I had to do it again... especially for some cool Instagram photos. So after all of the rest of the girls I was with jumped, we swam to the rocks and jumped again; now with an underwater camera in hand ready for some prime photoshoot time.
It was so worth the anxiety and mini-freakout about the height of the jump and the rocks below, because the experience is something I will never forget. (Also, PSA, where we jumped was the safest, there were not shallow rocks there so no worries :))
The day was really exhausting, but the things I saw and experienced were irreplaceable.
And and AND... I learned some new Greek words, like I must for this trip lol.
To say "excuse me", you say "me synchoreíte" (με συγχωρείτε).
To say "delicious" - or very delicious in most cases with this Greek food UGH - is "polý nóstimo" (πολύ νόστιμο)
Will update y'all tomorrow as usual, so see ya then!
Andrea Rose
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