Excavation II, being a tourist in your own area...

We joined the excavation for three days.

We did not really participate in the digging because we are no experts, but we learned a lot and we saw the foundation of a building come out of the soil.

It was the first time I actually saw archaiologists work in situ and I felt exhitement while the building was coming into the light.

The idea that people were living there years ago, was really new to me! Temperatures were really harsh, but they were working under the shade of a temporary shelter.

Some people hope that this excavation is in the tracks of Achilles kingdom, but in truth there are many different places in the region that fight over this. It will take a lot of time and research to see the time frame of this village yet to be excavated. Nevertheless, it was interesting to hear all views about this and have conversations over the subject.

Me and my friend G. Decited to treat the whole week as an exploration - hiking - swiming week. The first day it was the river I talked about in my last post. The second day we decided to go to an inside swiming pool with thermal water. Our region is full of thermal  fountains and this is one of them. It was such a luxury having hot water come down my neck, massaging me with its force! Such a clearing experience! The pool had different spots so you could massage different parts of your body: your neck, your spine, your feet, your abdomen....

Pure bliss... the rest of the day was spent relaxing and sleeping a lot!

Excavation continued the next day and we were planning to go swim in another thermal site, but they were closed. isntead we had iced tea under a huge tree in a forgotten village, speaking to the locals and relaxing in the shade. It was siesta time so noone was around. We walked around in the deserted hot streets of the village, eating fruit from the trees and talking about the joys of life.

The whole area is pretty underdeveloped but it's really charming. Most of the villages stand on the banks of the river. In the summer it is pretty dry. They still have flour water mills, gun powder mills and they make traditional tsipouro. The locals are proud of their villages and will always bring out their extra cold water for you to drink when its hot. They will treat you with their traditional sweets. They will stand and watch you leave, the way your grand mother would stand there with a smile on her face.

My week was really exhiting and I can't wait to do some more exploring!