A mudbath anyone?

Today saw us meeting our tour guide Anna for an 8.30am departure from our hotel in Athens. It was all suitcases on board as we were heading for the seaside town of Tolon for the night. It must be noted that Mr. Gray was the first one down for breakfast this morning, making up for his previous tardiness.

As the coach travelled through the city of Athens some of the buildings we got to see were the Greek Parliament and the first university in Athens.

Our first stop for the morning was the National Archaeological Museum. We spent about an hour and a half exploring all the antiquities like the bronze statue of Zeus and the gold death masks and jewellery. The children were so fascinated that they couldn’t stop clicking away with their cameras. I hope that the children remember all the details as they didn’t remember their workbooks…..all except Sahil. Anna thought that our children were very good in following where she led. We did have a few stragglers who were very tired from all the walking done yesterday and who sought a seat whenever we stopped at an artifact. Mr. Gray couldn’t believe his luck that ICT was thrown into the tour of the museum. It was good timing that we got to see the Antikythera mechanism….an ancient computer that was used to plot courses using the stars.

After the museum we headed to the ancient city of Corinth. Stopping at the Corinth Canal, we got to see a yacht passing through the 80m high, 8m deep and 70 feet wide canal. There were cheers and waves for and from the yacht’s occupants. Some of the boys were very eager to try bungee jumping but we convinced them otherwise.

 Then it was off to a lunch of cheese pie, salad, chicken and pasta and cake. Some found the cheese pie delicious while others couldn’t manage the third course after the first two. While Mrs. Roberts, Mrs. Hull and Ms. Naidoo were concerned about their expanding waistlines, Mr. Gray just happily tucked into all four courses.

Our next stop was at the ancient ruins of Corinth. The children were fascinated to see the ruins of an ancient market place and could still hear the waters that flowed through the ancient fountains. Once again our children impressed Anna by being eager to see the various ruins this archaeological site had to offer.

Then it was back to the coach to continue to our final destination for the day…Tolon. Arriving at approximately 5.15pm, the children were very excited to get some promised time in the water. Munisa, for example, was so eager that she rang Mrs. Roberts at 7.20 this morning to ask if she should wear her swimming costume at that time. The water was slightly chilly, but in the evening sunshine, this was forgotten as they frolicked in the water and tried to bury each other in the sand. Mr. Gray was not eager to get his feet wet, but we did have a few children try to entice him in. I don’t think that we saw Mr. Gray move as quickly as he did.

 After a shower and a filling dinner of spaghetti, we went for an evening stroll and some hot chocolate. Mohamad A, after speaking about it since his arrival in Greece, finally got his Greek football shirt.

The children were truly appreciative of the beautiful view from our hotel overlooking the sea. The moonlight on the water was a sight indeed. Looking at the distant lights across the water, the children were asked where these lights were coming from. Very confidently, Karam pointed out, “That’s Chembakolli!” For all those that know, this is what we have been studying in Geography for the past 3 weeks. However, it is a village in India!