We ate our dinner on the beach, played some games, and just soaked in the incredible setting, including the stunning sun as it slowly signalled the end of daylight. After it got dark we went for a walk on the beach, and saw three sea turtles in various stages of digging their nests, laying eggs, and in one case, saw a turtle making its way back into the Ionian Sea. We were not allowed to take photos and had to use red cloths over the flashlights to avoid any 'white' lights. It was a fabulous experience. Then back to our camping site where we spent the night in the open air, 'sleeping' on mats in sleeping bags with children and adults set up in various configurations. We were lulled to sleep by the roll of the sea (well at least some of us were) and the damp air.
Up early the next morning for a walk on the beach, meeting some Archelon volunteers (university students from different countries) to see how they protected the sea turtle nests. Once there is evidence of a nest, based on the sand where the sea turtles come out of the water and then return, the volunteers dig for the eggs and then put a wire grid over it secured by bamboo stakes. They take a lot of measurements, etc, recording a lot of information. Their efforts have definitely been rewarded as the number of nests has increased dramatically over the years.
Then we returned to the hotel for a late breakfast before heading out to explore Old Town Kyparissia. The sun was beating down and we stayed hydrated as we walked up to the top of the old city. The group soldiered on until we stopped for some photos overlooking the town. Then it was onto the very top, the old castle, where we had our picnic lunch. Afterwards, we walked downhill to the NOKY pool (local triathlon club) with whom we have a partnership from when the Vincent's and Ms. McQueen spent several weeks here just over two years ago. It's a 50 meter length outdoor pool that we had all to ourselves! The setting once again is incredible. We posed for a photo in front of the mural created last year for our first visit. After some pool games and an exciting relay with students and adults, we picked up our bikes and headed back to the hotel. The students had a couple of hours off (yes, we are slackers) before another dinner outside on the hotel terrace. Afterwards, we were joined by some students from NOKY and other students from the local school. There was a real mixture of ages, which Mr. Doland took on as a challenge in doing a great job of organizing a variety of games on the beach alongside people from the community enjoying a glorious evening beachside on the Ionian Sea. Canada VS Greece featured an array of ice breaker and athletic challenges, resulting in a couple of hours of intercontinental friendship - a terrific way to meet the local community.
Then a tired group of students and adults headed to their rooms, glad for a real bed and looking forward to tomorrow's trip to Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics. Wow.
Photo Album Link:
https://goo.gl/photos/rQwiy3VdCYL8qfrW9
https://goo.gl/photos/rQwiy3VdCYL8qfrW9
 |
| Not quite awake yet after sleeping on the beach! |
 |
| The bouganvillea is spectacular! |
E
 |
| Group photo at the pool in front of the SMUS/NOKY mural from 2015! |
 |
| A teachable moment on the walk to the old castle! |
 |
| Blueprint for the new SMUS dining hall? |
 |
| Last part of the hike up to the very top! |
 |
| Greek dessert on the beach at sleepover |
12 comments:
When I was deciding whether or not I was interested in this school trip to Greece, although every excursion looked incredible, it was the sleepover on the beach and the lesson about the loggerhead turtles that was the deciding factor. Playing games and having a picnic in the sand was so much fun, and it was great chance to really get to know the awesome Vincent and Woodgate families a lot better. It was amazing to see three mother turtles laying their eggs on the beach and I couldn't believe how close we were able to get to them with the help of the volunteers. Falling asleep to the sound of the crashing waves and being able to see the most beautiful night sky I had ever seen was really a fantastic experience. The next morning, when we woke up early to observe the volunteers on their morning shift of locating the turtle nests, I got the chance to help dig for the eggs. I had a lot of fun and it definitely was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope that I will remember this awesome excursion for a long time, and I doubt that I will ever forget it.
I never thought that I would be the type of person to camp on a beach, but this changed my view completely. Once we arrived, we ate dinner and mingled with other family's. This was very interesting as I am quite a social person and I liked hearing how life is like in Greece and comparing it to my life. We played many games but the one that took up the most time was "I like, but I don't like", because it took a while to understand how it worked... Ms. McQueen still doesn't know how it works! At night, we strolled on the beach and actually witnessed turtles laying eggs. In the morning we woke up, visited and learned from volunteers and drove back to the hotel. We hiked to Kyparissia castle which was very nice but super warm. I found the view gorgeous at the top. The amphitheatre was super cool to visit in my opinion because I love performing. To cool off, we went to the NOKY pool and had relay races and a volleyball game. After, I got to meet many local teens from the NOKY triathlon club and we exchanged numbers as well.
Once we arrived at the beach we all sat down on our matts to eat dinner. We took out our lunch bags which contained chicken and salad and I demolished the chicken and spared plenty of salad for the next hour. The next hour we spent playing football, talking, and singing birthday songs in Greek. Although it was burning hot the night came very fast and we spent that time wandering the beach searching for turtle nests. We saw three different turtles all digging and laying their eggs. After we walked back from our turle adventure we all went to our sleeping bags and dozed off. Some of us woke up and felt good about our sleep but sadly some of us woke up to a giant sharp stick poking them. It was an amazing experience and I learned so much great information!!
Nice post! That day really was enjoyable as we fell asleep to the sound of the waves it was really a moment you wish you could live forever as we played games on the beach and learned about the sea turtles first hand. After that we curled up in our sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep after a magnificent day.
Once we arrived at the beach, we were greeted by the volunteers working to help the turtles. We set up our sleeping mats on the beach and unpacked our pre made dinners. The chicken and potatoes were delicious and so was the salad. Staying on the beach was a really great experience because we met up with another family to play beach games and have desert as it was Mark's birthday. After playing capture the flag, jackpot and frisbee, we all sat down in a circle and played a really challenging mind game called I like but I don't like. It took me so long to figure out the pattern, but once I did it was hilarious to see everyone trying to guess it. After watching the sunset, we went on a night walk to try and find turtles. After around 5 minutes of walking in the pitch black, our eyes adjusted to the darkness we were able to see a few turtles coming up onto the beach to lay their eggs. With the expertise of the volunteers and the help of a dim red light, we were able to witness loggerhead turtles laying eggs. We retraced our steps back to camp and we're ready to fall asleep when the volunteers told us we were laying to close to the water and were a hazard to the mother turtles. At 12:00 at night after a long day, we moved our sleeping bags up to the back of the beach where the turtles would be free to lay their eggs safely. It was so much fun falling asleep under the stars with friends and was truly an amazing experience.
Staying on the beach was so much fun! The volunteers taught us a lot about the turtles and the beach that we were staying on. When were were driving out to the beach, I was excited to sleep there and to see the turtles. We ate dinner as the sun set and after dinner we played a game. I finally figured out the game a few days later. By the time we had given up on the game, it was time to walk along the beach. I really enjoyed seeing the two turtles laying eggs but another thing that was very interesting was seeing the stars because you can't see them that clearly in Victoria. When we got back to our campsite, my feet were pretty tired from walking in the sand. We lay out sleeping mats on the sand and we were comfortable until the volunteers told us we were too close to the water. We packed up our stuff and moved away from the water. After moving, we talked for a while then fell asleep. When we woke up, none of us wanted to move so we whispered some more until more people were awake. By this time the morning volunteers came by and we did the morning survey with them. I thought this was really interesting because you couldn't really see the tracks the turtles made so the morning volunteers talked to us about what they look for and what the turtles do. Soon after that we put all of our things in the vans drove back to the hotel for breakfast. Even though all of our stuff was covered in sand I had an amazing time!
The whole experience of staying over at the beach was fantastic! At night, we walked in the wet sand and spotted two female turtles laying their eggs under the luminous stars. Waking up on the beach was quite literally eye-opening. We learnt a whole lot about the sea turtles and what we could do to protect them from predators. Also, the beach was beautiful. We were surrounded by the colour of blue. The skies were filled with clouds and birds, the oceans were clear and reflected the sunlight. After we got up and got going, we headed to the old town. The walk was long, hot and sticky, but we made it up the hill alive and with shirts full of sweat stains. On top of the hill, we could see the whole of Kyparissia; the red-rooved houses, the trees and the white-sand beaches. It was truely beautiful. The day was really fun and I'm so glad that I am on this trip!
Sleeping over at the beach was an incredible experience. Littered on the beach were hundreds of loggerhead turtle nests, and the night sky was filled with stars. When we first arrived at the beach, we undertook a lecture from an Irish volunteer at Archaeon. She told us about the turtles at their beach, and what was threatening them. She then proceeded to explain the purpose of the organization, and how they help. It was extremely informative. As it started to get dark, we began our trek down the beach, to help some volunteers protect newly made nests. On the way there, we encountered three majestic turtles laying their eggs and making nests. It was an incredible experience, as I got to both learn more about sea turtles, and really start to understand the negative impacts humans can have on sea life. When we cleaned the beach up, disposing of rusty tin cans, water bottles, and even parts of fishing nets, I was shocked to see how much litter had been both dumped on the beach, or washed up at sea. I was very happy to feel like we had somewhat helped the sea turtles, and become more aware of this problem. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.
That morning we woke up, and hiked over to the Kyparissia castle, and saw an incredible view of the city from the summit of the castle. I loved viewing the city from up high, as it gave me a better idea of how the city was layed out.
When I signed up for this trip, I knew we were waking up early to see the turtle people find nests. However, I had no idea we were actually camping on the beach. Although I don't mind camping, I don't like sand. I immediately found a solution: build a bunk! Quick construction explanation: I got two long logs and had a bunch of smaller logs laying across. Weight explanation: force over a greater area makes less pressure on an object (thanks Grade 8 Science). It was surprisingly comfy, although I had to build it twice when it was too close to the sea. I had a great time at the beach, and I'm kinda glad it wasn't like anything I expected.
Although I found learning about the sea turtles during the day to be very interesting and informative, being able to observe them in their natural habitat was truly an incredible experience. It helped us realize how it important it is to protect such a majestic species. We were taught about the nesting process (which we later were able to observe), hazards affecting the turtles, and what work is currently being done to protect them. I really enjoyed getting to know the Vincent and Woodgate families better, participating in beach games, and having Yannis' dog lick most of my food (no, I did not eat it anyway). I loved going to sleep below the stars to the crashing of the waves... and waking up the next morning in a mosh pit of sandy sleeping bags. The turtle beach sleepover was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I will never forget. Thanks so much to the teachers, families, and the Archelon turtle group for making this possible.
The day and night on the beach was something that I was not expecting to be as fun as it was. We learn about the turtles that laded their eggs there in the day but what was really great to be able to see it happening at night. After seeing the turtles we got to fall asleep to the sound of waves and the open sky. The next day it was neat to see the volunteers looking for the nests and taking data about the eggs and the location of the nests but I must say my favorite part was the walk at night with only a couple red lights to see by as we watched the turtles lay their eggs.
Post a Comment