Another Successful Grade 8 Greece Adventure!

Our second twelve day trip to the Peloponnese region of Greece ended late yesterday after a long trip home via Toronto. The trip was indeed a huge success, stretching students out of their comfort zone at times, which was exactly one of the main trip outcomes. Through it all, the touring group experienced a wide array of activities: cultural, linguistic, physical, and in some of the students' words, it was a transformative experience. This year, we followed a similar itinerary to last year's inaugural trip, but also tweaked it a bit and tried some new adventures such as spending a night on the beach, in the open air, experiencing this beautiful and fascinating part of the world. The students' entries in this blog tell the real story of the breadth and depth of their trip and I congratulate all of them in taking on some new challenges, supporting one another, and being fabulous ambassadors of our school and country. We were helped immensely by our Kyparissia families on the ground - the Woodgates, Yannis, and other members of the local community. SMUS teachers Riley McQueen, the main trip organizer. Brady Doland, and I got to know the students better and I suspect the reverse is also true! Together with the Vincents who once again made a return trip to Kyparissia, our students were truly immersed in many facets of this region's rich geographical beauty, history, and its warm and friendly people. It also sounds like we had an impact too, based on an email from Yannis, the NOKY triathlon coach for the local club who not only guided us on a few excursions (the Neda River activity was incredible) but who also hosted our group at his house one day for a fantastic evening of Greek food, Greek music, and Greek culture:

Dear friends,

Lots of thanks for your coming to Kyparissia, and giving us, once again, the pleasure of having you as guests and co-athletes in our town. We really spent a very good time together and we already miss you all! Everything we experienced together got a special importance and we hope and believe that you will come again to add new friendly and cooperative input to our pleasant memories. (Yannis)

Here are some of my favorite memories of our time in Kyparissia:

Apollo's Temple

Amphitheatre near Neda River

Dancing at Yannis' to live Greek Music

Dinner at hotel in Kyparissia

Dinner at hotel in Kyparissia

At NOKY pool in front of mural painted last year

Just hanging out at the beach - the Ionian Sea

Learning about the loggerhead sea turtles - Here's a protected nest

Eating dinner the night of the beach 'sleepover' 

Swimming at the 50 meter NOKY pool

"Hands Up" at the amphitheatre

Hilltop castle ruins at Pylos - spectacular view!

Out for an afternoon stroll on the castle walls at Pylos

Stadium at Ancient Messini

Top of Pylos