Day 8: Tombs and Creatures

The Ancient Tholos Tombs and the Gorge Stalactites walk were one of a  highlights to my adventures in Greece. Waking up at 9:00, going on an early walk and eating cereal overlooking the horizon was the ideal lifestyle to all of us, and luckily, was the way we began the day.  We boarded the vans around 11:00am and the drive was short and sweet. As soon as we arrived at the Ancient Tholos Tombs, Yanni, the triathlon coach, started off our exploration with history of the site. We walked into the first tomb and it was nothing like I had ever seen before. The stones were ratted and cracks permeated the ground. We sat down as Mr. Doland told us a myth about Cyclopes, which he thought would scare us and... we played along with it. We saw the two smaller tombs which did not have a dome and were dug out of the ground. These tombs  were for the less wealthy families of the time. Archaeologists believe that there are still many sites not yet found in that area, but they will not look until they have the money and time to research. After, we walked along a trail leading down to the Gorge Stalactites. Before continuing our adventure, we had our sandwiches and Mr. Doland tried scaring us again with frogs... We walked in through the river leading into the caved area. There were many spiders, frogs and wild unknown creatures in the water which I tried not to pay attention to. Once we got to the caved area, it was very interesting. A few of us decided to continue into the caves but ran out as cold water was dripping all over our bodies. After staying for a while, we travelled back through mud and creatures, hiking up a trail which lead us back to our vans. It was very hot and thankfully we had the luxury of the NOKY pool that afternoon. Getting in the water was the highlight of the day and we spent the time playing with kick boards and socializing. On the ride back to the hotel, Mr. Doland decided to play his favourite Turkish song from his 10 year old self, entitled "Kiss Kiss". It was on repeat throughout the day so I guess you could call me a beginner at the Turkish language. Once we got back to the hotel, a couple of us went to the market and bought a well deserved ice cream. In the evening, we did a photo shoot with my camera outside and played a game called schmegel schmee until our bedtime. Overall, the day was full of history, creatures and Turkish music. 

Kiss Kiss,

Meaghan