It was an early morning start to our second day of the trip as we prepared for a hike up Mount Olympus. The mountain is extremely significant, as it was once believed to be the home of the Greek God Zeus. With an elevation of 2,914 meters, the mythological mountain was about an hour away from the American Farm School, so we piled on to the bus and headed down highway 75. After a quick rest stop to gear up on supplies, we drove through the city of Litochoro at the base of the mountain. We passed a military base, where artillery tank teams were cleaning and restocking ammunition. Our bus driver drove through hairpins and steep inclines, climbing the side of the mountain deep into the ravine to reach our starting point for the hike.

Following the trail downhill for the first leg, about forty-five minutes into our hike we stopped at a sacred circle of rocks. Our guide Victoria spoke of the energy that some people believe connects the Earth and everything on it to the universe. We then climbed down a small hill to reach the first of many waterfalls. Hiking up and down the trail and across a bridge, we stopped for lunch at the top of a couple of small waterfalls. Along the way, we passed the remnants of an old monastery that had been built in the 1500s but had been destroyed during World War II. Monks are now working to restore this historical building to its former beauty. As we stopped and ate lunch, we all had a chance to walk through the stream and test the water, which proved to be rather chilly! However, this did not stop most of us from cooling off from the warm sunshine.

When lunch was over, we gathered up all of our gear to continue our trek. We hiked for a little while longer until we came upon a small shrine built beneath a large overhang of rock. This shrine was the entrance to a dark cave, which contained The Holy Spring of St. Dionysius. We all had a chance to drink the cold fresh water that flowed from a spring deep within the mountain. Once that was finished, the group took a vote on whether to continue the hike for another 4 hours or finish early. We decided that we should take advantage of the situation and see what the longer trail had to offer. This second portion proved to be much more challenging, as the trail rose and fell with the mountain and crossed the stream multiple times. However, the prize was worth the challenge, as we repeatedly witnessed some of the most stunning scenery we had ever seen. Several times the trail opened up to the mountain’s many peaks and cliffs falling into the valley.

Our group continued strong, accepting the challenge that the mountain had to offer. At long last we came to the end of the trail, and everyone celebrated the long trek that we had all finished together. When it was all said and done, we hiked for 10.8 miles up and down Mt. Olympus. Everyone was pretty exhausted at the end, and that is probably an understatement. After loading up on the bus, we drove for about 10 minutes to a small family owned restaurant near the Aegean Sea. We took time to head down to the beach and walk in the water for a while, and then returned to the restaurant for some authentic Greek cuisine.

The meal in itself proved to be a small adventure, as the owner of the restaurant spoke little English. However, we learned from Victoria as well as our hiking guide that the owner only used seafood that he caught himself. We tried everything from veal and mussels to grilled squid. The food was delicious! At the end of the day, everyone was tired yet satisfied with a day full of adventure and Greek culture. Needless to say, this was a great experience for our group!