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| Here we are on the botanical gardens tour at MAICH! |
We left before the crack of dawn on Sunday (May 15) and arrived at MAICH around 3:00 pm Monday (7 am at home) after 4 flights, 2 buses, and a cab ride to MAICH. The drive from the airport to MAICH was interesting; roads were narrow and curvy like driving the pig trail. Still the drivers were wreckless and scary! They zoomed around corners and passed on double lanes, although I never saw passing lines. They stayed way too close for my comfort to the back end of the vehicle in front of them. I saw one man on a motorcycle pass two cars and a big construction truck around a corner, just barely getting over in time before it would have been in a head on collision with an oncoming car. I was a little scared for our lives.
The scenery was much different than I expected. The landscape was desert-like. There was no green grass, the trees were more like shrubs, but there were a lot of them. I don’t believe people mow in Greece, because all of the yards had tall, sparse grass even between the landscaping. But the terrain was extremely rocky and steep! There are mountains on the Crete Island! Not anything compared to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but still I didn’t see any flat piece of ground. The ocean was a beautiful blue! It did not seem like it should go with the barren and dry landscape of the land.
Our host, MAICH, did not waste any time before getting us started with our itinerary.
We immediately ate a delicious lunch, which a two-course meal. I can’t remember what all we ate, but it was delicious and made with all local produce.
We then had a 30-minute lecture about Greece’s agriculture and environment. The lecture also included some history of the recent economic crisis. Our speaker told us the crash happened because of the clash in values among the people of Greece. It sounded to me like many people do not want to incorporate new ideas into their lifestyle, but would rather stick with the old.
After our lecture we had a tour around the botanical garden. She could tell we were all very tired, so as a way to liven up the tour, she incorporated stories of Greek mythology (the Greek gods) and how they were connected to various plants. It was very interesting and I loved it. We were given many samples of drinks, candies, and bread made from the plants in the garden. The first drink we had was a tea, made from a plant that is from the mountains of Crete. It was very much like a green tea, but since we had just gorged ourselves at lunch it was hard for me to finish it. Next we had a liquor that was a deep purple and reminded me of an alcoholic cough syrup! I couldn’t finish it either.
We were encouraged to smell the various medicinal plants and were told the history and diseases each planted helped cure. There was one taffy candy that tasted like rosemary; it was not candy to me. Oddly, they had the same flavor in gum. The best thing we tasted was a bread that had some chocolate-like flavor. They called the little bean that resembled chocolate “keratin” I believe. I am worried that instead of maintaining or losing weight on this trip, I am going to gain it from all of the food they are feeding us!
Tomorrow we will have another lecture and spend the day in the city. Below you can see photos of our group on the botanical gardens tour and the stone houses behind the garden that faculty stay in.
Come back tomorrow for more!
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Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece