The Friday Hike

Some photos from our past several hikes.

Thanks to Chantal, Jun and Melissa for the photos.

Student Post: Mariel Capanna

I believe I speak for all of the new students when I say that the Aegean Center and the island of Paros have been quick to feel like home. Built of matching white houses and stone streets fit for foot traffic, Parikia is as safe as it is endlessly explorable. If we walk to the bakery for a delicious filo-filled breakfast before class we’re bombarded with “Kali mera”s from countless new neighbors who already treat us like old friends, and when we return to our apartments in the Aegean village we’re greeted at the gateway by the cats who have claimed us as their own. After only two weeks, we already seem to fit here.

The sense of comfort expands by kilometers each week as John takes us on his picturesque Friday hikes, allowing us to get to know other areas of Paros. We’re always given a nice mid-hike break to take advantage of frolic-worthy clover fields, climable olive trees, scalable rocks and sketchable views of the Mediterranean sea and the surrounding Cycladic islands, past the hills dotted with sheep. On the hikes our understanding of the island grows not only geographically but botanically, as John excitedly points out instances of local flora: fresh oregano and sage which will inevitably be picked and eaten later at the students’ weekly potluck.

This life outside of school grounds only enhances our willingness to learn at the Aegean Center. Rather than serving as a distraction, all of the comfort and excitement of (mostly) clear-skied Paros stimulates the creativity, enthusiasm and mental clarity necessary for learning both in the classroom and the studio. But if a week of hard work builds up any stress or tension, we’re provided a nice venue for shaking it all out: Saturday Greek dance class, where we learn culturally meaningful new ways of getting our groove on (this new student has already gotten years of bottled-up dance out of her system).

I’m excited for this week’s surprises, but also can’t wait for more of the same.

Thanks to Alice for the photos.

The Friday Hike

6 March 2009, in the mountains of Lefkes

The first hike of the season took place under a dusty sirocco sky. John led the way through overgrown donkey paths, stony river beds, and fields bespeckled with spring’s first wildflowers. A traditional meal at Flora’s Taverna in the nearby village of Lefkes sated our whetted appetites before our quiet and contemplative return to the Aegean Center, to our studios, and to the work already begun this first full week on Paros.

Thanks to Jun and Alice for the photos.

The Friday Hike: To Antiparos

On the road again

Friday, November 21: To Antiparos. Fotos by Amber Thompson and Jun Shiozawa.

Samantha with flower

View towards Sifnos

Alice on the horizon

Tagging along

A walk on the beach

Where the sea meets the sand

The Aegean Center Olive Harvest

John getting to every last olive

Thriving in the Aegean Center courtyard is an olive tree of remarkable size. Watered by a natural, underground spring, this tree is capable of producing quite a large olive crop. With olive picking season upon us, we recently made a day of raking out the olives from every last branch and collecting them in a large sack. It was quite a few days, however, before we were able to take our harvest, which weighed in at almost 20 kilos, to Iakovo’s Olive Press, and as a result, it was lost to mold – a lesson sadly learned. Fortunately, on the day of our visit, Iakovo was pressing a local farmer’s olives, so we were still able to witness firsthand a centuries old process.

The Aegean Center Olive Picking Squad

At Iakovo's Olive Press

Spanning the length of the machine

Iakovo with the finished product

Walking home

Thanks to Nadya Keating, Amber Thompson, and Aimee Palladino for the photos.

Fall 2008 Boat Trip

This semester’s boat trip took place on October 31. Students sailed towards the southern tip of Antiparos on-board a traditional Greek kaiki and joined diver and marine biologist Peter Nicolaidis in an underwater exploration of the area.

The trip, taken each semester, aims to introduce our students to the biological diversity of the Aegean Sea and its effect on the evolution of culture in the region. With this invaluable understanding of history and the perspective it offers, our students become ever more conscious of our responsibility towards the sea and the environment in general.

Click here for photos of this semester’s boat trip. For a look at past boat trips, click here.

The Friday Hike

Alice, exuberant: Samantha, remonstrative; Carter, bemused

Friday, 24 October, 2008. In the Mountains of Lefkes. Fotos by Alice Houston.

Olive Picking George

White goats, white clouds

Adrian, contemplative, with satchel

The Friday Hike

On the way to Archilochos's Cave

Friday, 17 October, 2008: The Hike to Archilochos’s Cave. Fotos by John Pack.

In the lagoon: Dixon diving

In front of the cave: Emily, last one out

Nadya, waving to Shirin

Blending in