Σούνιο [Sounion]

The Fourth of July may not mean much to Greeks, but at the American College in Greece, America's Independence Day is significant enough to cancel classes. So, instead of waking up super early and laboring through modern Greek life and ancient Greek history, we got to sleep in a little bit (is it sad that 8 am is now considered sleeping in?) to head to Sounion, a beautiful seaside town located at the southernmost point in Attica.

Now, I know I've probably used the words "beautiful," "breathtaking," and "incredible" countless times throughout my blogs, to the point of exhaustion, but there are very few words that can accurately describe just how incredibly beautiful and breathtaking this country is. Around every corner you see ancient ruins. Yet everywhere we go has its own story, its own history, its own landscape and people. And Sounion is no different. It is truly breathtaking and beautiful. 

After a pleasantly short bus ride, we piled off the bus at Cape Sounion to visit the Temple of Poseidon (god of the sea in Greek paganism), a beautifully made and well-preserved temple overlooking - you guessed it - the sea! It was a very short climb to the site of the temple where we experienced some of ancient Greek history through the still-standing structure that is the Temple of Poseidon.

Located at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea, the Temple of Poseidon offers absolutely gorgeous views. They seriously just keep getting better...

Rumor (or mythology, if you wanna get technical) has it that Cape Sounion is where Aegeus, King of Athens,  committed suicide by jumping off a cliff into the sea to his death when he thought his son Theseus had died in a battle with the minotaur. And thus, the sea into which suicidal Aegeus hurled himself, was thereafter named the Aegean sea. In the end, it was nothing but a misunderstanding. Theseus was actually alive, but the forgetful teenager didn't change his ship's sails to white as he'd promised to do if he survived and so, upon seeing the black sails on Theseus's ship, Aegeus impulsively leapt into the sea and, in place of a suicide note, left the expansive Athenian empire to his very alive son.

The Aegean Sea
Thanks to Aegeus for having a really cool name.

After exploring the site of the temple and taking an excessive amount of pictures on the exact same rock, we climbed back onto the bus, eager to rid our tummies of that hollow feeling. The best part about lunch? I honestly can't tell you because there were so many good things about this lunch. 1) It was included in the excursion, which means we didn't pay a dime! 2) We got free drinks in addition to our water; soda or wine (I had the wine) 3) It was traditional Greek family style dining (aka - my favorite kind of dining ever) 4) with traditional Greek food that was very very tasty 5) It was indoors, with air conditioning, overlooking the beautiful Aegean sea.

With our bellies full, and our exhausted energies renewed, we climbed back onto our beloved bus once more with the beach in mind. Originally, I was expecting some wide open, tourist packed, rocky beach with freezing cold water (these Eastern hemisphere seas just aren't that warm...) and to an extent, I was right. However, I didn't expect to be led into a modern, popular beach club complete with remixed 80's hits, cabana boys and shaded chairs. It was an unexpected yet pleasant surprise. 

 

Although I was right about the freezing cold water (seriously, you can't even imagine) and the rocky beaches that make you wish swimming allowed for shoes, I was wrong about the tourist part and pleasantly surprised to see that we were some of the few tourists present. Most of the people there, were either local Greeks or vacationing Europeans. This was extremely refreshing, since most of the places we go are sufficiently swarmed by large tourist groups. The one thing I can't figure out is why this place didn't have many tourists, and after doing some research I came to the conclusion that it's probably related to the fact that, since it's somewhat overshadowed by the more popular cities and sites, Sounion isn't a huge tourist destination. I also learned that Sounion is one of the most expensive places to live in Greece with homes costing upwards of twenty million euros. It's an upscale summer home setting for Europeans who can afford it. And the ones who can apparently like private, well-maintained and modernized beaches with full bars...tourists, not so much. 

After an extremely chilling dip in the water (literally) and the exhausting swim, against the current in deep waters, back to shore, I was sufficiently exhausted, and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging and relaxing. 

All in all, Sounion was rejuvenating. The day wasn't jam-packed so it wasn't stressful or super exhausting, and we still got a taste of history by visiting the Temple of Poseidon. It was a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July.