June 26 - Archelon, Greek Dancing

We started the day with our service project. The Archelon groups work to preserve endangered turtles. After learning about the need and the process,  our group pitched in and made shields for the turtle hatchlings. They need assistance to find their way safely to the sea.

We also got to visit a marked nest on the beach. It was one that had to be relocated because  it was too close to the ocean. That is quite a tedious and exacting process because the eggs must be replaced in the same orientation,  without shaking them.

The camp where the volunteers live is very primative. They live in tents and have a rudimentary kitchen area.

Later that day they were having an important release of a turtle they had rescued.  They were planning on recording the release,  so we'll have to watch it when we get back.

Then we traveled into town to see how phyllo dough was made. This particular business is in its third generation.  It was
amazing watching him work that dough from a ball to a sheet that covered a large table.  He was so deft! And it never tore.  It was so thin you could see his hand through it.

After a bit of shopping we were off to learn some Greek dancing. We learned some basic steps to help us for later in the evening.

While one group was learning to dance,  the other was swimming in the Aegean. Words cannot describe how wonderful that was!  One is the locals showed us an area where the spring from the mountain was emptying . It had cold,  fresh water.

After dinner we went to the square to watch some traditional dance,  and then try it ourselves. The dancers were young and quite accomplished. It was fun to watch them as they encouraged our delegates to join in.  There were some people from the town who came to watch,  so it was just a nice community outing.