Day 29, June 28

(Greg) The next morning, the last full day of our stay in Greece, we drove to a local ski resort which boasts the highest mountain in the region. Since the skiing was lousy due to the lack of snow, we decided to climb the mountain instead. Matt, still feeling sick, decided to stay in the van rather than hike up the mountain.

It was a great hike; we found some snow along the way and spent some time whipping snowballs at each other. Dave tried a snow angel and Sam was an evil god (you have to be a fan of Calvin and Hobbes to make any sense of this.) The top of the ski hill was not the top of the mountain. There was a razor back ridge that rose up even higher.

Sam started to climb the ridge while we explored a little chapel and tried every type of echo. Eventually, we all climbed the high ridge and admired the view and goat dung. Before we climbed down, we built an altar of seven stones, but since we couldn't procure a goat to sacrifice, Sam pushed it over the cliff causing a small avalanche. It was noon before we returned to Matt in the van and discovered him feverish and "loving and savoring that feeling."

(Chris) YES, poor Matt had had 5 pukes and 4 squirts since we lost saw him (for a total of 9 points.) He was as miserable as I've ever seen him. The second part of the day was to be spent seeing St. Luke's (Osious Loukas) and heading a little closer to Athens' airport. Seeing Matt's watery condition (and watching him up his points total to 10 out of the car window) convinced us to find a hotel closer by.

We stopped in Distomo and got a nice couple of rooms for 19,000 drachmae. A/C and TV soothed Matt to sleep as the rest of us ate and headed to the monastery. We waited for an hour once we had arrived because it was closed for siesta. I spent the time exploring the area and sneaking into a cool mountainside chapel, while the others slept on shady rock walls.

The St. Luke's complex was a nice brick exterior with a beauteous view of the agricultural valley below. The church had some very nice frescoes and/or mosaics from long ago. And folks - they got the bones! (of a schismatic 11th century monk named Luke.) And you could look in the clear casket and see his skull and crinkly hand. The crypt held more artsy surprises - paintings of saints on the walls! A truly nice montage of a church. The rest of the complex was nice too but not too awesome. The ice cream bars we had after, however, were awesome. And Sam bought a wooden owl that has extended wings only when it holds a hat on its foot.

Back at the hotel, we found Matt in better spirits, but not good enough to go to dinner. As we walked out of the hotel into Distomo's square, we noticed it had filled up with many tables and old men. One of the old men was on us quickly - not, amazingly enough, to sell us anything. he realized we were Americans and just wanted us to sit and have a drink with him. We told this Nick that we were going to dinner first. So he pointed us to a restaurant (there are few in town because most that appear to be one are merely bars) and agreed to meet us later for drinks.

The restaurant had no menu. The cook/waiter just took us in the kitchen and opened all his pots for us. We ordered by pointing. It was much more efficient this way - he spoke no English. All he needed to know after that was, "Frites?" (French fries?) The meal was average. It was nice to not be in a touristy area. Nick met us but had only coffee (heart condition.) As we drank, he told us about the Nazi invasion of the town when he was 6, his move to the US when he was 17, his restaurant business in Chicago, his divorce a few years back, his operations, and his return to Greece for retirement. Nice guy.

He told us Athens was 2 hours away (not 3) so we set our alarms a bit later than expected. I felt restless - so I always do the last night of a trip, but 2 beers calmed me a bit and I dozed off pretty quick.

So sad, only 1 month old. So young, so sad - only 1 month. So sad. Only 1 month. T3 was ending