It was winter at the top, summer at the bottom, and all the other seasons in between.

Near the top of Mount Olympus!

My favorite school trip took us to the top of Mount Olympus to hangout with the Greek Gods. It was quite the workout and a little dangerous... but so much fun. We took a bus to the mountain about an hour from Thessaloniki, which you can see from the city on a clear day. The mountain is the tallest point in Greece at 2918 meters (it used to be 2917 m, but Africa moves closer to Greece by 3 cm every year, increasing the peak's height). The bus took us up 1100 meters to Prionia and from there we started our trek. The first day we hiked up (with our backpacks) 1000 meters to a refuge, which is only accessible by three methods: hiking, mule, or helicopter. It took about three or three and a half hours of solely uphill climbing and was more definitely exercise than I've had in a while. Some parts were quite steep and we were scrambling up rocks. When we started out the weather was sunny and very hot and by the time we reached the refuge we were slipping over snow that had covered the path. Luckily we were so sweaty and overheated from out climb that the temperature change actually felt good and we felt comfortable in our shorts and T-shirts. The mountain rangers didn't advise going much beyond the refuge because of the long winter that Greece had this year and all the snow that was still covering after the path.

Getting cozy for the night

For the night, however, we relaxed with some food at the lodge and nice warm cocoa. Once we cooled down we realized that it actually was cool and bundled up. Showers weren't an option, however, since the only water available was melted snow (Brrrrr). Sleeping arrangements were my favorite so far. Seventeen of us slept in one room in a giant row of beds that were pushed together. Some girl asked if they were going to turn on the heater in the lodge and the answer to that was that we were our own heaters. Everyone was given three wool blankets a piece and then we all got real close to our neighbors for the night to stay warm. We all thought it was great--we were literally swimming in blankets, singing, and just having a blast (probably from sheer exhaustion--it just made everything seem hilarious). 

Steep, snowy incline

The next morning we woke up for part two. The hard part. Everything was very steep, there was snow covering the paths so we had to make some of our own, and as we went up the vertical inclines it left me wondering how in the world we were going to get down without falling to our deaths down the seemingly endless drop-offs. The answer to that question? Very carefully. Plus our guides (who had walking sticks) would grab each of us individually at the most treacherous parts and hold our hands to the slightly less treacherous ground. It was quite the experience. Anyway we didn't quite make it up to the very top due to all of the snow, but we made it pretty close and got to have a snowball fight in May in Greece while we were at it. The view from as close to the top as we got was, of course, breathtaking, as you would expect from the home of the Greek gods. 

Hannah, Andrea, and I at the top with our matching glasses