Safe & Sound Arrival Back in Victoria!

Our third trip to Greece came to an end very late last night upon our arrival in Victoria well past midnight ... 24 hours since we arrived at the airport in Athens to begin our trip home! With a ten hour time difference, it certainly made for a long day.

Overall, this has been another incredible adventure lasting twelve days, from beginning to end. The time seemed to fly by, a good sign as it usually means everyone is busy and enjoying the breadth of experiences for the group. Our last day in Athens was a great way to end the trip, visiting the Acropolis museum and then the site itself is inspiring and amazing when one considers just how lucky we are to learn about and experience it all.

Upon reflection, there are so many people to thank for making this trip possible. In Kyparissia, our local people 'on the ground' who are instrumental in the planning before we arrive and who are present during many of our excursions and activities: Yannis, the coach of the NOKY triathlon club, our resident expert on the region, and so helpful with activities such as the triathlon, the River Neda/waterfall activity, transporter of bikes, and host of the dinner and party; Patrick and Heidi Woodgate who also accompanied us on excursions and who helped with many logistics ahead of our arrival; and to the Kyparissia community which welcomed us with open arms, including the staff of our hotel who did everything possible to make our stay memorable. In addition, Marc and Clare Vincent, and their family, were fully involved in making the trip go as smoothly as possible, joining in on every activity and  contributing in every way possible to the success of our students' experience. You will also have noticed the hundreds of photos linked to this blog, the majority of which were taken by Marc Vincent, our ' SMUS Greece Trip Official Photographer'!!!

I would be remiss if I didn't thank my Middle School colleagues who accompanied us on the trip, Richard DeMerchant and Catherine Cade. This was their first time as part of our travel group and they were awesome! You can probably tell from the blog just how full each day is, and they both were fully involved in every aspect of the trip, from start to finish.

Finally, special mention to Riley Doland who planned just about every part of this trip and who could not even join us this year! Planning this experience for our students began way back in the fall and has taken hours of her time. Mrs. Doland initiated this trip three years ago and we all hope she can resume leading the group on next year's trip. It was a privilege for me to go on this trip with her in 2015 and 2016. We had a great time this year, but we sure missed her.

It won't be long before we will start to plan Greece 2018 for our Grade 8 students lucky enough to experience the natural wonders and history of this amazing country.

Xavier Abrioux