Day 3

After having breakfast outside on the terrace, we decided to kill some time while waiting for our rental car to be dropped off by walking to a nearby beach. Beyond the beach, we spotted some ruins and decided to hike a path to check it out. It was really cool to see something so old mixed in with modern-aged hotels and restaurants. We noticed the trail continued further so we followed it. It opened up to the most breathtaking view of the island. It felt like we were on the top of the mountain. We then decided to walk to another beach in the other direction. It once again did not disappoint. The water was crystal clear and scenery was beautiful. We headed back to the hotel to meet the representative from the rental car company. After some time, he arrived with the car. However, upon checking in we were informed of a new law that prohibited foreigners from driving without an international license. We worked with the phenomenal staff at our hotel to arrange for a private driver to take us to the Pythagoras sites we had our hearts set on seeing. Even better, one of the employees of this family run hotel offered to personally drive us to each of the sites. In 7 hours we drove around the whole island and explored a mountain village, the Potami Waterfalls (a hike that included crossing bridges made of branches and climbing many stairs made of wooden planks), Pythagoras' Cave (an intense hike up a rocky side of a mountain), and the statue of Pythagoras. In this adventure we had a chance to reflect on the tremendous contributions this philosopher and mathematician had on the field. The significance of the cave is that it was the meeting place for a school, known as the Semicircle, established by Pythagoras around 520 BC. We were amazed with the location of the cave because it was extremely remote. Rough, jagged terrain made it difficult to access, even with modern amenities like a newly paved road instead of gravel and steps made of rocks. It certainly gives us a new appreciation for all he was able to understand and teach with such limited resources. We concluded the day the same way we started it - by hiking once again to the beach and ruins to take in the spectacular view of the sunset.