After getting back to the hotel from the school, I definitely needed a nap. I seem to be totally confused by the time change or maybe by just getting up before noon or maybe both. I had another thought about time change before I tell you about my attempt to meet Aphrodite. When I go to Korea, there will be a 13 hour time change. When I’m home, if I tried to get used to getting up at 5 PM (just a few hours off from my usual time), that would be 6 AM the next day. So, without making any adjustments I could get up at 6 AM in Korea. Maybe I would have lost one full day.

Irini and Yiorgos picked me up to go to see the “Petra tou romiou” considered the birth place of Aphrodite near Paphos. Here’s the Wikipedia entry.

“‘Foam-arisen’ Aphrodite was born of the sea foam near Paphos, Cyprus after Cronus severed Uranus’ genitals and threw them behind him into the sea, while the Erinyes emerged from the drops of blood. Hesiod’s Theogony described that the genitals “were carried over the sea a long time, and white foam arose from the immortal flesh; with it a girl grew” to become Aphrodite. Aphrodite floated in on a scallop shell. When she arose, she was hailed as “Cyprian,” and is referred to as such often, especially in the poetic works of Sappho. This myth of a fully mature Venus (the Roman name for Aphrodite), Venus Anadyomene[23] (“Venus Rising From the Sea”) was one of the iconic representations of Aphrodite, made famous in a much-admired painting by Apelles, now lost, but described in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder.”

We arrived there at twilight and climbed down a path to the sea. Yiorgos remembered my fascination with touching bodies of water so we got right to the water. When a wave came, I ended up falling and getting “up and personal” with the Mediterranean. I think subconsciously I was seeking Aphrodite, trying to find her at the place where she was born. Surprisingly, I didn’t find her but I did bring back some souvenirs of caked on mud and stone on my shoes.

The view of the stone was slightly eerie but the pictures I took were eerier (great word). I really enjoyed seeing this.

They then took me for some cyprus fast food take out to eat at their home — souvlakia, shieftalia, and gyro, which was excellent. I told them I’d be up for eating anything except squid, octopus, and anything from a US chain.