09/09/2011 Greece VII: The limestones of Rodiani

Annie dropped us off on the way to the office, and we met Anna who took us up the Vourinos katafigio road in the two-seater Golf to take measurements from the limestone between the Vourinos and Rodiani ophiolitic complexes. I was volunteered to lie in the spacious boot. The bumpy journey was made an unsettling experience by my view of the upper branches of trees and swirling dust through the rear window.

Finding bedding in the limestones was difficult. Joints and cracks fooled the eye, and the massive grey carbonate only rarely gave any evidence of original sedimentary structure. Nevertheless, exposure was sufficiently good that we could scout around for elusive bedding traces, especially along the dry stream section. Tight to ptygmatic folds revealed themselves in slight variations in colour.

Isoclinal folds in Triassic-Jurassic limestones

By the time we reached the low metal shacks of the pig farm at the end of the section, it was already past out planned 1430 pick up time. Dina was beginning to struggle from the heat, and the dull headache I had been nursing throughout the morning became excruciatingly painful every time I knelt down or bent over.

Walking back eastward

I ran out of water before we left the stream bed, and my heart rate shot up to 150 bpm, pounding in my chest. Worse, I stopped sweating, and at the top of the climb back my vision faded to white. I stumbled toward the nearest shade and collapsed, where I waited from Anna and Dina, who gave me a little more of their water. I recovered sufficiently to walk the last 100 m to the car, more or less fell into the boot, and we drove to the nearest spring.

Anna left us after a short stop at the cafe outside Siatista. A litre of water and a carton of juice in the shade helped me feel better, but my headache didn't improve until after we ate gavros, octopus and squid at the fish restaurant in the evening. Nor did my fever, despite the cold shower and subsequent blast of cold air from the air conditioner in my room. I felt cold, but knew that I still needed to cool down. I must have drunk three or more litres of water before falling into bed for the night.