“That’s actually quite interesting,” Jason commented as he moved to one of the bushes. He pointed at some lichen on a rock nearby. “Is that the odd lichen as well?”

The local moved over to where Jason had pointed and peered at the lichen before nodding in affirmation.

“Yes, it is. It is spreading too. See, I’m sure that area there is new.”

His guide pointed at the part of the lichen-covered rock to the right-hand side of the patch and moved a little in that direction. While he was looking at the lichen, Jason stripped a couple of fresh, new-growth leaves off the plant that looked like marijuana and shoved them in his pocket before his guide looked up again.

He continued to play the part of the interested amateur for some time as they discussed the erosion of the area by the sea. They both agreed that although the plants had spread a little in recent times, it was probably because there had been no big storms coming from the right direction for a couple of years. It was pretty clear that the whole area was slowly eroding into the sea, even if it would take many years, possibly centuries, for that to happen. It was an interesting discussion, but eventually, the boatman realized it was getting late and insisted they return to the boat and head back to civilization before it got too dark.

Jason had to restrain himself over his desire to try out the leaves and made a valiant effort to be patient during the sail back to the small port and then the drive back to his hotel. He had to put off experimenting with the leaves until after the previously organized dinner at the hotel. He only just made the dinner on time because of the lengthy trip. The group of Symposium attendees that Jason was ostensibly with had arranged a special dinner with a couple of Archaeologists working on the Akrotiri site. Jason found the discussion around the table far more interesting than he had anticipated, and not just because he could understand the parts in Greek that they thought he couldn’t follow! Even so, by the time the meal and the after-dinner discussion were finished, he was chomping at the bit, wanting to get back to his room. Then he realized he couldn’t boil the leaves in his room because there was no stove with a hotplate. Damn! He looked at the small jug for boiling water to make coffee but decided not to try it. He went to bed very frustrated but refused to give up.

The next day he wandered around the small town and found a general store that sold some camping goods. They had a small camp stove setup, complete with a small gas bottle which he bought. They also had a small saucepan-type thing that was made with a handle that folded into the center of the saucepan so it would pack easier in a rucksack or such, and he headed back to his room with his purchases. He soon had the leaves boiling away and was just trying to decide how long to give it when the water changed color. It was clear the leaves had reached a point where some chemical had been released due to the boiling they were undergoing.  He turned off the gas and looked at his concoction. He poured some of the water into a glass and studied it. The color was a dull, transparent reddish-brown and smelled slightly of licorice. The leaves had largely broken up into small to tiny particles that were suspended in the water, while the still largely intact stem parts had sunk to the bottom of the small pot. He sat the glass on the small bench near where he’d set up the camp stove and studied the water for some time.