Greg Washburn's Travel Tales: Greece

At the beginning of May my father took me along with him and his friend Dale to Mt. Athos in Greece. Mt. Athos is a peninsula that sticks out into Aegean Sea and is home to some 20+ Orthodox Christian Monasteries. My father has been here a few times in the past and loves the retreat from modern life.

I flew from Paris to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Thessaloniki, met my father, met up with Dale, spent the night, took a bus to Ouranoplis, and then caught a ferryboat out to the peninsula.

Once on the peninsula we stayed for three nights at the monastery of Iviron. It was a fairly large monastery with huge grounds and a very lovely courtyard just steps from the blue green Aegean Sea.

Monastic life there was very simple. The monks spend their days in church with the other monks, in solitude in their own cells, doing various chores around the monastery, and visiting with pilgrims. There is a morning meal and an evening meal, both are very quick, in total silence, and the portions are rather small. Services are held in a very ornate yet gloomily dark church and can last for hours at a time.

The monks come from all over the world and each have very unique personalities. There was Fr. Jeremiah, a soft spoken very gentle older Australian monk who was pretty high up in the ranks. Fr. Hierotheos, another Aussie, small stature, white pointy beard, very quick speaker, interested in all sorts of subjects. Brother Nephon a 23 yeard old American from Philly who couldn't help but smile and laugh at everything we said, he has already been there for two years and has the wispy beard to show for it. Fr. Efthimios, a small quiet animal whisperer, he is followed everywhere by animals, when he goes out for a walk he calls to them and they follow, bugs, reptiles, mammals, you name it. Fr. Kallinikos, a very very old Greek monk who has been on Mt. Athos since he was 14 years old and legend has it that he has never ever shaved his face. And many many more...

I really enjoyed my time on Mt. Athos and I am grateful that my father took me there. The pace of life at Iviron was a welcomed break from Paris. While I was able to appreciate the beauty of Iviron's church and the spirituality that it provided for the many pilgrims who shared it with us, I was constantly drawn outside. For me, nature has always won versus man-made beauty. The color of the ocean, the majesty of the mountain, the quiet whisper of wind in the forest, a cascading waterfall, a windy path along the coast, the roar of waves against rocks, it all speaks to me in a way that church never has. I see God in his creation, not ours. Mt. Athos is the perfect place to revel in His creation without the constant abuse of modern life.