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| The island of Amorgos |
Our destination today has been on my semi-bucket-list for a number of years - climbing to the Monastery of Hozoviotissa, Amorgos. When you first see the monastery it takes your breath away, mine at least. It looks like a large blob of white clay has been thrown at the cliff face and stuck - it clings to the cliff face almost 300m above the sea.
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| Entrance to the steps that lead to the monastery |
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| The sea was a very long way straight down |
The monastery was built around 1000AD and contains rare icons and manuscripts - only a few people from our group got to see those. Me? No. I only made it halfway up the cliff. The higher we went the steeper the path became. My vertigo had been hovering in the background but the higher I went the worse it became threatening to tip me over the cliff edge. So I stopped! You can imagine I was somewhat frustrated with myself. On the bright side however not too many people get to sit in solitude and silence in such a breathtaking location suspended about 180m above the sea. I was perfectly fine. So there I sat like the Grand old Duke of York, neither up nor down in total solitude and silence waiting for Lindsay to return - cliff face one side, the sea a couple of 100m below. I was very disappointment but what can you do - other than lots of rationalising. Unfortunately despite prior booking, there was a service still underway so we weren't allowed in.
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Down below you can see our bus.
It had to back 100 plus m to park in the small space allowed. |
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| The monastery hovered tantilisingly above |
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| Absolutely stunning. |
From the monastery we bused up to Chora, the capital of Amorgos - tiny and cute with a number of whites churches. When we arrived at the tiny town square, there was a service in progress at the main church and we were silenced by the haunting incantations, chants. The service finished off with the ringing of the church bells (by hand) outside the church. It was the celebration of their Saint that day and it felt rather special to be there. Lindsay and I just sat relaxing right in front of a church. Eventually 5 priests/monks emerged and we were given a big hunk of sacrament bread peppered with aniseeds to share. It was quite touching.
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| The road back to more secular life was a steep winding ribbon. |
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| Windmills dotted the hilltops |
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| Our ship, Le Lyrial, in the distance |
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