7:24 PM
ot.elders
We have been to Mount Athos during this year's Easter celebrations [2013], so we have some useful tips from the journey.
Car route we have chosen: entering Greece from Bulgaria via Kulata, following Serres, and then the highway to Thessaloniki, near the town changing the highway to Kavala and following the Stavros exit, then straight "down and up" to Ouranoupoli, for it is a difficult path, with many bends, ups and downs.
Here is Ouranoupoli at night, a touristic small town, with a rich nightlife, with lots of terraces, hotels and restaurants, as opposite with Mount Athos nightlife of vigil, solitude, fasting and some austere living conditions.
Almost everyone sleeps in the morning at 7am, when we went to the Pilgrim's Bureau to get our Diamonitirion. We paid 25 EUR or 10 EUR [for students] for the paper. Before 8am we had our Athos passport, and went to buy boat tickets.
Be careful at the boat type: there are small speed boats before the Ferry and they are more expensive... Ferry from 9:45 is the cheapest that you can get [7.5 EUR, one way], and is chosen by most people.
Then, we take the Ferry from 9:45 [Axion Estin - It is Truly Meet], and leave Ouranoupoli for a two hours sea trip to Daphne Athos port.
After a long journey, we arrive to Daphne Port.
We wonder why some people are running towards an unknown direction... A few seconds later we figure out that two buses are waiting for us, obviously, filled with pilgrims eager to get to Karyes. Finally, we crowd into a bus, and travel for less than an hour. Tickets [3.5 EUR, one way] are sold by two people which get on the bus at a time.
From Karies you can pick a bus-taxi to one of the monasteries or you can walk...
And this is where the pilgrimage begins... to another land that has nothing to deal with money, cameras, or technology. Far away from earthly things but living with them, having the mind to the eternal ones. Is just the spirit of ascetics over time, the same Spirit as on Pentecost.
Car route we have chosen: entering Greece from Bulgaria via Kulata, following Serres, and then the highway to Thessaloniki, near the town changing the highway to Kavala and following the Stavros exit, then straight "down and up" to Ouranoupoli, for it is a difficult path, with many bends, ups and downs.
Here is Ouranoupoli at night, a touristic small town, with a rich nightlife, with lots of terraces, hotels and restaurants, as opposite with Mount Athos nightlife of vigil, solitude, fasting and some austere living conditions.
All the prices below are approximate and are valid for May 2013.We stayed overnight at a local hotel, 3 in a room with bathroom for about 30 EUR. There are many offers and a few english speakers... But... insisting is the key.
Almost everyone sleeps in the morning at 7am, when we went to the Pilgrim's Bureau to get our Diamonitirion. We paid 25 EUR or 10 EUR [for students] for the paper. Before 8am we had our Athos passport, and went to buy boat tickets.
Be careful at the boat type: there are small speed boats before the Ferry and they are more expensive... Ferry from 9:45 is the cheapest that you can get [7.5 EUR, one way], and is chosen by most people.
Then, we take the Ferry from 9:45 [Axion Estin - It is Truly Meet], and leave Ouranoupoli for a two hours sea trip to Daphne Athos port.
After a long journey, we arrive to Daphne Port.
We wonder why some people are running towards an unknown direction... A few seconds later we figure out that two buses are waiting for us, obviously, filled with pilgrims eager to get to Karyes. Finally, we crowd into a bus, and travel for less than an hour. Tickets [3.5 EUR, one way] are sold by two people which get on the bus at a time.
From Karies you can pick a bus-taxi to one of the monasteries or you can walk...
And this is where the pilgrimage begins... to another land that has nothing to deal with money, cameras, or technology. Far away from earthly things but living with them, having the mind to the eternal ones. Is just the spirit of ascetics over time, the same Spirit as on Pentecost.
