Easter on Amorgos. Hiking to Arkesini.

Every morning was our landlord Kostas into the mountains (Minoa) and took home his goats for milking. You see him and the goats at the bottom left.

The result was that we had fresh goat milk every day. Yum!

We drank the goat milk for breakfast on our large terrace with views.

After this particular breakfast we drove to the monastery Chozoviotissa to see if there was something going on for the Easter. And it was a lot of people and a lot of ringing in the bells.

After the monastery we drove to Vroutsi to make a hike to Arkesini (not Ancient Arkesini). In the outskirts of the village we met Emanuell who was about to renovate her house. She came to Amorgos in 1995 and she liked the island so much that she stayed. We understand her.

Walking between Vroutsi and Arkesini.

When we came to Agia Triada outside Arkesini we had a picnic: homemade goat cheese pie and Gigantes.

In the evening we went to the church in Rachidi (one of three villages that make up Katapola). It was Good Friday and the church was full of people, priests were humming and sounded across the bay. We stood outside and enjoyed the meditative sound, and the sun goes down into the church door.

When the priests stopped humming the villagers lit lots of fires around the Katapola bay, and all came out of the church and walked in procession around the bay.

If you knew how incredibly beautiful it was!

The procession went first to Xilokeratidi where they turned and walked back towards Katapola again. When they arrived at the Express Skopelitis the priests blessed the boat. Five fishing boats followed the procession with lighted candles and bengal fires. During the whole procession we heard the church bell slowly call: bong ....... bong ....... bong ....... bong ..... It was so atmospheric that we almost started to cry.