4/18/98: I managed to convince Ruth to tour the island on a motor scooter. We had a blast winding our way through valleys and up the mountain! After resting back at our pensione, we attended the 11:00pm Holy Saturday service at a Greek Orthodox Church. A worship service even more amazing than Good Friday!
4/18/23: The scooter ride was outside Ruth’s comfort zone, since it only had two wheels. But I missed my motorcycle touring days, and she mustered her courage. We travelled up some pretty steep switchbacks through the Valley of Nightingales and up to a village called Manolates. The scenery was beautiful, and the ride without incident. It helped that it was Easter weekend, because no one was out on the road. It was definitely worth the $12 it cost to rent the scooter.
We attended a church service at 11:00pm, not really knowing what to expect. There were no pews or seats of any kind in the sanctuary, but it was quite crowded with men, women and even little children packed in shoulder to shoulder. The service was not only in Greek, but the entire service was sung rather than spoken. The air was filled with the fragrance of burning incense, and everyone seemed palpably alert. At midnight I finally understood why. As the clock turned over from Saturday to Sunday, the celebration of the resurrection began! Church bells all over town were pealing, fireworks erupted on every street, and the ferry boats and cruise ships in the harbor let loose with their fog horns. People all around were hailing:” “Christos anesti!” (“Christ is risen!”) To which everyone also replied: “Alethinos anesti!” (“Truly! He is risen!”) The festivities went on till almost 2:00am. That was the best way to celebrate Easter that I’ve ever experienced.
Here is a 2 minute clip of audio that I recorded just after midnight.
