A Hike in Hortiati

On Sunday, we went to the Monastery of the Dormition (Kimisseos) here in Panorama. What a blessing to have such a monastery so close to our home!

The weather continues to be unseasonably beautiful here, so after church I went with some other young people I met at the monastery on a hike up in the mountains behind Panorama (in a village called Hortiati). (Pelagia was feeling a bit under the weather, so she stayed home and rested.)

The group was led by our French friend, Emmanuelle, who is in my Greek class and also lives here in Panorama (see the middle photo). The others were friends of hers who are mainly involved with teaching music (see the top photo).

It was about a 90-minute uphill hike to the top, where the Greek Hikers’ Association has a ‘refuge.’ We had a nice, simple lunch there (see the bottom photo) and then it was about 45 minutes downhill. It was a great chance to practice Greek. The others were all Greeks with an ear for music which, interestingly, translated into an ear for language. They were quite patient and helpful to me in learning.

We talked about possibly going on a day hike to Mt Olympus (the home of the ‘gods’) this Sunday afternoon. Pelagia is leaving for the US Sunday morning, so she’ll miss out on this trip. We’ve talked about hiking the whole thing (including camping overnight) in the spring or early summer.

Meanwhile, at the University, the anarchists decided to go home today, so now the University is cleaning up their mess and will reopen the building later this week. Most of the rest of the University, however, voted to strike, so most of the University is closed. At the same time, the teachers are starting their own strike tomorrow. I can hardly keep it all straight – anarchists, students’ strike, teachers’ strike, secretaries’ strike! Fortunately (and unfortunately), it’s not really affecting the School of Modern Greek, so we’re still grinding away. (Unfortunately, because I need a break from Greek!)