He Would Have to Be a Very Short Priest

Wednesday, September 6: Amorgos (Bill)

Amorgos turned out to be my favorite island on the trip. We docked at Ormos Aigialis, the newer port for smaller sailboats and yachts. The beach there was a nice way to cool off, and then we took the bus into Chora. Chora is an old town that you can drive up to, but you cannot drive in. The bus drove up the side of the mountain to the stop at Chora, did about a 12-point turn to swing about, and then dropped us off. From that point on, the only way to get around town was on foot through winding alleys and flower-canopied walkways. We walked around until we found Agios Fanourios, the smallest church in all of Greece—it had just enough room for Amanda and I to kneel inside, plus maybe a priest if we wanted to renew our vows…

We then walked the 3 km through blustery winds down the back side of the mountain to Panagia Hozoviotissa, a beautiful monastery built into the side of the cliff. We walked up the steps to the monastery alongside a Greek couple, whose two little sons proudly counted the steps as we made our way up: 575! At the top we were greeted with cold water, a glass of rakomelo (a sweet honey liquor that is an Amorgosian specialty), and a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea. We liked the monastery so much that we stayed too long and missed our bus back to Aigialis; we had to call for a cab and then hurried to meet Sini and Thomás for dinner.

After dinner, we went to a nearby bar for more rakomelo and to find a television so we could help Thomás cheer the French soccer team on to a 3-1 victory over Italy. It was a long, fantastic, tiring day and we slept very, very soundly that night.