The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ (Mt. 3:3)
The road(s) from Lakkou to Prodromou were neither straight nor level, but they provided a beautiful opportunity to prepare and straighten the path--at least a little--into my heart, and I hope the hearts of others for whom I was praying along the way--maybe even some of you who read these words :-). Here is mostly a photo record of the trip, with a few descriptions and explanations.
I left Lakkou about 8:45am, paralleling the stream that runs down the ravine.
The steam and the trees provided welcome refreshment from what was already an intense sun. Passed over several bridges:
Followed a welcome sign toward Morforo;
As I descended the wild flowers increased. These they call Sparta; Lakkou uses them in one of the nicer scents of incense that they make.
After about an hour or so. I arrived at the coast, at Morfono. Very beautiful. On a map it is here (in the next two images south is up):
And a closer up view shows the "straight" road before me--up on this image, with the sea on my left.
In certain places, there is need for a little road work:
And in other places, roadwork is happening--with a view of the mountain in the background:
A view looking back up the coast, whence I have come:
Here is the Great Lavra, where cenobitic (communal) monasticism on Mt. Athos began in A.D. 963, by the grace of God given to St. Athanasios the Athonite. This is about an hour walk from my final destination, but it is worth the time to take a break and explore a little.
The Tomb of St. Athanasios in the left side chapel of the Katholikon:
On a map, the great Lavra is at the blue dot, and the road to Prodromou goes down, south, to the southeastern tip of the peninsula.
After an hour walk, about 5 hours after my departure from Lakkou, I arrive at Prodromou.
Normally guests go straight to the guesthouse to let them know you have arrived, and who you are, but I wanted to go greet the saints first. I went directly to the church, and it was locked. But God brought a monk to me, who knew no English, but understood “proskenesis”. He went to get the key and let me in to venerate the icons. What a joy.
He then locked the doors and sent me to the guesthouse, where they were expecting me. I was greeted properly:
Water, sweets and ouzo. Refreshment after a long, hot, and delightful hike!
