Switzerland is Home Sweet Home. The things I am glad to get back to are: fresh changes of clothing, drinking water from the tap, not having humid dampness creep into all my clothing and paying with a debit card.
Over the weekend we learned about how the shipwreck was more serious than we realized. On Thursday night we arrived safe and sound in our hotel, and we thought everyone else did too. We actually knew we were the luckiest ones out of the bunch. We were one of the only couples that had hotel arrangements on Santorini, and we were probably the only travelers that had our luggage already. We just didn’t realize how lucky we were. The next day we found out that the ship had completely sunk. Even today it is still sitting in over 300 feet of water. Just hearing that was enough to make me sick. I didn’t realize that we were in a sinking ship! I thought it was just a temporary problem that would be fixed. I was also surprised to learn that the Sea Diamond wasn’t fixed and ready to go the next morning! But then the next day the news got even worse: two of the passengers are still unaccounted for. I had already been stressing about all the repercussions and consequences of the ship sinking and people losing all their belongings. I didn’t even take into account that people were losing something much more important than that, and in such an incredibly terrifying way. It’s been really hard not to think about it.
In Greece the midnight mass on the day of Easter is a big deal. Elisa and I weren’t going to be able to understand any of the words, but we wanted to see it anyway. You didn’t need any words. After a little singing, they turned out all the lights. There was a moment of anticipation and I think not understanding what they were saying probably made it more enjoyable for us. 🙂 Personally, it was just enough time to imagine the anticipation that I’m sure we all felt before Christ resurrected. “It is finished.” The priest came out with a lit candle. Everyone was holding candles and they passed the light around the room and then threw on all the lights. Then the real celebrating began outside. The kids outside had the loudest fireworks I have ever heard! My eardrums still hurt and I thought I might be leaving Greece without hearing. We felt like we were in the middle of a war zone, and it was scary. The church bells also started pealing. It really was jubilant.
Dinner started after the midnight mass finished. Our hotel did a traditional Easter meal. We only recognized half the things we were eating. We were tired but we wanted to participate. The room was decorated so pretty. There were candles lit everywhere and all the tables had a plate full of pastries and the famous red-dyed eggs. The custom is for two people to rap their eggs against each other to see which one breaks. We were told it represents something to do with our hearts being broken. Elisa’s egg cracked a bunch of times against my egg, which I think is symbolic of how sensitive her heart is. My egg wouldn’t crack until I hit it into the table a few times. 🙂
Elisa and I went on a little charter boat today. It took us to two of the volcanic islets in the middle of Santorini’s caldera. At the bigger one the boat docked and we walked around. It had all been formed by volcanic activity during the past several centuries. (The guide made that sound so recent). We could see steam rising from some vents and we could smell the sulfur. There’s a law against taking any of the rocks off the island, so someone asked how all the shops sell jewelry made from volcanic stones. The guide said that he has a friend that sells jewelry like that, and he shouldn’t tell us this, but sometimes if you hold a match under the alleged volcanic stones, they will start to melt.
Then we went to the smaller islet, which is known for some volcanic hot springs. The volcano heats up all the water nearby to hot tub temperature. We were under the impression that we would dock and then walk to the hot springs. We were misinformed. We actually had to jump into the freezing ocean and then swim as fast as we could to an inlet where the hot springs were. Elisa and I jumped in the water and it was frigid. I actually was really bummed because I knew that after getting in the water I would never warm up again. So Chad went without me. I finally decided I could either be really upset that it was misrepresented and I couldn’t join the fun or I could jump in and be really cold the rest of our time. I don’t know which was the best decision. It was really super cold. We swam around and found the famous hot springs, but they only heated the water enough to be slightly less shocking. This is not the same activity in the off season as what the guide books all advertise! Our bodies were tingling all over and were close to going numb. That was refreshing and I would never do it again! 🙂 While we were out there I met some travelers from Brazil. I talked with them about our cruise ship, because they had been watching it from the cliffs above.
Elisa and I napped for a few hours in the afternoon. Tonight at 9 pm was the time of the Good Friday observances. We went to a church in Pirgos. We joined the procession and followed the decorated thing representing Jesus’ coffin. All the older ladies dressed in mourning and sung and loudly lamented Jesus’ death. All over the town fires were lit, on all the building tops and lots of the fences and sidewalks. That was a view that shouldn’t be missed. The first part of the procession was when people were the quietest, and it gave us time to reflect on the crucifixion. How would it have felt to have been part of the funeral procession on the first Good Friday? I don’t think I know the answer.
