In the winter of 2014-2015 Herman and I made a pilgrimage to Athos, with our children, his son Nathan and my sons Martijn and Laurens. It was quite a special trip, that is firmly rooted in our memories. The weather conditions were extreme. The ferry did not go on the first planned day, because of the high waves. We could go on the second day, but then it started to snow. On the first evening we went up from Grigouriou to Simonos Petras. That was the day the colour disappeared from Athos: 1660.My sons Martijn and Laurens on their first trip to Athos in front of Simonos Petras.

I did share my experiences of that special pilgrimage in several posts: i.e. the incredible snowball fight with the monks: 1664, the walk in the deep snow to Dionysiou: 1670 and the coldest night ever in Nea Skiti: 1700. Herman made some nice films: see for instance: 1658(Dionysiou – Paulou) and 1659 (entering Dionysiou).

All these memories came back, after seeing a drawing that Laurens – my youngest son – made of Simonos Petras. From the same low perspective we saw it back then,  three and a half years ago. The original drawing will be for sale next Sunday on the Museum Market in Amsterdam.

Bas Kamps