Category Archives: Trip 2019

2204 – the hike from Dafni to Xiropotamou

In 1980 I visited the Holy Mountain for the first time and Ivíron was the first monastery I stayed in. Thirtynine years later I finally visited the last monastery of the 20, Xiropotamou. Although the monastery is easy to reach … Continue reading

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2202 – Grigoriou: photo overview, a tour from the arsanas to the Katholicon

The arsanas of Grigoriou, with the boat Agia Anna arriving at 10 PM The boat house at the arsanas is being renovated (Oktober 2019) Monks working on oil-smeared cables Arsanas Grigoriou, with a “second archondariki” on the left. The main … Continue reading

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2201 – Yearning for ancient paths, the monopatia of Mt. Athos

The activity on Mount Athos that I miss the most is walking the old monopatia, the narrow foot- and mule paths that are all over the peninsula. Many of them are unfortunately destroyed and replaced by gravel roads. Many thoughts … Continue reading

Posted in 01 Lavra, Trip 2019, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2194 – Grigoriou monastery: a closer look and ‘crushing’ the olives

Let’s resume the post about Grigoriou monastery, that I visited on the 2nd of October 2019. I started in post 2156 in Juli last year by showing pictures of the trapeza. Today we will continue, starting in the second courtyard, … Continue reading

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2179 – A flock of birds

On the boat between Dafni and Ouranoupolis, on the way back from the Holy Mountain, you are often surrounded by seabirds. Mostly seagulls that follow the ferry. They are so greedy that they even pick a piece of bread of … Continue reading

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2159 – The fast-walking monk from Vatopedi

On our way to Vatopedi in 2019 we suddenly were caught up by a very fast walking monk that raced past us. Of course we tried to have a chat but he turned his head smiling and told us, in … Continue reading

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2156 – Grigoriou monastery and its trapeza

On October 2nd 2019 we walked from Dionysiou to Grigoriou, a relatively short hike of 3 km’s, that took us 1 hour and 20 minutes walking time, but the steep climbs and the vicious descents made it a tough trip. … Continue reading

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2140 – the hike from Agiou Paulou to Dionysiou

This is a relatively short hike, only 3,3 km long, that takes about 1 hour walking. The setting is beautiful: leaving the Agiou Paulou monastery, with the majestic marble pyramid shaped peak of Mount Athos behind it. At 8 o’clock … Continue reading

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2138 – a close look at Agiou Paulou monastery – 3

While the world is hit hard by the invisible and sometimes deadly Corona virus and while we are all waiting in our lockdown to go back to normal live again, a few signs of hope immerge. In most countries the … Continue reading

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2137 – a close look at Agiou Paulou monastery 2

As my brother Herman described in his post 2097 about the monastery of Agiou Paulou, the monastery was already mentioned in the Typicon of 1046. That makes the monastery one of the oldest monasteries on the Holy Mountain. But why … Continue reading

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