the journey to agios pavlos.

Posted in the rest.


yesterday was, hands down, one of my favorite days. ever. in my whole 22.5 years. and, as is characteristic of my life– one of the hardest. (mostly physically). my eyes took in perhaps the most beautiful places i have ever seen. i took photos. 220 to be exact. but looking at them now, they hardly represent the majesty of southern crete.

encouraged by a fellow couchsurfer, i decided to head to a small town, hora sfakion, to catch a ferry to an even smaller town, agia roumeli. agia roumeli is at the base of the Samaria gorge- europe’s largest gorge. but it can only be reached by boat or on foot. the bus ride, followed by the ferry ride, were breathtaking. and i mean it. white mountains covered with lush greenery, wild goats, and the purest of blue seas on this earth. at one point, i could feel tears in my eyes. i kept thinking to myself “how is it possible that i am here right now?” i am beyond grateful. so far beyond it that i can’t even remember what being grateful feels like.
the reason for my journey was a hike along the beach, surrounded by mountains and blue waters, until i reached a very old, very small church named Agios Pavlos. it’s named after paul. why? because its at the location that paul arrived in crete on his first missionary journey. and it was worth everything that happened to see it.

let’s just put it this way- i’m glad to be alive. i started out the hike and all was going well. so well that i felt lost for thoughts. all i could think was how incredibly happy i was. how content my heart felt to be taking on this journey, in the most beauty i’ve ever seen, alone to contemplate. for an hour, this is how it went. at some point, i got off the trail. i started climbing huge rocks. i don’t know if you know what i mean. i mean the kind of rocks that only professional hikers/climbers climb. it was extremely difficult, but i really enjoyed it. that is, until an hour into it i realized that this wasn’t normal and that i had missed the trail. i started panicking because i could see that the church was still pretty far and the trail was up much higher. i was down near the water but i wanted to get back on. i tried to climb a part that was steep, but looked like i could climb.
halfway up the cliff, a rock gave way from my hand and i fell back down and began sliding, towards another cliff. i thought i was going to die. i didn’t know what to think. what to do. i just wanted to stop. and somehow, by the grace of God. i did stop. before i fell further down rocks. and the only injury was a couple of holes in my right hand and a few scrapes here and there.

although i wasn’t injured, i was terrified, dirty, hot, weak, and almost out of water. at this point, i was realizing the possibility that i could be seriously injured and no one would know. i called joseph to tell him that if i didn’t call him back in two hours, to be worried. i didn’t want to die alone and nobody know that anything had happened to me.
i decided to just go back the way i came from and hope to find the trail again where i missed it. and thankfully, i did. i was so grateful to be alive and on the trail again, that i didn’t care that i was covered in dirt, completely soaked with sweat, sunburned, hand stinging badly, and pretty weak. i felt like i really learned what it is like to fall, and to be held and protected by God. i don’t see another explanation. i should have continued to fall. i should have broken some bones or my camera. but, i am okay. and i don’t regret any of it.
by the time i finally reached the church, i was exhausted and dehydrated. i got a large waterbottle from a restaurant that was there for the weary travelers. the whole experience was the most physically challenging thing i have ever done. i’m not a hiker. i don’t even have hiking shoes. but i made it, and i was able to cool myself in the beautiful water before heading back to catch the ferry.
another thing i gained from this experience was further appreciation of the journey. it took a lot for me to get to agios pavlos. in fact, it was more about the journey than the destination. the road was long, hard, and incredible at the same time. the destination was awesome, but so much molding happens in the journey. it just reminded me of how along the journey i was carried by God and how important it is to learn to be on the journey, and not just at the destination.
when i finally arrived back home, hours and hours later, i was exhausted. but i bathed, got my wounds nursed, and my sun burn lotioned, and was ready for another adventure.
this weekend, in xania, there is an anti-racist festival going on. basically, it is to celebrate minorities, and immigrants, and to support the acceptance of all people. when i got there, i swear i was in austin texas. i met up with a couchsurfer who lives in rethymno but that i didn’t get to meet the other day when i was there.
i love how when you travel you get thrown into these crazy experiences and just learn to go along with it. when glika and i finally met up, she invited me to dance with her. here i am, in greece, dancing with tons of people i have never met, with an african band playing on the stage. it. was. awesome. people aren’t afraid to dance their heart out and go crazy. and i loved it. i was a little shy at first but eventually just let it loose. and one of my goals for my trip was met. i love to dance.
the music was so fun and glika reminded me that i just can’t get away from africa. and she is right, i love african music!
in addition to all these wonderful things, i got some very very exciting news last night. joseph is making a spontaneous trip to greece! this is exciting for two reasons. one because we are going to have an amazing time in santorini and rhodes. and two because i’ve been trying to get him to do something spontaneous/travel for a long time. i can’t wait til he gets here.
that’s all i have for now, though i know it was a lot. in the way of tmi- all morning my stomach has been extremely sick. i think from the dehydration. but i’m faithfully chewing my pepto tablets in hopes that i am better before i have to get on the ferry back to the mainland tonight.
ps- it was SO hard to choose only a few photos from my day yesterday.

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