This will be the final post, and it is coming straight from Atlanta. Yes, we made it back safely. And, yes, the journey home was much smoother than the journey to Athens.
We had an incredible final day to end our week. The bus departed the hotel at 8:00am for Cenchrea and Corinth. In Cenchrea we walked on the ruins of an early church that stretched out into the water of the Agean Sea. From there, we went to the village right outside the site of Corinth to have lunch at a family run taverna. It was Carrie Springer's birthday, and so we sang to her and enjoyed some chocolate ice cream treats. After lunch, we toured the site of Corinth. We saw where Paul was dragged before Gallio by the Jews. We saw where the pagan temples would have been, and were the Jews and earyly Christians met in the synagogue. We took some time to read about Paul in Corinth from Acts 18, and to have a devotional as a group. From the city of Corinth we took the bus up the mountain to the site of Acro-Corinth. Unfortunately, upon our arrival at 3:00, they closed the gate. The government set special hours for this Friday, as it was Good Friday. Though disappointed, we still took advantage of the view of God's wonderous creation. You will see from the photos that we still had an amazing time.
After the 2 hour bus ride back to the hotel, and a short nap, we made our final trip to Everest for dinner. That evening we were blessed to take part in the Easter processional of the tomb of Christ in downtown Athens. The processional consisted of firemen, police, military, political officials, clergy, priests, the Archbishop of Greece, and thousands of people following with candels as well as watching from the sidelines. This is the day the death of Jesus is recognized. It was a festive, yet somber time.
We headed back to the hotel to finish packing and to get in 2 or 3 hours of sleep (although I think some just stayed up). We left the hotel at 2:00am for the airport for a smooth trip home.