Good Friday Easter processions

Easter is a really neat time in Spain because they have processions all leading up to Easter Sunday. The processions date back to the 16th century when the church wanted to present the story of the Passion of Christ in a way that a layperson could understand. They decided the best way to do it was with processions. Each day of Semana Santa (Holy week) there is a procession, one from each brotherhood in the city. They usually carry two different floats, one of Jesus and one of the Virgin Mary. These floats can weigh upwards of a thousand pounds and they are carried from the church along a particular route and back again. The procession can last hours and it is considered a great honor to help carry the float. The pain is representative of the pain that Jesus felt.

Please note, as you look through the pictures, these outfits are in no way related to the Ku Klux Klan. Obviously this tradition started long before that time period. The hats are called "capirote". The face is covered as a sign of mourning for the death of Jesus and are later taken off to celebrate His resurrection.

On Good Friday there were 6 different processions throughout the city. We went to one nearby us. It was pretty cool.

I asked an older man next to me why the people were walking barefoot. They do it as a sort of penance for their sins.

People also wear chains as a penance.

And carry a cross for the same reason.

There are men underneath carrying this massive float. We were standing on an incline too. There was a man at the front cheering them on telling them they could do it. When they passed by everyone started clapping.

The mass of people following along behind.

Greece 11th-18th: Delphi

Our last day in Greece we went on a guided tour to Delphi. We thought about trying to figure out how to get there on our own but it was about three hours from the city and we couldn't find any solid information about how to get there via public transportation.

The tour ended up being great. Our guide was fun and a fountain of information about Delphi and the oracles. The Temple of Apollo was were the oracles lived and gave their prophecies. It would have been amazing to see this place in its hay day. Inside the museum there is a picture of what it is thought to have looked like and the pathway leading up to the Temple of Apollo is just littered with statues and offerings and treasuries. Ben said it reminded him of an out door museum. 

After the museum and before heading back to Athens, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. We sat with a couple from Israel and a mother daughter pair from Portugal. It was fun to talk with them and learn about the different cultures. Three of us were teachers, four including Ben, so most of our conversations centered around the education systems in the various countries we were all from.

After lunch we stopped in another little town to walk around for a bit and then we headed back to Athens. Once we got back, Ben and I went around to get last minute souvenirs, check in for our flight and eat one last yummy souvlaki. We had to get up at 5am to catch the train to the airport.


The Roman Agora (agora means market). It is the first thing on the path that leads to the Temple of Apollo.

The beginning of the original pathway leading to the Temple of Apollo.

The "omfalo" (navel). Zeus wanted to find the center of the universe so he set out two eagles flying in opposite directions. They met in Delphi at this very spot so it was called the "omfalo" of the universe.

The Athenian Treasury

The Temple of Apollo

The theater that was just behind the temple.

The stadium

Inside the museum at Delphi.

The original marker of the "omfalo"

This is the little city we stopped in after lunch. Down in the valley are planted 400,000 olive trees.