This Easter I took the decision to travel and enjoy the big holiday close to the nature in places I have never visited.

I travelled in many places at the West part of my country. I did not travel with my Vrasida, my car. This time I chose to travel by bus. the kilometers I had to travelled were many and the time I had to drive would made me too tired to enjoy the Easter. So I joined a tour of a travel agency.

My company was my aunt, Yiota. We are both singles and we share the same love for traveling. We prefered to travel and see new places instead to stay at our normal routine in our homes.

I had a lot of fun time traveling this way. The bus was filled with many different people from Greece and Cyprus and a happy group of old ladies from Poli. I enjoyed the company of all these people and especially the recipes that the old ladies exchanged all the trip. They tried to teach me the cuisine of Poli. The most funny moment was when the ladies asked the driver to stop in order to collect figs as it is the right moment to prepare the famous sweet delicatessen.

We passed from the big bridge of Rio-Antirio, from the cities of Messologi, Amfilochia, Agrinio and Arta in order to reach our base for this trip which was Parga.

Parga has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasuim, a church, a post office, banks, a port situated in the central part which ferries to, a beach in the central and the eastern part of Parga, taverns and a square ( plateia ).

Parga is situated on a hillside with a road linking Anthousa and GR-19. A promontory and a rocky hill with some types of pine trees with tall ones on a top is situated in the west and a small promontory with trees to the east. In Parga's bay, between the town beach and the harbour, there is an islet on which is a chapel and jetty, the island can be easily visited by swimming the short distance from the town beach.

Parga is surrounded by mountainous countryside, which is rocky and bushy in the east while it is forested and grassy to the northwest.

A view of Paxoi and parts of southern Corfu can be seen and sometimes Lefkada as well.

In 1570 , a Venetian fortress was established on the rocky headland to the north of the town, which separates Parga's bay and harbour from the long sandy crescent shaped Valtos beach, there are excellent views of both bays from the now ruined fortress. There are daily tourists from the island of Corfu and to Paxoi.

On Good Friday I arrived in Parga at night and I went at the church for the Epitafios' liturgy.
Visual imagery and symbolism is also often used at the Great Friday's liturgies: in the morning, a large cross is moved to the front or center of the church (where the congregation gathers), and a two-dimensional painted body of Christ, or corpus , is placed on it.

During the afternoon prayers it is removed from the cross and taken to the altar in the sanctuary, and an epitaphios is brought down to a low table in the nave representing the tomb; it is often decorated with an abundance of flowers.

The epitaphion itself represents the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud, and is a roughly full-size cloth icon of the body of Christ. During the evening prayers, the shroud is part of a procession outside the church, and is then returned to the tomb.

The Great night. The Great Saturday and it is the time for the Liturgy of Ressurection (Anastasi) that happens at the church and starts at 11 p.m. The believers wait inside and outside the church the arrive of the Holy Light.

The Holy Light has come. It is the same Holy Light that appeared the same day at midday at Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The priest carries it at the church and he is ready to spread it to every believer.

I woke up at the Easter Sunday and I went to walk at the Parga's beautiful harbor. A nice morning that helped me to calm my mind and feel the main message of Easter which is Love. Easter is the celebration of Love... God's love for us. You could see this love when you see how pretty is this world around us.

Unfortunately the speed we need to move in order to follow the modern way of life does not allow us to see this beauty. We could realize it only when we stop running and visit the nature... being close to places like Parga. It is a reborn and I highly recommend it to you. Travel from time to time close to the nature, be one with it and find the inner peace.