Dear Rinda and 206 Team,
I apologize for the delay in sending this feedback. I am happy to put my thoughts together by way of feedback on this pilgrimage.
This pilgrimage was a big success, thanks to all the meticulous preparations and arrangements made by 206 Tours. I have been a spiritual director for about a dozen pilgrimages of 206 Tours. I find this particular pilgrimage to Greece with a 3-day cruise and Medjugorje among the highly satisfying and successful ones.
First of all, thanks to the team at 206 Tours who were highly organized and responsive to the needs of the pilgrims. Your help is highly appreciated.
In the Greece part of the tour along with the cruise, the tour guide Anna was excellent and competent. The bus driver Marinos was a great driver with excellent driving skills.
Thank you for the wonderful Mass arrangements. Even when we didn’t have the churches for Masses, other venues like the hotel hall or under the tree turned out to be very effective and spiritually nourishing. For example, we had a Mass under the trees in Ancient Corinth. It turned out to be a Mass with great sharing of faith about St. Paul and his ardent apostolic zeal.
The pilgrimage included some sites to cultural and museum visits and ancient ruins of Greek civilization, which was all much appreciated.
Local guides in the different cities were very good.
Hotel and travel arrangements were highly commendable for all the pilgrims. In my case, though my flights were on Turkish Airlines were cancelled on both directions, 206 Tours made all the wonderful arrangements.
The group of pilgrims, 36 people, were a cohesive and a happy bunch.
Medjugorje, a small group of people: In my nearly five-day stay at Medjugorje, we were about a maximum of 10 people on different days. Hotel Grace made great arrangements and were highly helpful. Andrej Zovko was a good tour guide.
The three-day cruise (with Celestyial Discovery) taking us to Epheses, Patmos, Mykonos, and Santorini were most enjoyable and spiritually-nourishing at the same time. The cruise ship, I thought, was exceptionally clean and comfortable.
My Spiritual Accompaniment to the 206 Pilgrims: As usual, I celebrated the daily Mass, heard confessions, was available for spiritual conversation and direction, led the daily prayers and the Rosary, and blessed the religious articles. I represented for 206 Tours, as I have done on all other pilgrimages, spiritual accompaniment and comfort and encouragement.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as spiritual director for 206 Tours. It’s a most enjoyable and enriching experience for me. It was an honor!
I shall look forward to future pilgrimages as a spiritual guide with 206 Tours.
Thank you for all your wonderful arrangements for my personal travel, accommodations, and generosity.
Thanks, Chris Wright, for your wonderful help with my two cancelled flights on Turkish Airlines.
Warm prayerful wishes from San Francisco,
Father Charles Puthota