It is a New Day!

The bus no longer inches its way along the waterfront. During our early years here, watching its slow creep between buildings and tables was a great source of entertainment. 

Those were the days - back in 2016

For years, almost as regular as clockwork, the long-distance bus from Kalamata made two stops in the village, one at each end of the harbor three times a day. Its trip between the two gave many a visitor a start as they looked over their shoulders and realized they were seated just inches away from the behemoth bus.

The bus no longer runs this route through the village

A waterfront rehabilitation and resurfacing project marked the end of the bus run through town. After the work finished this year, the harborside eateries expanded their street seating areas, and the bus remains relegated to the main highway, with a single stop now at the south end of the village.   

Pleasure craft fill the harbor in summer

The harbor along which the bus once traveled is this time of year filled with pleasure craft. We've noted that during the last few summers our small fleet of traditional wooden kaiki, fishing boats, have been relegated to a small section of the harbor to make space for the influx of recreational boats.

Remodeling the old souvlaki place for a new eatery opening soon

While the excitement caused by the passing bus is gone, harborside dining and sipping has flourished.  There's still a nice mix of old traditional Greek tavernas with modern day entertainment hotspots. New places have opened; old places have modernized. This time of year, expanded roadside seating areas, leave just enough room for delivery vans and emergency vehicle access. 

Sunday night in the village

Three retail stores -- two selling clothing and a local products gift shop -- are now operating seasonally on the harbor road. A decade ago, there were no such stores here.

It is a new day in the village. 

Agios Nikolaos, is a fishing village in the heart of the southwestern Peloponnese olive growing country. It is where we make our expat home. It is still a charmer, but it's definitely a new day in the village as it is far more upscale than it was when we arrived a decade ago. 

A new day means a new road in the village

The harbor road itself is a reflection of the change. The once cracked, patched-up ankle-breaker asphalt surface has been replaced with a smart cobblestone design complete with streetlights and garbage/recycle cans installed at regular intervals. We didn't have such refuse collection before as several locals pointed out, there was no one to empty them when they were full.

New streetlights and garbage cans line the harbor front

I am delighted to report that we even have a person who collects the garbage from those cans now! 

Souvenirs from the villages

Similar improvement projects have taken place in our neighboring villages, Stoupa and Kardamyli giving each a much-needed boost. 

And in recent years the village shops have begun stocking logo tourist items. A decade ago, souvenirs were somewhat scarce in these parts. Now they even carry the village name! 

It is a new day in the neighborhood.

Just down the street from us - a new home in the grove

There's been a construction boom in recent years in our slice of the Messinian Mani. Olive groves once created a silvery green carpet below and above our hillside location. Now it is more a colorful patchwork quilt of red-clay roof tiles, gray- and brown- stone homes, and several swimming pools of a brilliant blue accent color. 

3.5 million euro village home is on the market

The housing market is flourishing and homes for sale can now carry hefty price tags, some reaching into the millions of euros. One recently renovated home in the heart of Agios Nikolaos is on the market for 3.5 million euro, (that's just over $4 million in US dollars).

Another home just down the road from us

There are eight new homes within a few minutes' walk of our Stone House on the Hill. I've often described our neighborhood as a little United Nations with the fabulous mix of nationalities represented by the homeowners. It appears that great mix will continue with the new residents joining our 'hood. 

Gigantic power poles installed on our road

With the new home construction comes the need for improved infrastructure.  For the last several weeks, the power company has been installing new mega-sized power poles and lines along our road to increase capacity.  (And, yes, that has meant power cuts to get the work done.)

New road and parking lot surface at Pantazi Beach

The road and parking areas near a number of beaches in the area have been resurfaced this summer.  Word on the street is that our Pantazi Beach parking lot - once a dirt surfaced, potholed place, will be striped and trees will be planted along the riverbank that it abuts.   

It is a new day in the Mani.

Agios Nikolaos harbor from To Limeni Restaurant

Tourism isn't new to our area, but it is expanding. Europeans have been coming here for decades - they understood and were caught in Mani Magic long ago. Rick Steves, the US travel guru, has led sold-out group tours to the area for years. The Liokareas family, just to our south, produces an award-winning olive oil. They have recently begun hosting Olive Harvest tours to the area, that include hands-on olive picking and celebrating at an oil pressing party.

 

Sunset jazz at the Patrick Leigh Fermor house

The Kardamyli Jazz Festival, was a fledgling event when we arrived. A decade later it has expanded from its 10-day spring celebration to include an additional fall festival of music as well.  The West Mani Summer Music Festival fills July and August with musical events at locales throughout our area.

West Mani Sports Festival - photo credit: Bert Robertson

The Taygetos Challenge, marking its 14th year, continues to offer its hundreds of participants a number of racing options including a 40-kilometer race with a 2,500-meter vertical ascent up the side of a mountain. This last weekend another sporting event marked its debut, the West Mani Sports Festival, drawing hundreds of participants to swimming and running events.

Our Mayor in Dubai at the Arabian Travel Market

This year our West Dimos Mani (our municipality) has been a prominent participant in a tourism event aimed at the Chinese market as well as having been a presence at a Travel Market International Tourism Fair in Dubai.

It is a new day and a most exciting time in our slice of Greece.  Those of you who haven't yet visited the area should definitely give a trip here some consideration. Those who've been here should return - what was good when you were here has gotten even better!

That's it from a sunny, warm Greece.  Thanks for the time you spent with us and hope you'll be back for another serving of our slice of Greece! Safe travels to you and yours~ 

Who will take care of our kids?

 There is no end to the travel temptations that The Scout finds. 

The question though isn't 'Where will we go next?' but more. . .

Island of Kos - another travel temptation

'Who will take care of our kids while we are gone?' Our 'fur kids', that is.

Our Greek family consists of two felines. There's our 12-year-old 'Princess' who reigns supreme and our part-time roustabout 'Nermal' who's been a regular at our house for five years. Their care while we are gone is as much a consideration as the trip itself. 

Princess watching for jackals and wild boar in the grove

Gone are the days of having someone stop by for morning and evening feedings with the cats fending for themselves in between. As the numbers of jackals and wild boar in our rural slice of the Peloponnese continues to rise, so does the need to have 24/7 cat care. Jackals have killed five cats in our area within the last year.

Nermal making sure it is safe to step outside

It was a fortunate happenstance when over coffee in the village a few years ago that an acquaintance mentioned how happy she'd been with a recent house and pet sit; her dogs had been well cared for and she returned to a clean house as well.

A chance conversation - a life changer

That chance conversation was our introduction to Trusted Housesitters,(THS), an online community marketplace where pet parents and pet sitters meet.   We are now among the 230,000+ members of THS, a 10-year-old pet sitting resource that encompasses 100 countries. 

The only cost for this pet sitting is in the annual membership fee paid by both sitter and pet owner.  No money changes hands between sitter and pet owner. The sitter pays their travel expenses, and daily expenses during their stay. The homeowner provides the accommodation and pays all utilities. 

Details of our home are part of the profile

As a pet owner I've created an on-line THS profile about us, the cats and our home. When we need a sitter, we post the dates and wait for applications. We review applicants, often video chatting with them before making a selection. The sitters also have on-line profiles, and recommendations.  Reviews of both the sitter and the homeowner appear on the respective profiles after the sits begin.  

Nermal isn't sure about the pet sitter in the computer

Even with all the checks and balances provided by THS, I have to admit that I was skeptical at first.  Our cats are very particular about who they like and who they don't. I wasn't sure that either of them would be comfortable with 'a stranger' caring for them, no matter how comfortable we humans were with the individuals we'd selected. It could be compared to on-line dating, but the pets have no say in with whom they'll be spending time.

A Game Changer

THS Merri and Ivana are among village friends at this gathering 

I am here to tell you, that we've been blown away by the way 'the kids' took to their new caregivers! It is humbling - yet comforting - to realize that you can be replaced. 

One of the unexpected benefits of the pet sit program, has been the friendships made. Each person that has arrived here as a sitter, has left as a friend. We stay in touch on social media and see each other when the opportunities arise.  

So, with their permission to tell you a bit about them and show you some of the candid photos they us sent while we were away, let me introduce you to our new friends:  

 Ivana from the Czech Republic.

Ivana saying goodbye to Princess

We met Ivana a few summers ago when she sat for our friend, Chuck, in the village. Two summers ago, when she returned for another sit at his house she agreed to care for our two cats as well. As a remote worker (one who can work from anywhere there is internet access), Ivana divided her time between our two homes.  Our cats were contented and well cared for as were his two dogs and cats. 

Ivana, Princess and Maggie

This sit was our introduction to the wonders of getting daily reports, photos, like the one above, and videos. Getting these reports and seeing 'the kids' is most reassuring - we were sold on the program. Our cats back then, Maggie (who's since crossed the Rainbow Bridge) and Princess didn't seem to miss us at all.  They no longer roamed the neighborhood looking for human interaction and love in between feedings.

Mouthwatering homemade Czech dessert awaited

And if coming home to happy cats, and a clean house wasn't the icing on the cake, the plate of fresh-baked Czech dessert we found waiting for us on our return was!  

Ivana continues to watch Chuck's 'kids', so we get to see her socially while she's here. We stay in touch the rest of the year on FB.

Merri from New Mexico, now Mani

We met THS Merri when she cared for the feline family of our friends Mic and Jean in November 2023. We met up a couple times during that stay. We had her over to meet Princess who made it clear she liked her within minutes of her arrival. We stayed in touch after she returned to the States and were delighted when she said she'd come back to watch our kids for a month last summer.

'Wake up, Merri! Time to play with me,' said Princess

Merri was unruffled by the Mani storms that struck during her November stay not to mention the heatwave and drought that struck last summer while at our place. Even that pesky rat, I've written about, who struck our car's electrical system, did so while Merri was here. While she insisted that she had enjoyed our area, we worried she might not consider another sit here. . .

Who needs sunset when you have Merri scratching your head?

The THS website explains that these sits can be life changing and Merri can attest to that.  She really did like the area, but she won't be sitting here any longer. Merri, with a digital nomad residency permit in hand, has moved here! We'are sad to have lost a great THS but now have a new friend just down the road. (Within her first two months she was adopted by three stray cats!)

Gabrielle and Steve from England

This twosome arrived on a glum, gray January day for a three-week stay to care for our feline family.  They were the first sitters we'd not met in real life prior to the sit although we'd done a WhatsApp video call with them. We were delighted that they'd traveled here from England, but I fretted about whether Princess would like them or not.  

We hadn't been gone 48 hours when we received the photo below. . .and I quit fretting.

Princess seemed to think Steve was a perfect fit

There is nothing better for a fretting fur kid parent than to get daily reports with photos of how the kids are doing. It is listed as a condition of a sit for our fur kids. Gabrielle and Steve notched up those reports as I had pointed out to them the street cats I feed when in the village, but assured them, that wasn't expected of them.  Imagine the joy when they sent photos of the cats in the village they had fed as well!  

'Nermal, our 'part-time' cat,' I had forewarned them, 'is a 'cat of the hill' - he might show up, he might not.' He might be too afraid to come in and eat if he sees strangers in the house. He is afraid of humans. If he didn't show, they were not to worry. 

Gabrielle cuddling Nermal!

Need I say we were gobsmacked when this photo popped up in our messages?  Gabrielle had achieved a trust with our scaredy cat we'd never would have thought possible!

Jeanne from Switzerland

An island-hopping ferry trip in March would be determined by whether we could get a THS on rather short notice.  No sitter, no trip, we'd decided. We were hoping to leave in two weeks. 

We posted our travel dates and to our surprise had seven applicants within the first hour.  The one who stood out among them was Jeanne from Switzerland. And luck was with us - she was already traveling in the Peloponnese and was but a few hours' drive away.

I took this photo- Princess preferred Jeanne!

Because she had a flexible travel schedule, we were able to leave sooner than we'd hoped and stay longer than we'd originally planned.  We had a face-to-face video chat and then a few days later we met for coffee and a home tour as she continued her travels in the area.  A few days later she returned for the sit, and we left confident that our cats were in good hands (and feet as evidenced by Nermal below).

Nermal wrapped around Jeanne's leg

Despite rather unseasonably wet weather she was able to get out and explore our immediate area and do some hiking while taking care of the wee ones.  Like Gabrielle, she won the heart of Nermal and had Princess never far from her side.  

We returned home a day early due to bad weather so overlapped with Jeanne. The next morning when we said goodbye, it felt like a longtime friend was leaving.

Not for Everyone

THS was a game changer for us

We found al our sitters to be extremely focused on the care of our fur kids and our home.  They enjoy the benefits of the accommodation and the area, but don't approach the stay with the idea of it being a vacation. Not everyone would want to take on that responsibility. Just as not every homeowner would want to have someone they don't know well, come into their homes and care for their pets. 

For us, it has worked extremely well. We recommend it highly.  This summer we have another THS couple coming from America to watch the kids and water plants while we are back in the States. They have not only been to the Mani but have been pet sitting in the neighborhood!  

If any of you are interested in joining Trusted Housesitters, (either as pet sitter or pet owner) you can get 25% off your membership if referred by a current THS member. The referring member, if you join, gets their membership extended by two months.  (Send us an email and I will make sure to divide the referral opportunities between the sitters I've introduced you to.)  

That's it for this week. We'll be back with more travel tales soon ~ thanks for the time you've spent with us!

The Market - What a Treasure!

The goal was to live differently. We wanted to stretch ourselves beyond our suburban America comfort zone. Being an expat in Greece for a half dozen years has certainly provided us those opportunities.

New roads to new adventures in expat life

As we continue to settle into this lifestyle, we are reminded every so often how routine so many of those 'different' things have become. But just as those 'different' things were treasures to be discovered in the beginning, we now see them as everyday treasures to be enjoyed in this unconventional expat world.  One such treasure is:

Market Day

Market Day is a treasure

The kind of market I am talking about is the laiki, those once-a-week shopping events that seem to sprout in parking lots or plateas (plazas) of small towns and villages throughout Greece. Being one day affairs, they set up in the early morning and are packed away by early afternoon. Shopping at them, you find yourself buying from the people who grew the fruit or vegetables or who caught the fish or who harvested and bottled the honey. 

Going to these outdoor markets can turn a routine shopping trip into what feels like a road trip. It is certainly more fun that a trip to the much closer, but ubiquitous supermarket. Such has been the case with our Saturday market outings to Areopoli, a town just 29 kilometers/18 miles to our south. 

The Journey

We are on the far right, the road is behind the houses

The short distance is deceiving as it will take us just under an hour to travel there and another almost hour back. We set out by continuing up the narrow track road through the olive groves that leads to our house.  We are told this track road was asphalted not very many years before we arrived on the scene and the road being built by landowners long before us. 

Roadblock on our track road slows our journey

About a kilometer away from our house we routinely pass a herd of sheep that are usually gathered near or in the roadway. No matter how often we pass this group, though, I yank out my camera to snap a photo or two. . .after all, I never encountered a herd of sheep when shopping in my old Seattle suburbs. 

Similar traffic slowdowns occur on this main highway

At the top of 'our' hill we leave our tiny road at Platsa, the first of many small villages we will pass through on the way to the market. Here we enter the 'main highway' (as we call it) a two-lane asphalted roadway, the major link between north and south of this point of the Peloponnese.  

The highway just misses the Church of the Anargyoi - Nomitsi

The road comfortably winds its way through three tiny villages -- Nomitsi, Thalames and Langada -- each with a rich history. In the town of Nomitsi, there's a small Byzantine church, on which the construction began in the 10th century, that visitors shouldn't miss.  Actually, you literally barely miss it as its entry door opens onto the highway. You look both ways before stepping out. Every so often we stop to admire the interior frescos in this Church of the Anargyoi.

You don't want to meet a bus on this stretch

Passing through the fourth village, Agios Nikon, we slow as the roadway narrows between the centuries-old buildings constructed long before modern day roads came into being. 

The Main Road passing through Agios Niko

Here we hope we don't meet an oncoming truck, RV, or tourist bus, as pullouts are limited. The village, once called Polianna, was in 1929 renamed for Agios Nikon, the Repentant, a soldier, monk and missionary who is credited with turning much of the Mani to Christianity. 

Taygetos Mountain slopes along our route

Most of our journey is through a vast empty stretch of land where stone fences line the roadway and the vast Taygetos Mountains stretch to one side of us and the Ionian Sea on the other. 

Limeni

Just before Areopoli, it is the expansive bay on which New Oitylo and Limeni villages are located that takes our breath away each time we crest the hill and it comes into view. Now a popular resort destination, hillsides are filling with bay-view vacation rentals and hotels and restaurants hug the shore. A much different vibe than a century or so ago when pirate ships plied the turquoise and sapphire waters of its bay, and the area was known for slave trading activities.

Cafes and churches line the streets

The road loops around the bay, then up another steep hillside and we've arrived in Areopoli, home to some 800 residents.

Shopping at the Market

Market displays in Areopoli

In Greek, the laiki agora, literally means 'the people's market'. They are also called farmers or public markets.  This one pretty much operates year-round with just a handful of vendors braving the winter's cold (and it does get cold here) while in the summer vendors' tables and trucks spread out over a large portion of the bus station lot. This isn't a place to go looking for souvenirs, it is a market catering to the locals. Honey vendors -- no less than three on most days -- plant sellers, a vendor who offers a variety of men's clothes in camouflage colors, and sometimes a fish vendor join the regular lineup of fruit and produce sellers.

Potatoes are absolutely the best in Greece

We recall our 'newbie' days when shopping at the laiki, seemed an extraordinarily 'different' experience. It was almost overwhelming. Greek speaking shoppers surrounded the displays, grabbing past us for an item they wanted, and little old Yiayias (grandmothers) who didn't want to waste time with tongue-tied foreigners like us often crowded in front to get their shopping done while we were still trying to figure out how to choose, bag, and pay for an item. 

Nowadays, we have the routine down pat: Select, bag, buy. Done and dusted, as our British expat friends would say.  

During a trip to Areopoli, we take advantage of the availability of a service station with car wash.  We leave the car at the station, head off to shop and return a few hours later to find the car clean inside and out for only price of 12 euros.

Mrs. Milia's bakery - a must visit place

One shopping destination we don't miss is at the far end of town, the Fournos to Psomi tis Milia. A wooden sign reads The Bakery/Mrs. Milia. As the story goes, her kids and grandkids have continued to run the bakery named for Mrs. Milia, a widow at age 29 who raised six children while discovering her passion for making bread at the bakery owned by her husband and in-laws. 

Loaves coming out of the oven a shopping treasure

Bread is still baked in the generation's old wood-fired oven.  The family-run establishment offers breads, pies, cookies and other baked goods and is one of those 'must go' places.  There is nothing better than arriving in late morning and eating still warm bread from that oven.

Sittin', sippin' and watching the world go by

Coffee shops like in all Greek towns are everywhere, so a morning cappuccino usually rounds out the visit. Each market day here feels like a step back in time, when life's joys could be as simple as ripping into a loaf of fresh-baked bread and sipping a cup of coffee. 

Every so often, something happens to remind us of how differently we are living here as compared to our American life.  A couple weeks ago we were loaded down with produce from the market and decided to leave our bags in the car before heading to the bakery at the other end of town. But the car was already in the washing bay.  

Yes, you can leave your bags, he said, they'll be fine.

Could we leave them somewhere out of the way in the station we asked. 'No problem', the attendant responded, pointing to a spot in the retail store, 'just put them here - they'll be fine.' 

Market honey on bakery bread - treasures, for sure!

And they were just fine - just as we had left them.  We certainly wouldn't have done that back in our old world. Again, we were reminded of how differently we are living these days yet surrounded by everyday treasures. 

How about you?  What are the everyday treasures you've discovered in your world? Leave a comment or drop us a note!  Speaking of treasures, we consider each of you reading this a treasure and thank you for the time you spend with us.  We'll be back with more tales soon, hope to see you here then! Until then, wishes for safe travels to you and yours~