Greece: The Good, The Bad, The Reality

'It' began about two weeks ago when a heat wave coming from Northern Africa, blanketed Greece, taking temperatures in some places to new record-breaking heights.  

Hillsides are tinder right now in our area

Then just more than a week ago, 'it' seemed as if our adopted country had gone up in flames as at one point there were more than 150 wildfires threatening historical sites, forests, agricultural land, animals, olive groves and homes. 

And if that wasn't enough, three bank ATM's in our area were bombed. Yes, the blown-to-bits kind of bombed that your read about happening 'elsewhere' . . .'it' is the kind of thing you don't expect to happen in your own area.

Burn bans are in effect every summer - simply too dry here

Then this week - just as we had thought we might make it through this 'tinder' season with a continuous water supply-- 'it' was apparent that our reserve tank was precariously close to empty. Not a good thing with the surrounding countryside literally 'crispy dry'.

'It' --  is the reality of life. Those experiences and events, both good and bad, that can happen anywhere we live, even in The Mani, a place that most the time it feels a bit like paradise. So many of you have written asking about how we are doing and/or sending good wishes, that I am using this week's tale to update you on life in Greece:

The Wildfires

For days we watched firefighting efforts

Unless you've lived on the moon or had no access to media in recent weeks you have seen the horrific images of wildfires sweeping across Greece. They are not exaggerated. It has been, and continues in some areas, to be horrific. 

Some of the most severe blazes were/are on the island of Evia and others north of Athens and here. . .just down the road from us in the Peloponnese.  We spent several days watching fire fighting planes and helicopters travel back and forth to the Messinian Bay for water which was dumped on blazes to the east of us.

Milea village in January

The fire closest to us threatened a large monastery on a hill above Milea, the small village, about 10 miles from our home. Fire fighters got it under control last Thursday but it came back to life on Friday and appeared to be heading our way.

'Don't know if you are home but there is a big cloud of smoke rolling over your hill. What's with that?' texted my fellow American expat friend Jean who lives down the hill from us.  She had her 'go bag' packed shortly after sending that message! But before I got ours ready, the wind had kicked up and turned the blaze towards the port city of Gythio.  You might recall, two weeks ago I told you about setting off for Crete from Gythio, about an hour's drive southeast of us.

Fires in the Peloponnese - FB photo

Residents and tourists in Gythio were evacuated Friday night. Luckily it was brought under control before reaching the village and their displacement was short.

By Saturday it had turned again and was headed towards Lagada, the village about a 10 minute drive south of us.  Our volunteer fire fighters (well, trained and devoted) put out a call for help to build a fire line and stop the flames. More than 120 villagers responded to save the town.

Gythio, Mani - photo from FB

Sadly our Greek headlines are reporting a number of individuals have been arrested in the country and are believed to have set a number of these fires.  A special prosecutor is organizing an investigation into the fires and possible arson links between them. 

Today, thunderstorms, instead of bringing much needed rain,  are starting new blazes to the north and east in Greece.

The Heatwave

Even the cats laid low during the heat of the day

While its not completely unusual to have temperatures soar in Greece this time of year, the duration of our high temperatures sucked the life out of us.  Chores and errands were done in the morning and we retreated inside to the air conditioning until sometime in the evening when we ventured out again. It is hot - very hot - in Kalamata when the temperature hits 110F.

In the good news column, tourists continue to flock to our area though and the heat didn't deter them from enjoying the beaches.  A number of  'tourist sites' like Ancient Messene closed in the afternoon when temperatures got too high.

The Attack on the ATM's

Remains of an ATM in the Mani

One thing that has been completely out of the ordinary this year is the recent bombings of three ATM bank machines in two nearby villages.  We aren't talking a simple break and enter, but a blow-it-to-bits kind of bombing.  Two ATM's were hit a few weeks ago and the third last weekend.  Law enforcement is investigating and we locals are shaking our heads, as this is one of those times we'd like to say, 'never happens here'. But then it does. . .  proving again that bad people do bad things everywhere, including in our slice of Greece.

Water Woes

Filling our near-empty tank with water, a summer routine

With wildfires being the main focus these days, the last thing we wanted was to run out of water this summer, as we have in the past two years.  But as fire fighting efforts continued there were scattered reports of low water and no water throughout our area. By this week we were among those who had no municipal water flowing into our water tanks.  We finally resorted to buying a load of water but it appears (knock on wood) that our drought was a temporary one and we have water flowing again. 

And, the Good News

Just off the main highway near homes - last year.

I saved the good news for last!  About this time last year I wrote a post critical of both water supply and garbage disposal in our area. Trash collected by the municipality from our community dumpsters was being dumped on private land and mountains of trash had been allowed to collect there.  That mountain is gone this year. The municipality stepped up to the plate and took action.

The Green Corner - a good news happening here!

And a group of dedicated volunteers - Greeks and expats -  have gone to work creating a recycle center, staffing it and making it work.  What a joy it is to make a weekly trip to the Green Corner as it is called knowing that our trash, separated into various categories, really is being recycled!

Thank You!

So our thanks to those of you who've contacted us asking if we were safe or sending good thoughts our way.  It is so nice to know we have such a network of friends out there!  We are safe. And aside from some smoky skies and maybe a moment's pause here and there, we were untouched by the nearby fires. We are saddened for all those who have suffered as result of the fires. And we are thankful for the more than 20 countries that sent assistance to Greece in way of equipment and man/woman power to fight the fires.

The Scout has been scouting out another adventure for us, so we are off again soon.  Hope you'll be back with us for another tale or two of  travel and life as boomer American expats in Greece.  Stay safe and well ~

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

Season of Gifts: Eggs, Oil and Spinach Pie

Six eggs, a bottle of olive oil, two fish and a piece of spinach pie. . . each a  gift given us by a Greek friend in our small fishing village in the rural Peloponnese.

Christmas decorations in the village

With each gift, I thought of the fellow, another expat, who had proclaimed a few weeks ago on Facebook that Christmas was cancelled this year because the COVID prevention lockdown had been extended to January 7th and stores would be closed.

I felt sorry for him, not so much for missing the retail-based holiday he envisioned, but for not yet realizing that gift giving here is not done by the calendar and holiday; it comes from the heart and as such, nothing can cancel it. Not even COVID lockdown. The Season of Gifts is year-round:

Six Eggs - a Christmas gift

Six eggs gathered fresh for us

My friend's eyes twinkled as she handed me the small plastic bag with six eggs in it a few weeks ago. Mine teared up.  She'd chased us down to give us the gift as we walked the road along the harbor in the village; the road on which she lives. With the help of a bystander who translated her Greek, she told me they were fresh, gathered that morning. And they were for us.

 Always clad in black - both garments and scarf holding her white hair in place - she is usually busy sweeping the area in front of her home when we pass. I don't know when our waves and nods to each other moved into friendship, but they did some time ago. Perhaps it was when I began admiring her plants, despite my Greek being as limited as her English. I still don't know her name, nor she mine. But we both brighten when we happen to meet.

The street on which my friend lives

Last Christmas I decided to surprise my friend with a poinsettia. The exclamation of surprise and the delight reflected in her smile was one of the high points of that holiday season.   

As spring, summer and fall came and went in the village, she has presented me with plant starts and seeds from spent blooms from the garden she grows in a hodge-podge of planters in front of her home. 

Fish and Oil - Autumn thank you gifts

Captain Antonis

Captain Antonis, is the village fisherman with whom we had our outing last September. (If you missed that post, read it here). In addition to writing about the trip here, I posted photos of our excursion on my Facebook page. When we next saw the Captain he said he doesn't 'do' social media and tapping his heart (as they do when thanking someone here)  said I had helped others know about his tours.

Basil seed and fish - a season of gifts

He gave me a large bottle of his olive oil to thank me. Much later in the fall we saw the Captain one morning displaying his catch of the day at our village fish market.  When I asked what kind of fish he'd caught, he insisted on bagging up two of them for us to take home and try. No charge - just a tap of his hand on his heart and again, we were told, 'it is for you.'

A gift of fresh pressed olive oil

In early December the Captain presented us with yet another bottle of his olive oil - this one fresh pressed. When I told him I couldn't take it - that he'd already given us many gifts -- he tapped his heart, shook his head and said, 'this is for you.' 

Spinach Pie - Just Because 

The Scout and Joanna - pre-COVID photo

Our friend Joanna, runs one of our favorite village tavernas up in a hillside village a few kilometers from us. Her restaurant has been shut down for weeks as result of our COVID lockdown restrictions on restaurant operations. We were delighted to bump into her a few weeks ago when we stopped for takeout drinks at one of our village tavernas. 

Home-made spinach/feta pie

As we were chatting together she suddenly said, 'I have something for you in my car!' She returned with an enormous foil-wrapped piece of spinach pie.  'I made a big one, so I give some to my friends.' 

A Season of Gifts - In a time of Lockdown

Village decorations 2019

Looking back across the seasons in this year of COVID uncertainty, we recall the bag of eggs brought to us by the man who trimmed our grove in the spring. The pomegranates given us by friends in late summer when our tree failed to produce any fruit and they had more than they could use.

The gifts have come as gifts should - unexpectedly and with  'just for you' as a reason -- even during a time of lockdown when many are feeling the economic pinch that the prolonged shutdown is causing. 

'To Go' Meals always include something extra

A handful of local eateries and tavernas are open providing 'to go' food and drink. As we make purchases from them, their generosity, often leaves us touching our hearts in thanks.

At our favorite purveyor of pastries and ice cream, we have on several occasions during lockdown, been presented with pastries when we've picked up our cappuccinos. When we object, we are told, 'this will be good with your coffee - take it, eat.'  

Fresh picked gifts

Across the street at Elli's Restaurant we always find something extra in our 'to go' dinner order just as we did at Melissa's taverna in the neighboring village when we picked up our Christmas dinner. That Christmas dinner (pictured above) came with a salad and dessert on the house as well as a bag of fresh picked oranges and mandarins from the owner's yard.  

Chutney, relish and butter

We did have Christmas gifts to be sure - and some of the best things imaginable. . .from expat friends we received wine and chocolate, a jar of homemade fruit butter, another of relish, one of chutney, and a a bag of fresh-picked oranges from our neighbor's tree. 

The village Christmas Star

We hope that your holiday - whatever it is and where ever you celebrate it - was as enjoyable as we found ours to be.  As 2020 comes to a close we again want to thank you for the time you've spent with us this year and send wishes for a happy and healthy New Year! 

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

In Greece ~ Six Years Later. . .

 Mid-December six years ago . .

Village and harbor from Notary's Office

The tiny cubicle overlooking the village of Agios Nikolaos had once served as a living room in the apartment-turned-Notary's Office.  Those of us gathered within it on that bright, but brisk, December afternoon, gave little mind to the view we had from it of the village and its harbor.

Notary's office in tall building in the distance

We sat shoulder-to-shoulder: the sellers, the buyers, the attorney representing us, the realtor representing all of us. We focused on another attorney only a few feet in front of us who, standing like a sentry,  was shouting out (to be sure we heard it) an English translation of a contract being read aloud in Greek by another attorney seated at a nearby desk.  There was no room for the Notary (here, considered a quasi-government official who oversees such legal transactions) so she supervised from the doorway.

We'd wanted another adventure, a 'final fling' before we got too old, and this was it, I told myself, as I looked about and thought how foreign - and absurd - everything felt at that moment.

Buyers, sellers, attorney and realtor in the taverna

When finally the reading was completed and the signatures of sellers and buyers, initials of buyers, official government stamps and more stamps and Notary signatures were in place on multiple pages of the document, it was time for the money to be paid (done by check and cash back then - no new fangled things like wire transfers).  

We'd bought a house in Greece!

Just like that we'd bought a home in Greece.  It was time for those gathered to move next door for a drink at the taverna. 

'We'll give it five years,' we'd said at the time, leaving ourselves wiggle room to close this new chapter and return to the rather predictable and routine (and, if truth be told, sometimes boring) life we had left behind in the United States.

Six years later. . . 

The Stone House on the Hill

I write this in my den overlooking the upper garden at our small stone house, The Stone House on the Hill. This spitaki, small house, became our full-time residence three year's after we purchased it. Had someone told us on that mid-December day as the purchase formalities were taking place, that we'd be selling our home of 30-years in a Seattle suburb and moving our citified selves some 8,000 miles away to a rural area of the Greek Peloponnese, we'd have laughed.

Messinian Gulf from the Mani

Our decision to buy a home in the Mani, in Greece was not done as result of a lifelong plan to live here in our retirement. It wasn't prompted by unhappiness with the country's politics where we lived. We weren't seeking to escape anything. We didn't spend years looking for the right place.  It just happened. I compare it to finding that one soulmate and partner with whom you want to spend your life:

It simply felt right. And it still does.  

Agios Nikolaos - our village

Moving to a foreign country isn't for everyone. But those who have done it - whether for an extended stay or even those who divide their lives between two countries -- understand that little niggle that makes people like us want to stretch their comfort zones by immersing themselves in a different culture and country. 

Road Repair one of The Scout's new skills

Now stretching that comfort zone has been, I will admit, difficult and downright frustrating at times.  Turning off  'life's remote control' and having to participate with your whole head, heart and soul to get even the most simple of tasks accomplished, to make yourself understood without a command of the language or to understand the events occurring around you is wearing.

The thrill of tasting our home grown olive oil 

On the flip side, each time you realize you have expanded your comfort zone a bit further it is most satisfying, sometimes downright exhilarating. 'It worked!' or 'It is done!' have never been said with as much enthusiasm as we say those phrases here. 

As most expats would agree, you can't help but be changed by the experience - hopefully for the better. There are things about the lifestyle that could drive you nuts, yet, its quirks are what make life interesting. An adventure. And that's exactly what we wanted.

Six Years Later - The Chapter Continues

The Stone House on the Hill

We know that someday, that nebulous date lurking somewhere down the road, this chapter will need to come to a close as all chapters do.  While we often say we came here to grow olives instead of old, we recognize that one does not escape aging by moving somewhere new. 

Our entry stairs - who needs a Stairmaster?

There will come a time our charming Stone House on the Hill with its comforting olive grove and drop-dead territorial views and massive amount of stairs will be too much for old hearts, knees and legs.  These days we've modified our original agreement to that of,  'we hope we have another five years' here'.  

A toast to adventures 

If we don't, we will still agree that our 'last big adventure' didn't disappoint. Sometimes, though, we have started speculating that, 'maybe there is a new adventure left in us yet?' You don't suppose there might be another chapter just waiting to be written do you?

Thanks for the time you spent with us today and to the many of you who have been with us since this adventure began, our thanks for your continued interest and support.  You have been a special part of our journey!   Our best wishes to you and yours ~ stay safe and healthy!

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

In Greece ~ An Olive Grove Getaway

The air was still in our olive grove this morning, unlike yesterday when gusts were strong enough to send empty flower pots and chair cushions flying. Strong enough to make us wonder if those olives, so close to harvest, would continue to cling to their branches ~ but as always, they withstood the storm.

Our traditional Greek ladder in our grove

Walking among the recently sprouted wild cyclamen the sunlight through the tree branches was soft; an autumn sun, hot, but not with the intensity of summer.

Morning in our olive grove

The quietude of the morning was so intense that the waves slapping the shore in the harbor below echoed across our hillside terraces. It was the only sound to be heard.

Stairs link the terraces in our grove

Our Olive Grove - it is one of my favorite Greek destinations and luckily it is only footsteps away. While savoring my quick getaway, I realized that I often 'talk about' the grove on FB but that I haven't taken you there in quite some time, if ever.  

Stone House on the Hill from our olive grove

Our Stone House on the Hill was built in an olive grove. We have a neighbor's grove to one side of us and our grove stretches several terraces down from our home. In the distance the hillsides are covered with the silver green of olive groves. We live in the land of the Kalamata olive. 

Olive groves carpet the countryside

Technically we are in the land of the 'koroneiki' olive, a smaller fruit with a high ratio of skin to flesh which is said to give our 'Kalamata oil' its aromatic qualities. The larger olive, that you would recognize as 'the Kalamata olive' often served on Greek salad, is simply called 'the salad olive' around here.

Some of our Koroneiki olives just weeks away from harvest

Our grove of 17 trees, somewhat small by industry standards and just the right size by ours, was an unexpected bonus of this house when we bought it. We knew nothing about growing olives back then - had no idea how to tend the trees nor when one would harvest the bitter green fruit they produce. Siga, siga, slowly, slowly, as they say here, we have learned. And have so much more to learn.

'The Scout' at work in the grove - February burn season

In fact our lives, just as most who live in this area, evolve around the olive grove these days. Whether it is time to prune, time to clear, time to burn cuttings, time to spray, time to harvest. . .each task is tied to a season, an ages-old rhythm of life in this rural area of Greece's Peloponnese. So important is the olive here that restaurants and retail businesses gear their operations around 'the seasons of the olive'. Many are beginning to close now in preparation of olive harvest which will begin in mid-October and continue through December.

The summer's drought turned some olives purple

Greece devotes 60 percent of its cultivated land to olive growing. Messinia, the region in which we live, has some 15.863 million trees.  So many olives are grown in our region, that by the end of the 19th century, there were 20 olive presses operating within the city of Kalamata, the big city to our north. These days the processing plants are located outside the metropolitan area in or near the villages sprinkled about the countryside.  We have five such presses within five miles of our home.

A favorite spot in our grove

 Sometimes though the harvest and production of the oil is secondary to the joy we get just being in 

the grove. It is easy to lose track of time when wondering among the trees pondering who might have planted them a century or so ago and the events that have occurred around them during that time. 

Life in the grove continues. . .

Looking at the fruit dragging down youthful branches that have sprouted from old gnarled stumps assures me that even in a year as unsettled as this one, life will continue no matter how upside down the world might feel.

A peace that surpasses all understanding. . .

Often times the early morning or late afternoon sun rays through the trees turn the grove into a peaceful sanctuary - the beams as powerful and reassuring as those coming through any church window. The Biblical phrase, 'a peace that surpasses all understanding' comes to mind. A moment of stillness, a few deep breaths and the inner compass is reset.  

Wild cyclamen at the Stone House on the Hill

Hope you've enjoyed your time in the grove today and hope we will see you back again when I will tell that pirate's tale I promised in the last post.  I've got to admit that I've been researching another article for a publication and just didn't get the pirate story researched and written.  

Where ever you are, we hope that you are coping with the continued COVID prevention measures and that you and yours are well. 

Linking with:

Mosaic Monday
Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

A Greek-Style Village Christmas

Living differently, as I refer to this expat life of ours in Greece's Peloponnese, means that holidays are also celebrated differently.

Christmas Morning downtown Agios Nikolaos

Christmas in our village of Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas) is a laid-back sort of day, a delightful contrast to the rather fast-paced, often-stressed way we approached it in our Seattle suburb life.

Decorations here are minimal and retail outlets are few which means a dash for a last minute gift would take us to a hardware store, a meat store, a nursery, two gas stations or two grocery stores.

Decorations at Elli's - a favorite village restaurant of ours

There's a single light display draped over the main street into town. It spells out, Kronia Polla, meaning 'Good Year' (an all-occasion phrase in Greece, as it seems as it is used as greeting at every holiday but only displayed at Christmas).

Kala Christougenna, (Merry Christmas) has so many letters it would be too long to drape over that main street of ours; it is a narrow one that winds between the storefronts and harbor.

We do get a double-day holiday here because Dec. 26th, Boxing Day to our many British ex pat friends, is the Synaxis of the Mother of God in the Greek Orthodox religion.

Nine nations represented at our Christmas lunch

Both days were picture perfect. . .blue sky, sunshine, and just cool enough to need a jacket or sweater. 


Christmas cooking was limited to a dish to contribute to a buffet Christmas lunch at a neighbor's home. The group was comprised of expats all of whom live within a couple kilometers of us. We were the only Americans and our small gathering represented nine countries. And what a feast! It might be the best Christmas dinner we've ever eaten!

Boxing Day toast in Hades - Agios Nikolaos

Boxing Day was toasted with a group of our British expat friends at our local taverna, Hades.

Fig tree and ladder - village garden Christmas morning

We hope that whatever holiday you might be celebrating, if any at all, you are enjoying this week as much as we are in our Greek village.

Thank you so much for the time you've spent reading TravelnWrite this year and for recommending it to others.  Learning that you've sharing our tales is one of the greatest compliments we could have. (And thanks for your continued patience as we try to correct our defective email distribution service).  My one New Year's resolution is to rehab the blog with a distribution system that works! 

Happy New Year to you from The Scout and The Scribe! We'll be back in 2020 with more tales of travel and expat life for you ~ 


Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday