 |
| Psiliamos Beach |
 |
| The brilliant Aegean |
It was a relief to open the shutters tonight when the wind
finally stopped howling. In spite of 50
mph gusts, Leonardo picked me up for lunch and we drove over to Platis Gialis Beach on the north shore of the island where oddly the wind was not as severe. “You’ll
love the wind,” he said when we started out. Along the way
we passed exquisite uninhabited beaches accessible only on foot. “This is Paradise,” he kept
saying. Indeed there is that
feeling. Slowly you stop the worries of
the conventional world and ease into a simple presence.
 |
| Best table at the Taverna |
The woman who owns the Taverna with her husband had done the
cooking which produced the finest aroma of Greek food that I’ve yet to
inhale. She was born in this place and
has lived there all her life. Her eyes
were clear with an authentic and loving gaze and oh my, the food was delicious. We drank the local wine that the Taverna had
produced, a strong wine a bit like retsina but not restsina. As you drank, it got better and better the
way wine is supposed to. It was never
heady, just warm and heartening.
 |
| A view of some abandoned terracing. |
 |
| Friendly goats in the hills |
Sadly, Scotch broom which is highly invasive is taking over
certain areas of the island. Only low
growing trees appear in patchy groups which in America we’d call coast live
oak. The island, I’m told, lost its
trees to abundant agriculture, goats and sheep, and the persistence of
wind. At one time, the island produced a
great deal of wine. In 1970 there were
10,000 people living here with all the supporting services that were needed for
this population. Now there are only about
1200. When the mines closed there was no
longer enough work and slowly the population decreased and agriculture
diminished. Remnants of the terracing
remains and is almost everywhere in the hills.
But some young people are coming back and are beginning to rebuild the
wine industry with a potential to support a larger population.
