Together with Henni from Germany, the first volunteer of the season, we have made a start on clearing a beautiful stretch of calderimi that runs in the forest at Pirgos towards Ag Reginos. The stones are in very good condition but the trail is very overgrown. Tools were purchased from the donation money collected via the crowd funder; a chain saw, long handled loppers and sheers. Thank you very much to all the backers and thanks also to Nikos Orfanos for providing gloves and fuel free of charge.

With only 3 days to go, the Crowd Funder project target of £700 has been reached! Thanks a million to all those who donated. If you haven’t, it’s not too late. Just follow:
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/trail-clearing-project

I have also FINALLY finished my mad quest to reopen the old calderimi to Taxiarchion on Palouki. This is the section from the big goat station, which branches off the newly opened track up to the top of Palouki at the white cross, all the way past Triada (branch off there is also open now) and ends at the start of the new calderimi going down to Agios Anna and Taxiarchion. It’s taken about 5 years in fits and starts! I couldn’t bear to leave it there all closed up, as most of the way it is really clearly defined. The last section nearly defeated me, as that was not at all clear – but by working from both ends with several false starts I suddenly found the route running straight and its now clear!! Marked it with your signs! I hope a few people use it.

BRAVO JOHN!!!

The volunteers for 2016 have been arranged via Workaway but we need more waymarker, clippers, saws, shears, gloves and I’d really like to buy our own cordless chainsaw. Please help us keep the trails open.

I’m happy to report that the first Workaway volunteers have been booked for next Spring. They are Matthew, Michael and Anthony from New York and they’ll be arriving 22 May and will stay until 31 May. It will be good to have some actual ‘man power’ as until now, with the exception of my very first volunteer three years ago, I’ve only had girl power! We’ve managed but sometimes, only just (we had to move a lot of fallen trees recently). I’m assuming I’ll still get help from the Hotels Union as three strapping lads won’t fit in my little house!

Here’s the recipe for my popular energy bar. It’s perfect for a packed lunch snack.

Mash 4 bananas in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons honey, 4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter, 200g mix of any of the following: raisins, dried fruit; cranberry/apricot, nuts, dates. 300g oats. 3 tbsp olive oil. Mix well. Put in greased swiss roll tin and press down. Oven 200c for 15 minutes. Cut to size.

Enjoy!

What a great season it’s been. Volunteers Ursula Ilo from Estonia and Kate Suttle from Uk were the best. We stayed for one month at the Delphi Hotel Elios, courtesy of the Diamanti family and were able to clear and nearly open the heritage trail from Ag. Reginos Pirgos down to Platanakia.  One more day was needed to complete the task and on this day, Alan Boner from the USA was on hand. Local lad Iannis Lakka and Jennie Nelson also donated a day. Thank you all so very much. Thanks also to the taverna owners of Elios for making sure we were sustained.  This calderimi is part of the main Skopelos/Elios/Glossa trail system. It’s in excellent condition. 

The 4th edition of Skopelos Trails: Nature Walking Guide To Skopelos has been published at last and can be purchased online here.

I’ve been trying for 2 months now to get more books. First the printer said to send it again as a PDF which I later found out one can’t edit without a special download. Having established this, I tried to download a month’s free editing tool but…. my old computer was too old for it. So….. I bought a new computer, downloaded the tool, edited the book and sent it all off to the printer 2 weeks ago. They still haven’t printed it but promise delivery the first week of September.  The only shop with a small stock is the International Press Agency. All very frustrating. Many apologies.