For the non Greek speakers amongst you, here’s your chance to hone your Google translate skills…
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4906631696065810&id=100001570836921&sfnsn=mo
We are happy to welcome new volunteers again and we’ve cleared the Kambos end of the Kimissia trail. We’ve made a start on the Polimistria trail but the Spanish broom is making it hard going.
We need to warn hikers of a newly errected fence near Djelili. If you take either the valley trail from Glysteri or the section by the deers, the exit beyond the spring is very tricky. The route was very badly damaged anyway by the floods a few years ago and a hole was created by the water. One could navigate around this hole but the new fence has made it rather dangerous.
The spring clearing has finished as we enter summer season and the heat it brings. Manual work is impossible in these temperatures. Volunteer Mel from Canada has moved on to Turkey, Madeline is walking The Camino in Spain and sisters Lauren and a Jordan have returned to the States.
During their stay we cleared a forest trail from the Plane tree Michalakis to the old water source, Kimissia trail, Vouno Glossa towards Ag Iannis, Ag Reginos Pirgos to Platanakia and Moutero to the spring and Panormos valley. A petrol strimmer was purchased thanks to a generous donation, which made work so much easier. Sadly the battery strimmer just isn’t strong enough . One tries to be eco friendly but the battery machine can’t compete with petrol.
Thank you girls for all your hard work. It was a pleasure to host you.
Work starts again in September.
BEFORE & AFTER on the Retsina Trail below Ag. Reginos
A VIEW FROM THE LOOP
So here we are in April and what have we been up to? Due to travel restrictions, we haven’t been able to host volunteers this year until now, with the arrival of Joe who is from the Lebanon, lives in the US and studying environmental studies in Germany! He is strong and makes light of lifting and cutting. So far we have tidied up the Sendoukia Adventure trail and around the Mikalakis Water Mill, the short path behind Episkopi and the old main route out of town – Aloupi to Kangelia/Raches. This trail has really been abused over the years; dug up by OTE and not put back so cement was dumped here and there, dug up by the water company and a pipe unprofessionally installed leaving a huge gully and holes everywhere plus the inevitable bulldozer damage resulting in mounds of soil to be sermounted. Very heavy work with lots of brambles and full sun. It does have lovely views of the Stafilos valley though.
