The portion of track from Moutero church to the spring and the portion beyond Moutero down into the Panormos valley, are now OPEN! There is only one portion remaining and that is at the start; Kambos valley up to Rachis. Only problem is, there’s an illegal fence blocking the way. SCAN representatives have an apointment with a solicitor next week, who will be sending a letter to the owner, inviting him to take it down!
International path discs will be ordered shortly (a yellow arrow with a footprint in the center) and installed along the route. It will only remain to GPS the entire trail and incorporate onto the map, which will be available at the SCAN kiosk throughout the season.

Another productive Sunday. Just Richard, my co-volunteer, and myself . Last week we had two tourists help us, which made a big difference.

The image shows Richard mending a dry stone wall. It took him three Sundays to complete.

This stretch of path, from near the spring at Moutero to the Panagia church at Moutero, is nearly finished; one more Sunday should do it. We keep saying we’re going to give ourselves a day off, but we never do!

In case you wonder how I spend my Sunday’s…..

At the last SCAN charity meeting, my request for help was forthcoming in the form of a E750 budget! So, I bought this strimmer which had it’s inaugriation this afternoon! It cleared so quickly, I might even get all the paths done before next May!

To give you some idea of what we’re up against, here is a ‘before’ image. Could do with some more volunteers; but you can’t have everything!

So, does this mean I can start smoking again? I think not.

But there is a lot in the media here about how a very high proportion of the population are overweight and the majority (of the population) will be classed as obese in a few years time. The lead in to these stories is that ‘obesity is worse for health (I suspect the NHS coffers) than smoking’. I think now they feel they have smoking under some sort of control then the next thing on the list is bad diets and obesity. Lets hope they don’t bottle out (the way they did with the Tobacco companies) and do make the food companies change their practices.

So, I suppose you don’t really want to hear what I’ve been eating, do you? Well, what I will say is that it has been relatively healthy – apart from a couple of visits to an Indian restaurant – and that it is really easy to get healthy, take away and food to go here now. I have been having a lovely time!

Macbeth was – as you will see from my previous comment – excellent, with a splendid cast of actors, some scary special effects and three quite spooky witches in nurses uniforms.

I had a drink with Jan yesterday, and it was good to see her before I go. But her mother is in her final stages of dying and so we could not spend too much time together since she had to get back to relieve Ed who has been looking after Lee while Jan is at work. Jan says she is very lucky to have had this time with her mother and both she and Lee have had long discussions and wish Lee would simply go to sleep and not wake.

Today feels a bit like waiting to start a journey. The flight is at 9pm and I have kept my room till 5pm and will leave at 4.45. But I feel restless and can’t settle to anything. All the bags are packed, I just have to have lunch and then a quick shower and I’ll guess I’ll be ready about 2 hours ahead of time. I think I better get something to read!

This is the end of this blog – till I travel again. Thanks for logging on, reading, commenting. Talk to everyone soon I suspect. In the meantime, love and hugs all round. Ann

I’m happy to report that as well as my two volunteers, the council sent along a helper yesterday. He worked with an industrail strimmer which made a huge difference in a short space of time. Just as well, as he wasn’t able to stay very long. Anyway, the stretch of trail from Ag. Ianni Skleri to the dirt road near Moutero, is now open. Whilst working, a lone, German walker appeared before me! Made me jump out my skin. So, the path has already been used! Just a bit more tidying up to do on this trail then we move down to the Panagia church at Moutero and work towards the spring in the hamlet itself. There’s a wall there that’s collapsed which we may be able to repair. All going well, the council will send someone again. More next Monday!

Hello everyone. I do hope all is well with all of you and yours. I am in London now after a rather difficult week in Skopelos. It was entirely my own fault, I did it to myself and have no one to blame but myself. I have always hoped that when I go in the last week of the season that I will not meet a vulnerable animal(s). Well this year was one of those years when there were a family of kittens and mother around and I just got very stressed about them and how they would survive the winter. Although I tried, and my friends tried in various ways to ensure their survival it looked not only that we would not succeeed, but that I was also in danger of losing my good friends over this feline family.

But, when the going gets tough you do really find out who your friends are and I ended the week not only with all my friendships intact and the kittens futures ensured but two of my friends who had not been close for some time seem to have resolved some difficulties to the extent that I wish for them what they give to me.

And Skopelos is still beautiful.

Now I am in London having stayed (and shopped) with Candice – thank you Geoff for taking me to the hotel and I am sorry not to have been able to say goodbye to you. I have had dinner with Maggie and Steve and am trying to track down Jan so I can have a final lunch with her. But tonight I go to what has bveen called the very best production of Macbeth – with Patrick Stewart (Star Treck) and am looking forward to that. Meantime I am off to do a bit of my own trecking – around London.

It has been a great trip and wonderful to have seen everyone here and I am so looking forward to seeing everyone on my return. Someone asked me the other day ‘Which do you prefer NZ or England’ and I had to say that I loved them both and would be very happy to stay in either. I love things about each area (and Skopelos) – scenery, animals, nature, culture, – and I have good friends in each (so I always miss someone!). But I do feel I am truly blessed to know all of you and know you are all ‘on my side’.

So, I am off to do, hopefully, the last bit of serious shopping!!! Have fun my dears. Love – lots of it – to all. Ann

PERSONNEL REQUIRED
Path Clearers (bring your own tools if possible)
Cuttings Collectors (gloves only required and a strong back!)
Blobbers (paint, brush and latex gloves provided)
Work will take place at least every Sunday through the winter months.
Please contact me regarding transport. Bring your own refreshments.
OCTOBER
Glossa to the Light House. Walk 29. Parking as per image 100 page 85
NOVEMBER
Glossa, Vouno, Old Clima. Walk 22. Parking as per image 87 page 71
DECEMBER/JANUARY
Djilal spring to Glysteri. Walk 6. Parking as per image 24 page 28
FEBRUARY/MARCH
The Old path to Agnondas. Walk 4
APRIL
Parts of the old path to Panormos

As well as the above, I have agreed to co-operate with Andonis ? who has the first eco accommodation at Karia. He has already cleared paths around his property and would like to put up signs. I suggested we join forces.
I’m making enquiries with Pelion and Kent County Council regarding signs. Contemplating a switch from red to yellow signs. What do you think?

Mmmmm – well, this BLOG might get to you or it may not. This is the first time I have got as far as actually being able to type something in. The reason for this is that – it is all Greek to me – literally. Everything else on the screen is in Greek apart from what I am typing (and when I first started using this machine, even my tytping was in Greek – which was no good at all since there is no literal translation!!!). So, it is a bit hit or miss whether this will actually get to you.

Yes, the island is magical as always. I wondered whether I would feel like that or not. NZ is beautiful, there is sea, sand, sun, beautiful landscape and so I wondered not only why I was going to Skopelos but whether it would ‘work’ for me. Well I wasn’t here 10minutes before I knew. There is something about the island that just melts myheart. I don’t expect this would happen with anyone else – but it does with me. So, it will be no hardship to be here for a week.

I have been out with both Mimi and with Heather and it is splendid to see both of them. I have plans to see each again and in fact I shall have lunch at Panarmos with Mimi today and dinner with Heather this evening. Tomorrow I have the keys for Mimi’s new house in Glossa and so shall beetle up there in my little red jeep tomorrow and spen the night there. I am so looking forward to it – I want to see the stars in the Northern hemisphere in all their glory. So I am hoping for a cloudless night tomorrow.

I have done all the things I expected to, I have visited Glisteri and swam/snorkelled, had coffee at Stafilos, lunch at Agnondas (although all tavernas are closed so I took my own lunch); I have visited the monasteries, driven the roads I like etc , eaten my fill of good Greek food – all the things I wrote about last time and won’t bore you by repeating.

The island is closing down for the winter, so many places that I would normally frequent have shut up shop already. Partly this is because everyone on the island has made enough money early this year. There was a film crew here for most of the summer – they were filming Mama Mia with Peirce Brosnan and Meryl Streep – and the money they had to spend far outweighted anything a horde of tourists could offer. But I like the island quiet so it suits me fine. It is interesting to be almost the only tourist here. It is also interesting to go out with Mimi now she is a councillor in the local government – everyone wants to speak to her! Very interesting.

OK sweets, I am off to lunch now. Bye for now. Love & hugs. Ann

Ann had a great start to her visit. Beautiful weather, going out with people, swimming, even seeing a Daisy lookalike. Unfortunately, however, the island’s internet cafe (which has another Daisy lookalike), has closed for a week or so and Ann might be out of contact. She’s going hunting for alternatives, but it’s a small island! So we’ll have to wait and see.