Aegean

I set my alarm far too early this morning.  Unclear as to the comings and goings here at Kalikalos I made sure I was up by 8 in case there was any crucial sort of meeting type activity going on that I should be a part of.  Turns out we didn't do breakfast until about quarter to 9 and I could've gotten in another half hour of much needed beauty rest.  Perhaps tomorrow. This life thing has really been getting in the way of my sleep.

It was an absolutely spectacular morning and day for that matter weather wise.  A light fog was lifting on the horizon as I awoke to burn off by mid-morning.  Apparently this is a fairly dramatic break in what has been a gloomy and grey last few weeks - I'm grateful for it.

Soon enough, trouble began brewing when Ali - a 30something British woman with braidlocks 

(that might be a new word?) and an easy-going talkative demeanor began to talk about leaving the community in a rather spur of the moment fashion.  Community challenge #1!  I won't get into the details but only say that things resolved themselves in time.

We gathered in the tiny yurt for an intimate group meeting and after an attunement, set off for a check in round the circle and on into the days agenda.  It was my first real chance to meet

 Jock - essentially the organizational and visionary glue that holds the community together.  We were to make a trip to the neighboring site in a nearby village a couple hours later to explore the potential for workshops and permaculture installations there.  In the mean time I soaked up some sun, enjoyed conversation with Eckhardt - the warm, kind German architect expat living in London who is here for next weeks workshop on non-duality.  He has an incredibly calm demeanor and to me is something of an elder statesman in his dealings.  I appreciate and value his presence here.

Adam was kind enough to allow me to share space in his laundry load so I might only need to wear the dirty shirt I wore early last week for another day before I'm back to square one.  It was a great day for clothes drying - though the only line that was left was in the shade.

Jock and I headed over to their other site - about 2.5km north of Kissos in a compact British auto, parked alongside the road and headed down the steep drive down to the

 property on foot.  While it's moderately passable with a 4WD vehicle, the road is quite

 rough and washed out at points.

This property is a bit larger than their 'hotel' in Kissos - he said about 2.5 acres.  As is the norm here from what I can tell it's a fairly steep slope - somewhat northeast in its orientation.  There is a large main house and a number of outbuildings scattered about with 3 fairly large terraces each about 25-30' deep and 80'+ long.  The edges of the property are colonized by chestnut and walnut forest - I learned that the European walnut tree has very different leaves from out walnut, resembling a cross between and ash and a hickory (a large rounded terminal leaflet).  Also, the nuts are delicious and much easier to crack!

We explored the possibility of hosting future workshops on site and while there are certainly some challenges I could see some very interesting possibilities arising.  We enjoyed the fruits

 of a sprawling unpruned grape vine along the north side of the house - absolutely remarkable in the prolific fruit it bore - as well as a few remaining figs on a tree he'd planted about 5 years ago.  Sitting outside in the sun, we chatted with Rob and Terry who have been connected with the community since its inception (at least I think Rob has been) and seem to be the primary property managers.  Rob and I attempted to suss out the state of the septic system as he reported occasional strong smells emanating from it - we found and accessed the distribution box but couldn't figure out where the tank was.

By that point it was getting on in the afternoon.  Jock and I returned to Kalikalos for lunch - tomatoes, olives, bread, feta and a pear chutney of sorts.  I decided that I needed to make the most of the weather - hay while the sun was shinin' if you will - and headed downhill towards the coast.

The walk was wonderful - 1600' over about one and a quarter hours.  I probably learned more in that short time than I have over the course of much of my trip to date.  The path is windy - basically switchbacks the entire way down though there is a frequent option to step off of the main road down along the narrow village roads in between that connect bends in the highway.

  There I strode past villas adorned with abundant grape trellises (with prolific bunches

 dangling below), fruit and nut trees of a dozen or more types, rich gardens ripe with generations of intuition and know-how and a range of building styles from the traditional stone to the conventional cement frame-brick infill earthquake resistant construction. 

This is an abundant land - springs emerged from the hills at countless points I had earlier found myself wondering why it was that these centuries old settlements were perched in such precarious places in the landscape.  Jock had told me that historically, communities had

 resided along the sea, but marauding pirates and pillagers gradually chased them up into the hills from where they could still fish during the day but retreat uphill to safety at night.  Sounds like a less than desirable result but safety and peace of mind generally takes precedence over convenience.

As I reached lower elevations, I started to see olive plantations on the south facing slopes - they had more or less disappeared up high which I was told was due to the elevation and temperature there.  

I took a few less than correct turns on my way down but finally reached the sea.  A modest narrow beach stretched 1/4 mile or so along the main strip of the village below (more accurately the other way around).  I caught up with some friendly faces from the community who'd spent the day there, set down my things and hopped in the sky blue water for a quick swim.  The temperature of the water was just perfect.  It got deep quickly and was so clear I could easily see 20+' below.  I let the water float me along for a few minutes and then had to get out, dry off and make my way back to the south end of the beach to catch the bus back uphill.

An ice cream fueled my return - basically essential at this point.  We caught the bus and he began the incessant series of dangerously tight switchbacks back up the mountain.  A very

 friendly fellow, he continued to make conversation in Greek to our non-Greek speaking party of five - the sole occupants on the bus and then apparently went on to take us on a little scenic tour of the area, driving us well out of his way to show us another nearby community and some awesome long views.

We made it back to Kissos by 5:45 or so and I had signed up to help with garden work.  The only thing that needed to be done was to tie up a clump of Jerusalem artichokes that had fallen over from their own weight so I took to that and enjoyed renewing the coat of soil beneath my fingernails.

At 8 we shared dinner together - a thick rich soup, salad, bread and cheese, followed by a presentation by myself on permaculture for an eager and interested audience.  I managed to keep things fairly concise though I did explore some pretty far reaching territory covering background, history, principles, design and edible forest garden structure and polyculture building.  I think that was about enough for all of us.  I feel grateful to have had a chance to borrow so many sets of ears and share with them something I feel is so important at this point in our collective history.  I feel encouraged that several of these folks will explore this information in greater depth and that makes my time and energy more than worth it.

On Friday I have a presentation to give at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki.  I need to put that presentation together sometime between now and then.  I think I'll get started.