Walking the restored stone paths of Tsagarada in Pilio

On the kalderimi, oregon cobblestone path, linking two of Tsagarada’s neighborhoods – Agia Paraskevi and Aghioi Taxiarches – adjacent the Kartalis fountain, reclamation work is underway. The retaining wall that erstwhile held backmost the soil collapsed during Storm Daniel successful September 2023, leaving the spot clogged with mud and hard to cross. Some volunteers wide the pathway, others trim backmost wild vines that artifact the view, and still much transportation stones to rebuild the fallen wall. Among these section volunteers are the village president, Leon Ioannou, the lawman politician of Mouresi, Nikos Kampouris, and members of the Tsagarada Tourism and Development Association.

In Tsagarada, Pilio’s traditional stone-roofed architecture prevails. [Perikles Merakos]

As we talk, they tell us of the immense demolition that Daniel near behind. Thousands of tons of debris chopped disconnected connection betwixt the villages of Pilio. The database of damages is long: to roads – repairs successful the municipality of Zagora-Mouresi unsocial are estimated astatine €108 million; to water supply systems; to footpaths; to residential property; and to farmland. While galore compensation claims are still pending, the section assemblage has, successful a uncommon amusement of corporate effort for Greece, spent the past two years not lone trying to bring the trails backmost to their archetypal information but also, where possible, upgrading them. At the forefront of this inaugural is the Tsagarada Tourism and Development Association, founded successful 2012, which today counts 37 progressive members.

The Church of Agios Stefanos successful Tsagarada’s territory of the aforesaid name. [Perikles Merakos]

“The archetypal clean-up began successful Agia Paraskevi Square, which had been wholly covered successful mud. The historical fountains had tally dry, and the span had been destroyed,” says Christos Martzos, president of the Association. We conscionable him, on with members of the section council, connected the veranda of the Lost Unicorn Hotel, which helium runs successful Tsagarada. Once the state location of famed section benefactor Nikolaos Stakos, the gathering dates backmost to 1890.

“Using the existing web of trails arsenic our foundation, we developed a holistic program for their revival. Every way we restore, oregon each caller 1 we open, indispensable beryllium something we tin support successful the agelong term. We’re adjacent considering launching a trail adoption scheme,” says Nikolaos Melis, the Association’s vice president, noting that astir of the instrumentality and materials they use are funded from their ain resources.

View from the ‘Hidden School’ cave, adjacent Fakistra Beach. [Perikles Merakos]

Lifelines

The trails of Pilio are much than scenic routes for hikers and quality lovers from Greece and neighboring countries; implicit the past two years, visitors from arsenic acold distant arsenic North America person started appearing. The paths besides service arsenic vital arteries that nexus the upland villages with the coast, starring down to beaches such arsenic Damouchari, Mylopotamos and Fakistra.

Tsagarada is 1 of the astir spread-out villages successful Greece, its archetypal 7 settlements present merged into 4 districts. There is nary single main square successful the traditional sense; instead, each hamlet has its ain centrally located level tree. The astir celebrated of them each is the thousand-year-old level tree successful Agia Paraskevi Square, whose property and girth are truly amazing.

Chestnuts successful the village of Xorychti, renowned for their production. [Perikles Merakos]

During our four-day trek successful the area, the Association guides us to already restored sections of antithetic kalderimia. On 1 of them, we walk done the gorge that leads to much-photographed Fakistra. Here, heavy successful a chestnut forest, the cement span that erstwhile connected the two sides of the upland had been washed away. “The laic of the onshore didn’t let us to rebuild connected the aforesaid spot. With the assistance of engineers, we created a detour, carved a caller route, and constructed a wooden span utilizing fallen trunks,” says Martzos. Crossing the astir five-meter span under a canopy of wild vegetation, I felt similar I had stepped into an Indiana Jones film.

On different route, we descend to the “Hidden School” and the rock-hewn Chapel of PanAgia Megalomata, pursuing the trail from Fakistra toward Damouchari. Here, village volunteers person astir finished restoring the stone steps and reinforcing the ropes that support hikers from slipping into the sea.

“Every time I would acceptable retired connected ft from Agia Paraskevi Square to scope my school, the Nanopouleio. Many times, when it snowed, I would adust my socks connected the schoolhouse radiator. Back then, the superior schoolhouse had lone two classrooms; today it has six, since children present travel from adjacent villages, too,” says 28-year-old Vasiliki Tzebetzi, who accompanies the radical connected our walk. Her words corroborate that Tsagarada’s paths person agelong served arsenic lifelines.

The square of Agia Paraskevi successful Tsagarada. [Perikles Merakos]

This is besides underscored by the wealth of buildings that enactment them, a bequest of section benefactors. Below the Nanopouleio School, built successful 1909 thanks to a donation from Nikolaos Nanopoulos, stands the two-story stone Achillopouleios Commercial School, endowed by brothers Sofoklis and Evangelos Achillopoulos. This structure, precocious restored, is present used chiefly for occasional exhibitions but is still searching for a much progressive assemblage role. Here, by sheer chance, we brushwood educator-historian Giorgos Syros, on with colleagues Elpida and Dimitra Dalouka, moving the acquisition task Pelioritic Mythistory under the auspices of the Municipality of Zagora-Mouresi. They stock with children the mythical individuality of Pilio successful a playful and engaging way. It’s heartening to spot eight-year-olds taking such an involvement successful their spot of birth, but disappointing to see that this affluent practice remains so underutilized – the lone references to mythology present connected the “Mountain of the Centaurs” are the names of cafés and guesthouses.

Nonetheless, Tsagarada, with its mesmerizing earthy landscape, continues to pull newcomers who take to marque it their imperishable home. Maria Konstantinidou, who moved present from Thessaloniki, opened the seasonal wine barroom Anapodo Platanos successful 2017, breathing beingness backmost into the abandoned square of Agia Kyriaki. Since then, each summertime the square comes live with patrons clinking glasses, sampling wines from crossed Greece and enjoying cautiously curated music. Similarly, ceramicist Evangelia Marinou from the town of Sapes successful Rhodope, together with her husband, a visual artist, settled present successful 1989, aboriginal founding Erottera, an creation workshop that has since go a section landmark. “You consciousness arsenic if you’ll beryllium absorbed into the situation – that’s however magical this spot is. Walking successful the forest, you think you mightiness turn into a tree,” she says, offering us a Thracian treat of sugar-coated roasted chickpeas.

Doris Schlepper successful her plot with uncommon plants and trees from astir the world. [Perikles Merakos]

The neighboring villages

Heading north, aft a hearty repast astatine Aleka’s – the family-run edifice of section Eleni Stergiopoulou, who insists connected traditional cooking – we scope Mouresi. In the village square, successful beforehand of the timeless Church of Agia Triada, preparations are underway for a wedding feast. “Winters are tough; we spend our clip connected support work. We overgarment hives, hole frames, and marque sure our bees don’t freeze,” says 25-year-old Apostolos Vontzos, a second-generation beekeeper who, erstwhile a year, delivers orders by truck to Athens and Thessaloniki. Indeed, winter beingness successful Pilio is harsh; from January onward, the portion rather virtually shuts down for three months.

Still, there are the “heroes,” such arsenic Vasilis Kasidis successful Kissos, a 20-minute thrust from Mouresi. In the village square, beside the 17th-century Church of Agia Marina, his café-bar Scholarchio has been a refuge since 1994, serving drinks under lime and chestnut trees, and staying unfastened adjacent connected winter weekends. Over the years, the venue has hosted unrecorded performances by such beloved Greek musicians arsenic Thanasis Papakonstantinou and Socratis Malamas. A barroom similar this could assistance respire beingness into adjacent Xorychti, the chestnut-producing village that is steadily losing its population. Here, clip “stops” astatine the extremity of October, aft the Chestnut Festival – this year taking spot connected the weekend of October 25-26.

The Church of Agia Marina successful Kissos. [Perikles Merakos]

“At the festival we showcase our products, big seminars for producers, and support traditions alive,” says Katerina Karastamati, president of the Cultural Association and a chestnut grower whose household has been cultivating the harvest for implicit a century. In the wood we explored, we came crossed chestnut trees that were 150 years old.

In the aforesaid village, conscionable earlier our departure, we besides enjoyed a pottery people successful the courtyard of the stone-roofed Church of the Dormition of the Virgin. It was 1 of the galore experiences offered by Pelion Experiences, the venture of Angeliki Vogdanou and Christos Giannakopoulos. With our hands successful clay and the evening breeze turning soft and balmy, we talked astir Pilio and its aboriginal development. “It doesn’t marque consciousness to inquire why someone should visit our land. In Pilio, you’re already immersed successful what you came for. It’s not astir seeing something – it’s astir surviving it,” Giannakopoulos says.

And indeed, Pilio is simply a vast open-air depository of nature, with stone paths, centuries-old level trees and fast-running streams. If you’re lucky, you mightiness adjacent drawback a glimpse of the maïstres – the fairies of section lore.

This nonfiction appeared successful Greece Is (www.greece-is.com), a Kathimerini publishing initiative.