Lessons Learned (or not?)

May 2007: the lack of an electricity supply was still a major cause for concern and AP was becoming increasingly illusive, refusing to answer our calls. Then, we received a message from her (via our Property Consultant) informing us that she was fed up with the development and wanted to sell the other two unfinished houses on our plot. We saw an investment opportunity and at the same time a plan to resolve the electricity conundrum so we put in an offer well below her asking price. A condition of our offer was that she facilitate the installation of a full electricity supply.
AP accepted our offer and we became the owners of another half-finished house. This time we decided to complete the building work to our own design and spec; a good move given the time taken and poor quality finishing that we had experienced with the first two houses.
My sister and brother-in-law bought the remaining house and mum bought a share in one of the little houses so by summer 2008 our family owned a plot of land, in the tiny village of Pigi, with four lovely stone houses nestled in the lush foothills of the Taygetos mountains.
We commissioned an Albanian builder, Kostas, to finish off the stonework communicating in sign language, drawings and my very amateur Greek. He and his crew lived in the house that winter and worked hard building huge stone walls and paving the terrace and driveway. From the UK, I kept in contact with Kostas by text. He finished the work as promised in April 2008 and moved out making way for Russ, our all-round brilliant builder to get to work on the inside of the house, installing bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen and our woodburning stove. Russ transformed the house into a beautiful 3 bedroom home and even took me to Ikea in Athens to buy furniture (and assembled the flatpacks!). He and his wife Aileen have become great friends over the last five years and we are so grateful for the help and support they've given us in Greece. Each time I flew to Athens my suitcase was stuffed with lights, picture frames and all sorts of homewares but Russ took mirrors, garden tools and bigger  back to Greece from the UK when he came over to visit.
One particular time, Easter 2008, Russ came to my rescue when I arrived to find one of the houses flooded with sewage. I will tell that story later but will always remain thankful for his friendship and practical skills!

Exploring Mani - Cape Tigani

Easter 2009: the entire Mani was carpeted with wild flowers of every colour, a perfect spring. The days were warm and sunny so in between our gardening jobs we took our sketchbooks and went exploring. Heading south we drove through the now familiar villages en route to Areopoli, Nomitsi, Thalames, Langada, Ag. Nikon and around the bay of Oitylo where the vegetation had almost completely concealed the destruction left by the fires of 2007. Leaving Areopoli we followed the road towards Gerolimenas (rather than Githio) and drove along for about 15 minutes, passing through Diros Pirgou with it's colourful ceramics shops. Turning right at the signpost to the village of Stavri (which has some wonderful tower houses). From Stavri we took the road northwards to the village of Agia Kiriaki and parked our car on the small track leading downwards towards Tingani. We walked about 100 yards down the track turning to the left following the a path down towards the cliffs. A wooden cross stuck in the wall marked another turn where a narrow and steep path took us down the cliff side. It isn't a difficult walk although it was a little overgrown at Easter. The colours of the wild flowers in contrast to the grey cliffs and cloudless blue sky painted a beautiful landscape. Then, as we clambered along the path we spotted the little church of Agistria, expertly camouflaged against the imposing, vertical cliff. It really is a stunning sight. The church itself had obviously been deliberately located, long ago, in this remote place; hidden, so peaceful, looking out across the flawless blue sea. Caves just above and behind the church look as though they were once lonely dwellings. We sat there for a while and sketched the neglected church with it's ancient frescos, worn but still impressive. This beautiful, tranquil setting was really well worth the walk... about 25 mins from the village.
We then climbed back up to the track (where we'd parked) and headed back down towards Tigani (named 'Frying Pan' because of its shape); a desolate, wild outcrop of weather-beaten rock. We were glad of our tough boots as the rocks were sharp and our hats the only shade from the hot sun. The path through the rock wasn't as hard going as it had looked from afar as we wound our way out along this interesting terrain, dotted with salt pans and dwellings where salt gatherers must have lived a truly harsh existence. At the tip of the 'Frying Pan' plateau there's a big ruined castle and church where ancient columns and marble carvings lay abandoned and untouched. Climbing up the walls via steps up by a huge bastion tower there are some disturbingly steep drops but absolutely amazing views of the Mani coastline. It was quite windy up on the castle's walls but the scene was stunning, looking across to Mezapos and then the other way out towards the blue yonder. It took about an hour to get to the castle and as we stumbled back over the rocks I imagined the hardship and loneliness of life once lived on this bleak, sun baked rock exposed to the elements and the open sea. I have to admit I was glad when we reached the flower covered track on the mainland but I really enjoyed the experience.
This was a memorable day out and a lovely walk (although I wouldn't do the Cape Tiganibit in the summer heat). It wasn't difficult at all and the kids managed really well (although I now understand the benefits of those walkers sticks used by seasoned ramblers). Had we set of earlier in the day we could have done both these walks and then carried on to Gerolimenas and Vathia; or could have simply explored the dozens of tower villages in the area. There's so much to see of the Mani that will doubtless provide us with a few years of exploration and days like this one. 

Ag. Agistria