Finally, an update to my blog as promised.
After our great but exhausting time in Sydney, we returned to France for two or three weeks, had our fill of almond croissants and moules frites, and packed up the car for our drive through to Greece. We usually allow about about three days, but with a carload of possessions, we made it in record time and caught the ferry from Ancona in Italy to Igoumentsa in northern Greece, up near the Albanian border . We spent one night in Italy and as usual had as many good coffees as we could fit in - the cappuccinos are cheap and wonderful - something that can't be said for either France or Greece.
We'd promised ourselves a nice comfy cabin on the ferry (not being confined to deck class anymore due to the sad demise of our little dog, Miura). However, no cabins were available due to the masses of ‘ash affected’ passengers. With most of the northern European airports closed with the ash from the Icelandic volcano, people were heading south on whatever transport they could find, and Athens airport was still open (unlike when they had a general strike just recently!)
So now, after nearly 3 weeks, we're all settled nicely into our apartment here in Koroni. For those who are interested, and want to get the map out, Koroni is on the western-most tip of the Peloponnese, which is at the bottom west of the Greek mainland (about 4 hours from Athens). The Peloponnese looks like a very large island and is in fact joined to the mainland by a 6km wide strip of land, which is bisected by the Corinth Canal.
Our closest major city is Kalamata, famous for the olives. Its a lively city with some nice wide pedestrian areas and lots of cafes and good shops, and a huge fruit and vege market on Saturdays. More exploring has yet to be done, but we've found the bookshop, art supplies and electronics stores! Kalamata suffered a severe earthquake in 1986 and there’s a mixture of beautifully renovated buildings and other very neglected ones with large cracks!
Koroni itself is a 45min drive from Kalamata, along a fairly narrow winding road through some typical Greek villages, olive groves and the usual 'messy' Greek landscape. The town of Koroni spills down one side at the tip of the Messenia peninsula - loads of white houses with turned up tiled roofs (rooves!), and little whitewashed lanes and steps- now all freshly done for the summer. Terraces are filled with tubs (often recycled feta containers) of red geraniums or overflowing with cascading crimson bougainvillea. Its all so lovely it makes the trudge back up the hill worthwhile, and there’s always a good excuse for a photo whilst catching one’s breath! Mind you, just to be honest too, amongst all these picturesque bits, there are some rather ‘messy’(that’s my new catch-cry!) bits as well – we’re not yet up to Mykonos standards thank god!
There's an old Venetian fort overlooking the port where the little fishing boats bob around when they’re not out on the job – these joined by tourists yatchts in summer. Across the bay is the bulky shadow of the mountainous Mani Peninsula with the peak of Mount Taygetos. The back side of Koroni (where we are) overlooks a long stretch of sand and the two beaches, Zaga and Memi and the blue blue Mediterranean - next stop Crete, or North Africa.
So far everything is going very well, despite the state of the Greek economy. Generally, the Greek people are very friendly and welcoming. Peter(who can fortunately speak fairly good Greek) has made friends with a neighbour who owns a chunk of land next to us – he lives in the town but spends a lot of his day pottering around with his chickens and vegetables. He has a very cute Black and white lamb called Dolly and a very large fig tree! I’ve received a lovely bunch of Chinese Roses – open deep red flowers with yellow centres, and some freshly laid eggs..... the Greeks are a very generous lot – it will take all our time trying to work out what type of gift we can repay them with!
The sun has been shining brightly, though there is a cool wind often coming up from the water – I imagine something one must expect when perched on the side of a hill looking towards Africa! I’m sure it will be well and truly welcome in the heat of summer though. I’ve already had my first swim of the season, which is not bad for early May.
I’ve also had my first visit to a Greek dentist. I’d secretly worried he was of the rip-them-out or drill-culture, but couldn’t have been more wrong. If there’s such a thing as a homeopathic dentist, this surely must be one. He suggests I need to get used to the Greek food, water etc before he does anything drastic. Like most professionals in Greece (along with most restaurant and shop owners), he speaks very good English.
If you can bear now to see some photos, and haven't already had enough....... I’ve put some photos on my photosite. http://picasaweb.google.com.au/jackiesinfrance (Koroni 2010)
My weekly paintings will continue to be along the same lines as before, France, Italy and Greece, and even Sydney if I ever get this week’s one finished.
Hope you enjoy sharing our little bit of Greece with us.
