The Church of the Panagia Daskalakis

July 26, 2014 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

Panayia Daskalakis is one of our favourite hiking destinations. We’ve been hiking up to it from our house for the best part of the last twenty years. We have carried Latham up in a baby backpack, explored as a group of moms and toddlers and, once school started, we’ve continued to visited each summer when we return. Every year we take family or friends up to enjoy a morning breakfast picnic of still warm croissants or tiropetas from the bakery. We sit at the church a while to take in the view before we continue on our hike. This year it was just the three of us.

The property belonged to the Greek industrialist, Dimitris Daskalakis. The church is kept in excellent condition and painted every year before an annual festival.

Its built in seating is the best picnic spot, with beautiful views across the harbour.

Daskalakis built a large waterfront textile factory on the island in the 1920s, which created jobs for the Spetsiots until it closed after the second world war. Daskalakis died in 1939 just as war broke out again and is buried here at the church.

Dimitrios Daskalakis, Industrialist 29-9-1939

Unlike the church, his adjacent home is in ruins. When we first visited about 18 years ago, the roof was still in place, covering the kitchen, and kitchen tiles were still on the floor. The living/sleeping area had half a roof. Now both are long collapsed.

This year, after a very long time, I was finally able to step inside the ruin. For a long time the floor has been too precarious to walk on, but now the beams and tiles have rotten down and the ground is solid again. A pine tree inside stands as testament to how much time has passed without a roof.

There’s still a communal bench strung between two trees, but it has gotten very rickety with time. The kids would always climb on top of it and have their photos taken. I think its much too frail now to take their weight.

A little reminder of earlier visits

This was the kitchen.

….and an upstairs closet

I’m sure the church will continue to be preserved and the house will continue to crumble. We plan on continuing to keep track of its progress ;o)

A Word a Week Photo Challenge: Red

July 24, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

“Red” is a hard colour to feature on a Greek island! Blues and greens rule here. So I struggled…and then I remember a few things…

Spot the Greek Kitty!

July 23, 2014 / wrightsolution / 5 Comments

Because there aren’t enough cute kitten pictures on the internet, and no one has ever before thought of putting together a collection of Greek cat pictures, here is my collection of cute kitty pictures from yesterday evenings walk. The little rascals were great at camouflage. How many can you spot?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Containers

July 22, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

For this week’s photo challenge, these beautiful old buildings are traditional stone water storage tanks — or sternas — water containers that are still in use today.

The Smell of Home

July 17, 2014 / wrightsolution / 6 Comments

Daily Prompt: From the yeasty warmth of freshly baked bread to the clean, summery haze of lavender flowers, we all have favorite smells we find particularly comforting. What’s yours?

Tomorrow I board a plane for a much anticipated break to our Greek home. I know our life there so well. There are so many memories. I can imagine myself sitting on the wall with my legs dangling down to the street, looking out to sea. I can hear Greek voices and the occasional putting of a boat engine. I can hear the straining of motorcycle as struggles up the hill to the street below. It all seems a million miles away from Kathmandu, away from the incessant honking and the frustrating chaos of it all. It’s so hard to imagine such a radically different place from the one that consumes me now. Like traveling from a cold, harsh climate to the summer sun, its a leap of faith to know that it really is there waiting for us.

Somewhere among all the memories is the island smell, but I can’t place it exactly. Its a heady mixture of mountain herbs, jasmine blossom, pine trees, Greek cooking sifting over the wall from the neighbor’s kitchen, and island mystery ingredients. I can’t place it, but I know the smell. Its the smell of home.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrast (2)

June 30, 2014 / wrightsolution / 1 Comment

In the spiky shade of a fig tree! Loved the contrast of light and of tender tots in rocky places…

This post participated in the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrast

A Word A Week Photo Challenge: Inside

June 25, 2014June 25, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

Near Didima, South of Athens, Greece are some strange holes in the mountainside. They look like craters made by striking meteors, but are in fact sink holes in the side of the mountain. Tucked inside the sink holes are two tiny churches, built into the rock crevices.

To make it inside the crater, you need to lower yourself down a precariously steep set of stairs hewn into the rock. It feels like an adventure! And a treat too as the stairs have been whitewashed for extra Greek charm…

…And once you’ve made it down and into the church, you’ll find it as charmingly rustic on the inside as the outside. A beautiful place.

This post participated in the Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring

May 5, 2014 / wrightsolution / 6 Comments

I was having problems with this challenge as its been a long, long time since I’ve experienced (or photographed) anything that is remotely “spring” from my personal definition and memories. No daffodils, tulips, or melting snow. So I decided to pick a nostalgic route using my most favourite memories of spring: Easter in Greece when my son was little. Spring was Easter egg hunts, wild daisies on the mountainsides, fantastic flower displays in the garden and hikes before it got too hot. I miss much!

Easter egg hunt with Susie and Stephanos

Oh the Spring flowers and clear blues skies!

This post participated in the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections

March 23, 2014January 3, 2015 / wrightsolution / 1 Comment

The view from our 4 meter high stone wall out across the island to the Saronic gulf. Every summer I return to this spot, and every summer its different. I’ve sat here with friends and family looking back, looking forward, or just watching the reflection of the moon on the water.

Sign Language: No Comment

August 24, 2013 / wrightsolution / 1 Comment

Usually the Sign Language feature on my blog is about public signage and the comments it make about the culture, economy, or character of a place. Heading on the highway towards Athens airport dozens and dozens of billboards appear, but they are all advertisement-free, except for the occasional scribble of graffiti. It was interesting how saying nothing could comment so much on the current state of affairs in Greece. I hope things improve soon.