Hara Chapel

October 3, 2014 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

Leading from the side of the Hara home are the remains of a pretty mosiac path that winds through the pine trees. The trail clearly promises some kind of discovery at the end, although we didn’t know what. With curiosity, we followed it to discover a small chapel that was is need of some TLC but was pretty good structural condition otherwise, but it had no front door. The paint was peeling off the exterior walls, but the inside was still a blaze of colour.

And inside someone was still tending the place. Candles burned at the icons of mother and child, the floor was swept, and garlands of olive branches decorated the walls. An old plastic chair in the corner must have been the caretaker’s private spot to enjoy the quiet and peace of the place. We sat a while and looked up to the ceiling. It was a blaze of blue with stars looking down on the pretty ochre walls and wooden carvings.

So sad that the chapel sits there so lonely most of the time, but its I’m glad to see someone still takes care of it a bit. Wonder what happened to the doors?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Zig Zag

August 3, 2014 / wrightsolution / 16 Comments

Late afternoon light creates zig zag shadows for this week’s photo challenge at the abandoned monastery of Panagia Elona, Spetses.

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.