In the last post Martina told us about her 2,000 km journey to visit her dad. Today she shares what expat life in Greece is like and what to expect on the hikes in the surrounding countryside.
The Expat "Community"
Dad lives in a small village of around 53 inhabitants — in the last occupied house on a hillside, about 2 to 3 km from the main road and the sea. That doesn't sound far, but the road up is extremely steep and winding.
There is a small group of expats and retirees here — from Germany, England, Holland, France and beyond — who meet regularly, look out for one another and do a lot together. They are also socially engaged and make efforts for things like the little school in the neighbouring village.
A small, colourful, tight-knit and cheerful bunch you can always count on. Every Saturday they go for a hike, with or without dogs. Sunday means a mid-morning get-together over drinks. A shared Christmas dinner and New Year's Eve celebration are of course also on the programme.
What's up here on the mountain?
A breathtaking panorama, of course! To the left it stretches from Kalamata, straight across the sea to the Taygetos mountain range — currently dusted with snow — all the way to Koroni on the right.
Behind the house the hills begin, made up mainly of olive trees, bushes, rocks and impenetrable scrubland. You can easily walk for an hour in one direction and find yourself higher up, but the landscape doesn't change as far as the eye can see. Eventually the sea would appear again on the other side — though I haven't made it that far yet ;)
What is there to discover?
When we take the dogs for a walk, we follow narrow red-earth paths through the trees, up and down the slopes. The sea is always in sight, and the electricity pylon in front of the house tells us which direction to head back. Or we navigate by the little white St. Anna church not far from the house — it's visible from a great distance through the olive trees.
The dogs love these walks with all the new, unfamiliar and exciting smells and the different vegetation from back home, and Atlas loves nothing more than gazing out into the distance.
Wild Animals
At night you can come across wild boar and jackals here, though we never actually see them during the day — only the traces they leave behind, where the wild boar have rooted up the ground.
At night we hear the howling of the jackals, which takes quite a bit of getting used to. In all my years in Greece I've only ever spotted one. They're very shy and keep their distance.
Out and About with the Greek Girls
So each morning we go for an hour's walk and most afternoons for two hours in the hills. Baby Emma and Selene — Papa's second dog from the local shelter in Messini, whose name I was allowed to choose and decided on the goddess of the moon — always run on ahead.
As true Greek girls, they're not big fans of "walking on a lead", but they come back pretty reliably when called. If we head towards the other village and pass houses, the two of them sometimes take a shortcut, and I always wonder how they manage to run through all those thorns and stones at that pace without hurting themselves.
But they simply can — they have very thick paws and are already incredibly agile ;)
Then come Papa, Tiago, little Neroli and me, followed by Atlas, who has got into the habit of walking a few metres behind us with his pink long-line trailing along the ground, keeping an eye on all of us at once.
After such full hiking days, the evening is spent "simply" enjoying the sunset from the terrace:
In the next part I'll tell you all about beach life in Greece!
Warm wishes
Your Martina
Atlas, Tiago & Neroli
