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Published: October 9th 2017
Gettting ready This was no normal preparation and no normal trip..... despite the long time dream and a year of tough decisions : selling our beloved home ; the businesses we had worked so hard to build and put our heart and soul into ; putting it all into motion - providence gave us :
One sale at a time(along with the shed loads of bureaucracy, endless phone calls and emails! ) and one change, one letting go, one saying goodbye at a time . For this we are ever grateful. One sale every 3 months is doable we told ourselves and so it happened! And with each one we felt the mixed emotions of heartache, release, relief , fear, trepidation, insecurity, joy, new beginnings and acceptance. And with each one the feeling grew.... of the opportunity to escape our rat race, our self made ties, some of which we love and cherish, our routines, some responsibilities. The realisation came that if we created a space without the expense of a home and the ties of a business, we could enjoy these freedoms and create some time together to take stock, to re consolidate , to calm our spirits
, to meditate, do yoga, eat and drink, to walk, to swim, to just be together in this place we have come to love for a short time . The risks are our long term financial security , using some of it to fund this time (so much cheaper than living at home still), lack of income and...... having a break from loved ones who we see regularly doesn't come easy . We cherish those bonds.
Arvin's mum has just turned 85 and we spend time very regulary , we are there should she need us for the smallest or the bigger problems in life.... our lovely Julia and Nina , nieces Tatiana and Anna Maria, my sister Colette willingly stepped in to offer the company and support needed to give us this time.
We spend time with Julia and Imi each week, Nina has lived with us when home from working away for 3 years, and my siblings Colette and Peter and their families, our fabulous friends and colleagues of old are always there so even 3 months is a while to say goodbye for , but they have encouraged and supported this every step of the
way! Ceri is travelling too and so we experience a similar sojourn in different parts of the world at the same time...and 3 months is a short time in the scheme of things really isn't it?
My dearest friend Libby we discovered only 6 or 7 weeks ago was losing her ability to fight the illness that she has managed to live with for so long. And as the time neared for us to depart she began to slip away little by little, though never in spirit or in humour, and despite precious time spent I craved for more. Could I leave her and her lovely family at this time above all times ? How could I enjoy myself and indulge myself when she is slowly ebbing away? How could I say goodbye before the end and how could I not be there to support her family a little when the time came that they would need it most ? The answer came from them ..... go and enjoy your time, because you can, and because Libby , a wonderful, pragmatic, kind , funny intelligent friend would hate for you not to do this and will love to know
that you are doing it and we would too. How generous of spirit can some people be ? how selfless and thoughtful, how kind and gracious even in their own worst need. We feel blessed to know them and to have them as dearest friends. And so we said goodbye to Libs and Noel in wonderful St Richard's . I offer my yoga practice for them and other friends and family daily and send blessings often through the day and keep in contact often. The knowledge that our connection is above and beyond physical presence always soothes me.
But most of all I and we are grateful for this time and the beauty of this place and it's people .....
Julia and Imi and Colette and Graham have provided us with home from home , a space to prepare and ground ourselves from after moving home and to carry on our daily lives...we visited and spent time with beloved friends and family .....and before we knew it we were off. We could scarcely believe it .... It was actually and finally happening! Sunday 1st October the last flight of the season from Birmingham to Kalamata was ours!
Arrival
We arrive at Kalamata airport half an hour early at 12.45pm local time after leaving home at 4.30am! The sun is shining and warm , the air is still and the queues at Passport Control non existent ! The little car accepted our heavy load of luggage and the kitchen sink ! and we were off on our drive south to Agios Dimitrios , our home for the coming months..... the mountain passes , the sea and the sky looked better than ever and as we wended our way with the delivery driver of our hire car giving him a lift back to nearby Stoupa , we chatted excitedly .
We were very slightly apprehensive as we have stayed 3 or 4 kms up the road in Agios Nikolaos but never here , and were unsure of whether our bargain accommodation would be all we hoped for , at 370 euros a month including bills , could it really be good? We wended our way from Stoupa , through Agios Nikaloas stopping for a cheeky mezze lunch and a beer, through agios dimitrios to its furthest point of coast stragglers to our new home at
Katafigio Village.
It is more than good , it's gorgeous.A very small and natural cluster of buildings of the local Mani stone surrounded by fruit trees and shrubs, the sea, sky and mountains! One level with a patio near the entrance door which gets the morning sun and has banana trees and lemon trees just a touch away , a door into the kitchen/ lounge/ diner which is airy and spacious with doors onto the verrandah , a double room overlooking and with doors onto the veranda and the sea and a twin bedroom at the rear , a shower room and the large terrace/veranda which has an awning , table and chairs, sun loungers and a bbq ...... and the view!
It is simply furnished with solid wood local furniture , the mosquito blinds have a few holes in them and the fans are a little rickety but we love it!
We unpack quickly and sit on the balcony with a cup of tea ......aaaand relax!
WEEK 1
How lovely to have space and time to settle..... maybe a bit of a holiday week, with daily beach visits and walks , lazy veranda breakfasts of fruit, greek yoghurt and honey, lazy coffee here or at the beach and long lazy chats. Evenings cooking together and a couple in Agios Nikolaos for dinner.
We unpack, rearrange, and potter eager to make ourselves a little home . Noticing things we might need to add to our well equipped kitchen and reduce our purchasing of plastic bottled water, we make endless visits to the supermarkets, butchers and bakers local to us , buying things that one normally has for yonks in the kitchen cupboards but which we have none of ! On our many visits we learn a little more each time about brands, about pricing, about weighing vegetables differently and what we like and aren't so keen on . The highlight of these being a trip to Kalamata (just over an hour away) yesterday to the markets which were buzzing with locals buying provisions for the week. We bought coffee beans, sun ripened local vegetables, fruit and salad , local fresh fish (bream for the bbq, little fish good for making fish stew , local fresh prawns and squid , local olives, freshly baked crusty bread, salted anchovies loose and large. We ate in a local bar close to the market -roast pork with lemon roast potatoes, fried small fish (like whitebait but fresh) and greek salad.
Our host Ioannes has gifted us two lots of eggs from his wife's chickens, lemons from the tree outside, local olive oil from his olive trees, local wine, honey from his friend's bees and a fruit we don't know or recognise!
We are welcome to use the laundry facilities here free of charge and to help ourselves to anything in their store room, the warm welcome and generosity we have received is humbling and fills us with happiness and good food!
It is peaceful here ..... the only noise comes from the birds, the crickets , the sea , the breeze , the rain(yes we had tropical rain one evening !) and the feral cats ! The view of the sea and the mountains , the nearby village of Agios Nikaloas and the stars at night are so serene and beautiful I still can't believe it. We can walk down the rocks below to the water but the climb in and out of the sea is a little precipitous even for me , and so we walk 25 mins to the nearest sand and pebble beach at Pantazi although closer still are steps into the water from the harbour at Agios Nikaloas and a small beautifully formed beach of large spherical pebbles . We have visited the beautiful beach of Kalogria , with clear water and perfect fine white sand but sadly littered now with too many sun beds and one trendy cafe too many but so enjoyed our time there still and for old times sake. Following which we usually nap late in the afternoon .
Most evenings we prepare food with our delicious local provisions (having Arvin to cook for us is of course the best!), before which we sit and watch the sea and talk quietly , or play cards over a gin and tonic, or local beer. We have indulged in some Greek wine with dinner every evening too so far, and of course are saying .... we can't carry on doing this every night for 3 months .... we will discuss again soon! We have bought a backgammon set as we so enjoyed playing it the last few visits here and will begin soon .... and we read and retire early ! We have enjoyed gorgeous souvlaki , gyros , aubergine, horta (local greens), greek salad and wine in the local taverna too over two meals .
Sleep has been difficult some nights, we had a group of very loud ladies in a nearby property who woke us some nights returning late, and early in the morning (well anytime between 7.30 and 9am) that's early right ?! ( gone are the days where I rose at 6 to do yoga and be at work by 7 to bake scones !) We have found getting used to a small double difficult after our super king ! And the many changes of recent months have left us restless. However last night we slept so well and Arvin has been able to lie in and wake when his body is ready on several days , so I think we are getting there!
We have enjoyed coffee at the harbour one morning in Agios Nikaloas which we love to do , watching the fishing boats come in, the fishermen selling their fish, drinking coffee in the kaffenion and the local businesses beginning their day . A few locals recognise us now and we chat happily with them. We are blessed by people being friendly , welcoming , helpful and informative . We are going to try hard to learn and improve our very basic Greek . We are trying online but may take lessons with a lady in Stoupa who has been recommended to us. We will hike in the mountains and gorges of the beautiful Taygetos Mountains and walk to Trachila nearby which is a beautiful harbour village 4km away. We hope to explore more of the ancient sites on the Peloponnese, Ancient Corinth, Olympia , Ancient Messene , and visit other towns and villages in different provinces nearby. But for now at least we will just be, just settle and just breathe and release the anxieties and stresses of modern living a little and enjoy the here and now of each day .
I love doing my yoga on the terrace looking at the sea early each day and to think of and send blessings to all you wonderful friends and family out there. With total honesty I must say I have had a few tough hours since we have arrived. Impossible it must seem when we are so lucky and have this perfect time and perfect environment and each other . I guess there has been a lot of change in a short space of time, we have had to say goodbye to our normality, which although a blessing in so many ways can be unsettling but most of all it is appropriately during autumn maybe a time of letting go , out with some of the old and in with some of the new. So we are just allowing our emotions to be what they are and to process. But most of all I am so sad to be saying goodbye to my dearest friend Libby, so sad for her loss of life way too young, so heartbroken for her family who we love dearly and who are losing an amazing woman, wife , mother , sister and daughter. And I am grieving saying goodbye to another loved one, this illness that plagues so many has been cruel. So we are blessed to have this time to process, cry, laugh , remember and grieve as well as to enjoy and cherish and we will continue to do so with great vigour ! We are so enjoying time together too and the chats, cuddles, canoodling and laughs that 32 years together make comfortable and relaxed although we are excited like young loves at this opportunity to have an extended second honeymoon together...
More to follow soon! Love to you all ,
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Anna-maria
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Beautiful in every way and incredibly honest. With love anna-maria X