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Published: December 18th 2017
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Olive Harvest – Rich Pickings
We find the serious, patient but constant chatter about, and observation of: the daily weather, the need for more rain to feed the olives before harvest them work for or assist others that do. The fishing boats are mostly removed from their harbour bobbing place so the fishermen too can attend. The bike hire business owner Vaggelis, has his brother return from England where he lives and works to assist with this family endeavour. The cleaner from our accommodation and her husband assist our landlord with his; and across the land families, friends, staff and the elderly all commit to this time of hard physical work, the removal of the fruit , the pruning of the trees , the burning of the excess foliage and and the anticipation of this huge all consuming time, reaches a crescendo....intermittent stormy weather and some heavy downfalls of rain bless the land and the olive groves with the anxiously awaited water needed and by mid November the harvest has begun in earnest...
It’s not like any old harvest, the majority of the population in these parts become involved. The hotel, restaurant and bar owners and staff who close
their businesses for the winter turn their attention to their olive trees in earnest, those who don’t own chopping of the wood for warming their homes and the hessian sack filling of the harvested fruit and transporting to local threshing floors and olive mills where the oil is extracted . So many olives in many homes being soaked in wine, vinegar, lemon, brine and olive oil and prepared for eating or being sent to the olive plants for sale. The Kalamata olives of this region are world famed and many other delicious varieties like Koroneiki (for oil) and Kalamon are grown in this region, for eating and oil extraction.
Many men and women work on the trees over wide spread nets that catch and gather this revered fruit... some work with sticks beating the branches in rhythmical order as the fruit falls , pruning branches and ensuring they are well picked as they go . Some prefer the new electric agitating rakes. They work so hard and build sweat and muscle but none seemed pained. The bike hire man and his brother chat to us while their mother (well in her 80’s) climbs the ladder with a saw and
starts pruning the tree behind them, chastising them all the while! Still we see them and many others in the area around us working long days in the warm sunshine and the rain for a full month in order to ensure a good harvest. This fruit and it’s oil, you see, has been revered since ancient times, for it feeds, nourishes, improves health and skin, hair and nails, has many health giving benefits and aids longevity.....it provides income for some, sustaining them when there is little else, and wealth to others. The trees grow and fruit in this climate and soil naturally and prolifically, washing the landscape with silvery green leaves as far as the eye can see and the people embrace this time with hard work, thanksgiving and community commitment. It brings unity and focus after the summer heat and cuts back overgrowth ready for the enjoyment of Christmas traditions to and the still, quiet, cold January and February to come. We observe with gratitude and enjoy the fruits as our landlord Yoannis plies us with the first press new oil that is almost creamy , sweet and light of flavour and the olives his wife has prepared in
a little red wine and oil , bitter and fresh tasting as they have only been soaked for a few weeks. We offer our help, which is politely declined as there is no time, with numerous groves of trees to harvest, for ineptitude and teaching!!
And so we feast our eyes and immerse ourselves further in the season, nature, observing, smelling and feeling it unfold around us as we walk, eat , drink, sleep, gaze and process.
Now the eating..... !!! We eat the olives in the odd salad still as the weather becomes cooler , or as a snack, salty and slightly bitter against the gin and tonic or local cask wine. But the oil we often wear, dripping down our chins as we eat chewy fresh bread dipped in it , ripe large red juicy tomatoes drizzled with it and a little local sea salt and pepper, aubergines whose insides are chopped and fried in it with tomato and onion , their skins refilled and baked slowly in the oven softening their gorgeous creamy flesh and releasing the oozing ‘tomatoey’ garlic oil for bread dunking. Pasta simply dressed with first press oil, local grated goats cheese,
broccoli garlic and spinach with tomato and basil salad and slow cooked meat stews in tomato and too too much oil with olive oil greek potatoes from the oven , soft and absorbent in local restaurants . Fresh fish grilled and drizzled in it accompanied by boiled local greens (horta) with just a drizzle more and fresh lemon and of course more bread for mopping up ...... The local wine cuts through it all perfectly, from the barrel or the bottle, cheap as chips and marrying these flavours perfectly ..... and we relax more! Hiking the trails on good days with sesame baguettes filled with feta tomato olives and oil and apples that taste like heaven.... and yet it will soon be time to return home ......
But first Athens and Nina’s visit !
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