In the winter of 2000 we were in Molaous, Laconia for the first time, invited by Yannis Kofinas. Our caveologist, mountaineer and nature-loving friend penetrated deep into the depths of the Laconian land and photographed once again the famous cave of the “Hole of Voria”, which was one of the important articles of our magazine.

After his laborious and long stay in the darkness of the cave, he insisted on showing us around the terrestrial sights of the wider region. As he sighed, the car left the undulating terrain of a plateau, reached a ridge and, suddenly, began to descend into… chaos. It was no longer a road we were following. It was more like an incredible cross-section, carved out by the irresistible will of man, which had thus tamed the vertiginous escarpments of a huge mountain range rising hundreds of metres above the surface of the sea.

The awe of nature’s geological outburst and the admiration for the titanic work of man continued for several minutes.

But already the landscape had begun to cool. First the masses of cliffs diminished, losing their rugged and menacing dome.

Then the land also became peaceful, covered with olive and locust trees. In the green valley projected a fine settlement, a painting with touches of white on the walls and red on the roofs of the houses. And at the end, behind two hillocks, the view of the Myrtle Sea opened up. There, at the edge of the coast, a small township was being wetted by the damp breaths of the wintry plow. Walls white with lime, blue orange windows between them, and higher up, red tiles on the roofs. It was Kyparissi, a lonely and beautiful place, more like an island than a mainland of Laconia.

-I wanted to come to this place, Yannis was heard to say over the roar of the wind and the sea.

The light faded quickly behind the mountains, the night fell, cold and gloomy, chasing us away. We took to the hills and cliffs again. Kyparissi, however, remained indelibly etched in memory, like the old 19th century dates that remain carved on the facades of its houses.

KYPARISSI 2004, THE RETURN

A few minutes before 7 o’clock the colours on the sea horizon line turn red. The sun is born from the depths of the Myrtos Sea and caresses Kyparissi with soft pink rays. A few kilometres south of the sunrise point, a dark outline can be seen. With each passing minute it becomes sharper. It is the island of Parapola, swaying 23 miles east of the Kyparissosian coast, lonely and remote off the coast of the Myrtoo Sea. The memories come back with emotion, when a year ago we first looked at the terrain of the uninhabited island, climbed up to its now deserted – because of technology – lighthouse and discovered above the rugged eastern shores the occult chapel of All Saints, whose candles were once reverently lit by lighthouse keepers.

It is this hermit of the Myrtle Sea that we are lucky enough to see every morning. Last year in Spetses, no matter how much we gazed at the sea, Parapola was unseen, refusing to emerge from the gloom. Now, after that first acquaintance, she is constantly facing us, like a friend saying good morning. Yet the sun is rising on the horizon, the cypress is waking up, chasing away its drowsiness. One by one the cafes and taverns open, the first coffee shops open, the first coffee steams across the sea. This sea of the Myrtoo Sea with its deep and transparent waters, which, serene and sparkling under the April sunlight, shows all the shades of turquoise and blue, so different from the murky and glistening sea we saw last winter.

Coffee is over, with slow steps we start a carefree wandering through neighborhoods and alleys. We are greeted with a greeting from housewives, who had begun their chores in the early morning: they are watering small tidy vegetable gardens with lettuce, garlic, onions and artichokes, which stand out from the rest with their bush and their volume; they are watering trees and flower pots, tidying and shaking, whitewashing a piece of wall that has escaped them. Everything must be clean and all-white, smelling of lime for Easter.

So as we stroll along, the little seaside town reveals its true face to us. Like the first time, the initial impression is that we are on an Aegean island.

There are many elements that create this impression: the blue background of the sea in such close proximity to the houses of the settlement, the all-white walls with painted blue orange windows, the narrow streets that do not obey any street layout and some of them cannot accommodate two cars. There is still the breeze, sea or land, that seems to be ever present.

However, a closer look reveals features and details that give Kyparissi a special identity. The houses are generally large and two-storey and have tiled roofs instead of slabs. The streets are paved with cement and not with the ornate whitewashed slabs typical of the islands. Even the vegetation is different. Poor in the settlements of the Aegean islands with few trees and more flowers, water in the Aegean does not abound.

In Kyparissi, on the contrary, – which does not have the waters of the Ionian Sea – almost every house has its own yard, with a rich vegetable garden, orange and lemon trees, without missing the vines and fig trees. The dominant trees are the olive and mulberry trees, which are very old and have massive trunks. They can be found not only fenced in courtyards but also alongside narrow lanes, independent and free, protected and respected by people.

We pass in front of a picturesque little house, with an internal staircase and arches, which we remember well from our first visit. Immediately afterwards, an alleyway descends downhill and ends with a fork in the sea, at the most “island-like point” of the settlement. Here, dominant with its dimensions, is a concrete quay, with ample space for sailing boats and parking for many cars. At the sight of these facilities we are initially surprised, all the more so, since we have not seen any boat approaching for so many hours. However, their presence is not accidental, since at one time Kyparissi was one of the ports of call for the liner and later the flying dolphins. Just a few years ago, however, the transport of passengers and goods by sea was considered unprofitable by the shipowning companies. Thus Kyparissi, following a common fate with the naval town of Trikeri in Pelion, was cut off from the sea, which used to be its only way of communication with the rest of Greece (along with the paths to the interior of Laconia, of course).

Just like Trikeri – which, although a landlocked place, communicated only with the sea – Kyparissi lived under this peculiar regime until the mid-1970s. It was then that the services of the MOMA carried out the great and most difficult task of connecting Kyparissi by land with the overlying Harakas Plateau and, by extension, with the rest of Laconia and Greece. It is this bold etching, which causes awe mixed with admiration, no matter how many times one visits Kyparissi.

But let us return to the coast. We must first make it clear that the general name ‘Kyparissi’ includes three settlements. The first is ‘Paralia’, which is built around the pier in the southern part of the bay and extends slightly amphitheatrically a few hundred metres inland. The second settlement is the ‘Metropolis’, which is almost a continuation of the ‘Beach’ to the north and is built amphitheatrically over the sea. The third settlement is ‘Vrisi’, south-west of the bay inland, unseen from the sea behind the lush hills of ‘Kastraki’ and ‘Kalogria’, just a few hundred metres from ‘Beach’.

Some of the most beautiful houses of “Paralia” are built next to the sea, along the southern tip of the bay. They are the ones that more than others smell the iodine and saltiness of the sea and are scented by the wet breaths of lavender and grapefruit. Among them, first in the waves, stands an imposing two-storey building, with the date 1874 engraved on the top. In front of it stretches a pebbly creek, no more than 80 metres wide. At the southernmost point of the creek, last in the row of other houses, stands out a massive stone house with arches and brickwork, which, as unadorned as it is, is shown off realistically and in great detail. The predominance of course – with a few fortunately exceptions – of the single morphological type of the houses with white walls, blue doors and red tiled roofs, is much closer to the coastal character of the settlement and is perfectly combined with the perpetual presence of the blue sea. And it is indeed a great pleasure to stroll through this changing tricolour of the “Beach”, with the heady scent of lemon blossom diffusing through the spring atmosphere.

The lintels and other prominent places on the facades of the houses reflect their residential past with dates engraved or embossed. Whenever I see old dates – such as those of the 19th century – on various parts of the houses, I feel strange. I try to be transported in thought to the moment when the owner, that distant owner, instructed the master builder to carve the starting point in time, the beginning of the life of his creation. An expression of ego and pride?

An attempt to transcend time and preserve memory through the ages? Who knows!

What is certain is that at the moment of engraving on the stone or marble slab, time stopped and thus we later – many tens or even hundreds of years later – have the possibility to have indelible and irrefutable historical evidence of many works of man.

So, walking up the main road that crosses the “Beach” in a westerly direction and leads to the other settlement of Kyparissos, “Vrysi”, many such old dates pass our eyes, such as on a two-storey building of 1868 and a little further up on a renovated one of 1895. Still further up we find a fine two-story with strong ironwork in the walls. Its balcony is missing but the date, 1869, is embossed on the massive stone lintels that once held it up.

The house appears to be inhabited. Right next to it stands another two-story house with a fine stone relief and the date 1885.

Immediately afterwards the building fabric loosens, above the roofs of the houses the characteristic spartan silhouettes of a few cypress trees can be seen in the sky. We have already reached the very large church of the Holy Trinity. It is a three-aisled basilica with a marble chancel and whitewashed walls, without frescoes. The church is built with heavy, stone masonry that unfortunately loses the details of its architecture under the layer of lime. Its dome, however, is impressive. It is attached to the central part of the roof, massive and dodecagonal! A few dozen metres opposite the church to the south are the village cemeteries, at the foot of the rocky mass of the Kastraki hill.

Without realizing it, we have almost reached the “Fountain”. Outside the first houses of the settlement we are greeted by a giant oak tree and immediately afterwards the magnificent Primary School. An uphill and – in some places – very narrow road winds between the houses of the settlement, which extends along and on either side of the road over a large area. The architecture of the houses is almost identical to that of ‘Paralia’, but there are also some impressive neoclassical houses. What is missing are the – at least obvious – dates on the facades of the houses. Finally we discover one from 1925 and, in a low house on the side of the road, almost unseen under a thick layer of lime, one from 1883.

“Vrisi” is a picturesque village, whose large concentrations of greenery between the houses give it a large area and give it the character of a mountain village. There are small gardens with perfectly cultivated zarzovas, flowery courtyards, century-old olive and carob trees, water lilies and fragrant lemon trees, a nice paved square with a parking area and a large trilobo maple tree. Most of the houses are old and traditional and are distributed in beautiful neighborhoods with clean cemented streets. One such road takes us to the east in the direction of the “Kastraki” hill and disappears into an olive grove with over-aged olive trees. Among them, huge carob trees with their deep green foliage, loaded with small green carob trees and with impressive trunks, wrinkled and scarred by the years, stand out. And at the “Fountain”, as at the “Beach”, everyone is busy with the last touches of tidiness and cleanliness before Easter.

It is a peaceful and beautiful place, which, although it is not bathed by the blue Mirtoo, nevertheless offers great pleasure to anyone who walks around the settlement and its countryside.

In the centre of ‘Vrysi’ stands the magnificent church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which is the parish church of all the settlements of Kyparissos. Worthy of attention is a much smaller chapel, by the side of the road and about a hundred meters above the School. Its rare triple roof gives it a tone of gracefulness and lightness. The chapel is three-storied and dedicated to Saints Onoufrios and Tryphon and to the Annunciation.

TOUR TO THE WEST AND SOUTH: Pictures of unexpected beauty

Cypress is a geological favour of nature. From the rugged crests that surround it with their wild rocky ridges and ravines, a vast green surface, a compact and unspoilt vegetation, starts with steep slopes and ends smoothly in the sweet embrace of its bay. There, the varied shades of green from the trees and shrubs provide the colour composition to the transparent tones of blue and blue-blue of the coast of the Myrtoo Sea.

If we wanted to name the huge ridge that occupies the whole arc from the south, west and north, we would find, in order, “Babala” with the fir forest at its top, “Megalo Zastano” and the characteristic double and rocky peak of “Paliochora”. Throughout this mountain range, which catalytically blocks the southern and western horizon, are interspersed successive “zastanas”, i.e. small lofts between vertical rocks, each with a – usually very difficult – access. After Paliochora, the ‘Mark’s Ridge’ develops. Below this spring-covered peak, the path that used to connect Kyparissi with the mountainous settlement of Kremasti passes underneath in about 4 hours. Nearby, like a white marker, the chapel of Agia Varvara stands out. Further north there are several peaks with the place names. It is an altogether stunning mountainous area, with a great mountaineering interest and a great variety of vegetation, which is in fact the southeastern extension of the great mountain range of Parnonas. We hope that in the future we will be able to cross this whole area and describe it in a special article.

Starting our tour we stop the car at a distance of 1.3 km southwest of “Vrysi”, at the bend of the road with the old, stone water mill. The landscape is impressive and is characterized by reddish vertical rocks with many carved cavities in between.

It is the so-called “Sanctuary of Asclepius”, mentioned by Pausanias in his travels, when, walking from the coastal town of “Zaraka” (today’s “Gerakas”) to the mainland, he came across the ruins of the ancient city of “Kyphanta” and among them the sacred cave of Asclepius with his marble statue, near a spring of cold water, which flowed from the rock: “There are ruins of those called Cyphanta, and in them is the cave of the sacred Asclepius, and the statue of the stone”. Ptolemy clearly distinguishes the Mediterranean city of Kyphanta mentioned by Pausanias from the port of the same name (‘Kyphanta limen’) in the bay of present-day Kyparissia. Scattered ruins on a hill and fortified sites in the area (acropolis, Byzantine castle, medieval ruined village in today’s ‘Paliochora’) prove that the wider valley was inhabited in later times.

According to the archaeologist M. Gianniou – Papafragou (‘The area of Zaraka in Laconia’), ‘the fortifications of the two towns – fortified town with acropolis Zarax, fortified with acropolis Kyphantas – we do not know at what time they were constructed, but they certainly indicate that measures were taken to protect them from the sea. If their construction can be traced back to the years of Spartan rule in the area, they could be seen as part of a defensive strategy of Sparta, when the Athenians (during the Peloponnesian War), causing great damage to the Lacedaemonian state, abused the eastern Laconian coast. As for the communication of the Cyphanates with the Aegean islands, it is proved by a single inscription found in Karthaia of Kea, which informs us that in the 4th century BC, Cyphanates maintained relations with the island of Kea.

As for the cave of Asclepius, the late caveologist Anna Petrochilou, who visited the area, gives us a detailed description of the cave complex, in which she mentions the carved reservoir into which the waters from rock crevices and small stalactites of minimal yield are channeled. It also mentions small carved cavities connected by narrow carved grooves that lead to an artificial built reservoir that collected the water. Therefore, according to Anna Petrochilou, from the whole appearance of the cave it can be concluded that it was used in the old times as a healing centre and place of worship. This is also inferred from the carvings on the wall, where the votive offerings were placed by those who came for bathing or treatment, given that the water collected from the dripping water of the cave was attributed with healing properties.

With our good friend, caveologist and mountaineer Yannis Kofinas as our guide and companion, we continue along the path under the hollow rocks of the cave of Asclepius towards the interior of the gorge. Initially it is carved into the rock and immediately continues with many dozens of steps and reaches the chapel of the “Assumption of the Virgin Mary”, which seems to hover on the edge of the cliff.

Here there is a fountain with scarce water. The chapel is tiny and from its little window we look out over the settlement of Vrysi and the sea.

We continue to climb the steps in the heat and with plenty of sweat. In a few minutes we reach the second chapel, built under the protective roof of a huge rock. The chapel is dedicated to the “Panagia Treherousa” and from the rocky plateau that extends to the edge of the cliff, the view is magnificent. An iron cross, a Greek flag and an iconostasis of the Transfiguration are the human additions to the natural rocky plateau. On the hollow walls of the rock, around and above the chapel, stalactite decoration has developed, and any attempt to continue is impossible, since the vertical cliff is accessible only to climbers.

Return to the first chapel and, a few metres further up, spot a subtle path that veers off obliquely to the SW and ends at the bottom of the gully. The vegetation around us is lush with maples, holly, large arbutus, terbendas, laurels, myrtles, oleander, stunningly colourful cyclamen and many other wild flowers and shrubs. Quickly the walk develops into a rough and steep crossing of the stream bed, which at this time of year has not a drop in it. This phenomenon is of course due (M. Gianniou-Papafragou) “to the high water permeability that characterizes the limestone mountain ranges, which inhibits the continuous and periodic runoff in the bed of the streams. Thus, this run-off becomes occasional, occurs only after heavy rainfall and lasts for a short period of time. Water from underground springs along the eastern coast finds its way out into the Myrtoo and the area appears completely arid on the surface. Thus the drinking water of the settlements in the area is collected in cisterns during the rainy season.

Kyparissi, however, even though it is scarce, has spring water and of very good quality, as we had the opportunity to see. This is the spring that John and I are going to locate. The thick iron pipe leads us there, which is an important support point on the difficult climb. At some point, after a lot of sweat, we arrive in front of the concrete shaft at an altitude of 250 meters. We open the iron lid and our efforts are rewarded with the amazing and cool mountain water that flows with momentum from the pipe.

–I suggest a short break for some relaxation, says John and his suggestion is immediately accepted.

A few dozen yards above the shaft we are greeted by a stunning natural outcrop, consisting at its base of a solid layer of flat slabs, while above it a rocky shed provides beneficial shade, so necessary at this midday hour. But the most fascinating element in our balcony is the view and the spectacular natural surroundings, which to the west consists of a formidable mass of vertical reddish rocks, completely blocking the horizon.

To the north, at almost the same height as us, the – unseen until now – chapel of Prophet Elias emerges and behind in the background Spetses and the Argolida straits. We prolong our break for several minutes enjoying the cool breeze, the view, the sound of water in the pipes and the chirping of nightingales from the bottom of the gorge. Then we climb gently up the distinct path, which in three minutes leads us to the chapel of the Prophet’s Chapel. It is located on a flowery plateau at an altitude of 300 metres with a top view of every point on the horizon. It is two-aisled, built roughly in the shape of a capital “T”. Its tiled roof is four-pitched, while the interior is vaulted, with heavy stone construction. Only in the sanctuary and in one part of the walls some traces of frescoes can be seen, since everything is covered with lime.

A few dozen metres to the north, the remains of old dry stone walls are preserved at a small height. By a path half-cut among heather, dogwoods and fragrant thyme we climb for a short distance to the NW and in about five minutes we reach a small concrete shed, which juts out above the bushes. The view from the altitude of 340 metres is unique and embraces all three settlements of Kyparissos along with the sea horizon at the same time.

-I think this is the most beautiful view we have had so far, I say enthusiastically to John.

-Do you have any idea why the concrete shed is built in such a remote and beautiful natural setting? my friend asks me.

I shake my head in the negative.

-To protect the entrance to the “Bambola Cave”. Just below your feet is the hole that leads to the bottom of the cave.

Let’s be transported for a moment mentally into the depths of the mountainous country of Kyparissia, with the wonderful photographs of Yannis Kofinas as our guides and some excerpts from the original text of Anna Petrochilou, written in 1960.

“The cave is located northwest of the village of Vrisi of the Community of Kyparissiou, Epidaurus Limira district, on the eastern side of the mountain “Bambola”, at a height of about 350 meters and exactly at the location “Panovrisi”. The Community of Kyparissios requested in writing from the Hellenic Speleological Society the provision of a special caveologist, who would be able to pay for his travel and accommodation costs in the area under study. The H.S.E. gave the relevant instruction to the writer. The exploration was carried out on 21 May 1960, with the help of Sp. Kingdom, kindly offered and the valuable assistance of local residents.

The access to the cave is through the village of Vrysi through an uphill trail and a half-hour march on uneven ground of rocky texture. The path leads to the entrance of the cave. The whole area around the cave is rocky but with rich forest vegetation, mainly of woody vegetation.

The Bambola cave consists of two floors of four chambers each. The entrance has an opening of 1 x 0,80 m, with a vertical depth of 3,5 m. There is a richly decorated corridor with beautiful stalactites through which the roots of the bushes above it have penetrated, giving it an original decoration. The floor of the corridor is quite low, the length is 12,5 m, the width 2,4 m and the height of the roof 7 m. In an alcove of the corridor there is a bone of a bosom stuck together with stalactite.

At the end and to the left of the corridor, through a one-metre drop, we enter a chamber, elegantly decorated with stalactites and stalagmites. Its dimensions are 8 metres long, 6 metres wide and 4,5 metres high. To the left and towards the end of this chamber were found goat bones.

At the end of the chamber we ascend on stalagmites and reach another chamber whose walls and ceiling are quite decorated. Finally, through a low uphill entrance 1,20 m high, we reach the fourth and last chamber of the upper floor of the cave. Here there are beautifully decorated walls and three openings to the lower floor. In a prominent position there is a beautiful fine stalagmite 3 metres high. Below this is the largest mouth.”

Petrochilou then describes the decoration of the chambers on the lower floor, which is not as richly decorated as the upper floor, and concludes:

“The cave extends from east to west. It is 48 metres long. The length of its corridors is about 100 metres, and its greatest depth is 15,5 metres. The temperature in the cave on the day of the visit was 17o C, while outside the cave at noon on the same day it was 33o C. Humidity 100. Dolichopoda petrochilosi were found in the cave, not excluding other insect species, as no special survey was carried out. No bats were found living in the cave.

Petrochilou concludes by proposing in detail all the interventions that she considers necessary for the tourist exploitation of the cave, indicating even the budget of the project, which at that time (1960) amounted to 60,000 drachmas.

Among the dense bushes and the innumerable wildflowers, we find with difficulty the stony and downhill path, which in half an hour leads us above Vrisi, on a wide old path with several sections of cobbled road, leading to the hinterland.

Another point with panoramic views across the horizon, land and sea, is the hill of mobile phone antennas that dominates to the S, above the “Beach”.

Here we need not tire ourselves on an uphill path. The paved road above the fountain leads us after 2 km to the junction with the uphill cement road to the antennas. We pass the iron entrance, follow a short dirt road and reach the top, at an altitude of 340m. The view to the sea, the surrounding mountains and the settlements of Kyparissos is impressive. The rugged limestone ground is covered with rowan, holly, cedar, wild olive and carob trees, many wild flowers and among them many colourful cyclamen and orchids. On the densely wooded slopes, at an altitude of no more than 200 metres, there are a few scattered trees, the presence of which is unbelievable in this southern latitude and especially at such a low altitude. They are, improbable as it may seem, fir trees! It is this species of Kefalonian fir, which is naturally abundant in the “Snow Mountain” and in the highlands of the region, but it is absolutely paradoxical to grow at this altitude.

– And where to see another fir tree, which I discovered a few years ago in the area, says John. You won’t believe your eyes. As long as it still exists.

So we set off full of ambition and enormous curiosity for the tiny beach of “Drymiskos”. At a distance of 3 km from the centre of Vrysi, after the uphill bends, we find a downhill dirt road on the left of the road. In the first 2,5-3 km the road is passable for any car, but then it gets rougher. The vegetation is dense with all the familiar trees and shrubs of the area, but oaks appear sporadically, which again are an exception to the rule of the height of the vegetation zones. After 4,2 km, the extremely rough road leads to the beach of Drymiskos.

According to M. Gianniou, it is the only place name in the area with the suffix -iskos, which is ancient and has been preserved both in Byzantine and post-Apostolic times. In fact, the same place name is recorded in Crete.

The ormistos is magnificent, with an opening of no more than 50 metres. All around it is surrounded by wild rocks and all the pristine vegetation of the area. On the coast the pebbles are fine, smooth and grey-black. The creek is sheltered from all weathers, except for the easterly winds. The only visible point of land is the island of Parapola in the background of Myrtoo.

John has already disappeared, desperately searching through the impenetrable vegetation for the deer. After 20 minutes he returns seated and frustrated.

– I couldn’t flush it out, here the place has turned into a jungle. Maybe they’ve cut it off again. Unfortunately you missed the opportunity to document the rarest and strangest occurrence of native spruce in Greece and – why not – in Europe.

After Drymiskos we continue to climb uphill towards the neck of Stavros, just before the Harakas plateau. At the end of the now familiar dizzying route, we meet a concrete path on the left, which after 100 m leads us to Agia Paraskevi. A spacious plateau is formed next to the chapel, but from its edge the view of the cliffs is breathtaking. From one point an old, winding cobbled path starts, which once ran all the way down the gorge, but today it is largely destroyed.

Very close to the beginning of the cement road, a track climbs steeply uphill, which after about half a kilometre ends at the top of the hill. The road is so rough that it is not even recommended for 4 x 4’s. At the top of the hill we find ourselves in front of ruined bastions, battlements and the remains of the fortifications of the medieval castle of Harakas. A cistern is built into one part of the wall, while the chapel of the Prophet’s Chapel dominates the top of the hill. The wind is fierce, but this does not prevent us from delighting our vision for a long time with the overwhelming view to every point of the horizon.

Immediately afterwards we stop for a while at the church of Aghios Theodoros, before the first houses of Harakas, which was renovated in 1958. The exterior and interior of the church is plastered. Only in the sanctuary and in the vaulted part of the church in front of the Beautiful Gate the old frescoes are preserved, but with several damages.

We cross the plateau of Harakas with an unrelenting wind and end up in the settlement of Raheia, the seat of the Municipality of Zaraka. Here we meet the Mayor Panagiota Priftaki with her colleagues – young, dynamic and with settled views on the problems of her municipality, she provides us with every assistance for the completion of our project.

Accompanied by a young man of the village we visit the very remarkable Folklore Museum of Rechia. On the first floor it houses tools and utensils of everyday life, looms, a complete blacksmith’s workshop and a very peculiar hive made of straw and clay. On the second floor there are handicrafts, local costumes, many old photographs and historical documents, handmade tools and many other exhibits. It is altogether an amazing work, which preserves , which preserves the local tradition in all its manifestations.

TOUR TO THE NORTH

The first coffee of the day on the balcony of our apartment is always enjoyable. We are located at one of the highest points of the settlement of “Metropolis”, which is built amphitheatrically with new houses, as a rule. Low down to the south we overlook the “Paralia” and its bay, while to the west the whole of the inaccessible mountain range that surrounds the area.

The air is always fragrant. The source of the fragrance is apparently a lemon tree in bloom in the next yard.

-But not only that one, the neighbour tells us one morning. It is also the orange tree of the ‘Valencia’ variety, which, as you can see, is laden with oranges and flowers that will bear fruit next year.

A little above our apartment lives Mrs. Anna Poulaki, who still makes her own cheese products for her family’s needs using genuine “pitia”, which comes from the raw milk that the goats drink when they are born. She invites us and we watch the process in her backyard, in the shade of a large locust tree. Over a slow fire, the milk curdles in the cauldron and, with the expert hands of Mrs. Anna, is transformed into kefalotyri, feta and mizithra, products that are pure, delicious and traditional.

To get to know the northern coast of Kyparissia we continue along the asphalt road that crosses the Metropolis and leads us after one kilometer to the extensive and beautiful pebbled beach of Agios Nikolaos. In the shallow waters of the rocky bay’s rocky cove, a pier with a small harbour has been built next to the chapel of the saint of sailors.

At this point the bay looks like a closed, sheltered embrace.

– In the local name it is called “thinni”, says Yannis Poulakis, an employee of the Municipality of Zaraka, who is with us. The name is due to the ancient word “thynnos”, from which the current name of the fish “tuna” is derived. That is, it is the part of the coast with shallow, warm and sheltered waters, where some seasonal fish choose to lay their eggs. In this particular case, the “Mayan tuna” come from mid-May to mid-June. This is why the location is called ‘the Mayan dune’.

– And how do they fish? I ask John.

– The traditional way, which is a whole process. During the period when the mayan comes, there is a boat permanently anchored at the entrance of the cove, with an observer sitting on an elevated spot from dawn to dusk. When the observer sees the fish entering the cove, he alerts his colleagues on shore, who then use specially placed nets to trap the mayfishes, which are kept fresh in the sea until they are sold. This coast is put up for auction for a number of years and the bidder who bids receives a licence to fish mayflies for the corresponding period.

But the interest of the site doesn’t stop there. Just above “the maypole”, on the side of the road, there is a cave with the same name. It was discovered in the 1980s, during the road construction works. It’s an innocent hole in the ground, which, no matter how many times we’ve passed it so far, we’ve never noticed. Yannis Kofinas – acting as host who has a long-standing knowledge of his local area – invites us to visit it. So we had a full body suit, helmet and we penetrated with him. Access is not difficult. Stepping on some solid stalagmite ledges we are on the floor of the cave in half a minute. In the light of the torch a real rain of stalactites is revealed on the ceiling of the room in a very dense arrangement. On the sides of them are sprouts resembling primitive spears.

From their spikes the drops drip on the ground continuously, one after the other. It is an intense drip, which, with the constant deposition of calcareous material, contributes to the slow but steady increase in the size of stalactites and stalagmites.

From one point of the roof hang over our heads, in parallel continuous arrangement, dozens of parapet stalactites, known as “curtains”. While their mode of formation is uniform, their shape, dimensions and thickness vary.

As a result – as you tap them lightly with your fingers – each produces its own fascinating and distinctive sound, like a magical instrument endowed with a wondrous sonic variety by nature.

The ground slopes gently downhill. In some places it is slippery from moisture and elsewhere quite uneven from large pieces of rock that have been detached from the roof. We walk carefully, however, our march does not last long, finishing in front of a beautiful pond filled with water.

Its dimensions – compared to the limited dimensions of the cave – are not to be sniffed at. Its length must be close to 20 meters, while its maximum width is 5-6 meters. In front of the lake a massive stalagmite column rises to the roof. The flat surface at its upper point shows that at some time the ground gave way by about half a metre and deprived it of the right to support the roof of the cave.

Perhaps wanting to make amends, nature has continued to feed it with limestone material and so in some places the column has again joined the roof.

The surface of the pond is disturbed every now and then by drops of water, which, falling down, form continuous circles. I bend down and test the water. It is cool but brackish.

– That’s normal, John says, since the surface of the pond is almost level with the surface of the sea.

It is of particular importance to say that the lake was explored in February 2001 by cave divers of the SP.EL.E.O., who dived to a depth of 17 meters and found at the bottom an underwater chamber about 40 meters long, decorated in many places with parapet stalactites and large stalagmites.

While we were browsing the lake and the lithic decoration, several bats fluttered overhead. But these are not the only inhabitants of the cave. During the exploratory expedition by the large team of the SP.EL.E.O., a species of mouse with a rich coat on its tail had also been seen, known by the name “Pelehi”. The last image of a living creature in the cave is a bat, sleeping with its head down, just two meters from the cave entrance. Despite the flash that glitters from John’s camera, it remains asleep and motionless, completely indifferent to our presence.

After the cave and its bay Agios Nikolaos, a dirt road climbs in a northerly direction over the coast. It is part of an ambitious project, which if and when completed , will allow the coastal connection of Kyparissia with Leonidio. The opening from Kyparissi has already started in the 1980s and continued in the 1990s. Thus, for the first time, the isolated settlement of ‘Kapsala’, on the border of the prefectures of Laconia and Arcadia, which until then had only been connected by footpaths, was connected by road. We therefore set out to discover the almost abandoned settlement and to get to know this route along the coastline, which may one day in the future become the fastest way to reach the coast.

And the happiest connection of Kyparissos with all the eastern coasts of the Peloponnese. The road surface is very good and the route is of great interest. It winds gently up and down limestone hillsides, covered with dense bushy vegetation dominated by bushes and holly. The shores are generally wild and inaccessible, but now and then they form beautiful bays, peaceful blue coves between the rocky shoreline. On some gentle slopes the native scrub vegetation has been replaced by olive groves, with beautiful terraces reaching almost to sea level. At the end of such an olive grove, a rural house, far from towns and villages, overlooks the sea below.

The road climbs inland, at a considerable height from the sea. We come across a fork with a small iconostasis of St. Nicholas. We turn uphill to the left and pass through century-old olive trees, carob trees and trilobed maples. The first stone dwellings of Kapsala appear sporadically. The road becomes rough and ends at a point that could be described as the centre of the village. We are at an altitude of 300 metres and at a distance of 11,6 km from the bay of Agios Nikolaos. Around us there are old houses, stone-built, some with modern tiled roofs, several dilapidated, large wells, a millstone, in the courtyards stone ovens, each house has its own.

Carob trees and huge olive trees everywhere. Kapsala could have been a vibrant village, traditional and beautiful. As it was until the late 1950s. Then slowly the settlement began to empty. In the 1990s there were only five or six families left and after 2001, only a few farmers live here seasonally. Even so, the candles in the chapel of St. George are still lit.

On the way out of the village we meet the man who may have lit them. An old man, sitting next to his sheep. At the sound of the word “Thessaloniki” his face lights up. He shakes my hand. Then he sighs with nostalgia.

– I went there too, I served in a camp, many years ago. I loved that town, it had nice people. I haven’t been back since.

We head down from the iconostasis of St. Nektarios and continue on. Half a kilometre later, the Myrtoo Sea with Parapola, Spetses and all the other islands is again visible in a short distance and with great clarity. New coasts, new enchanting bays, virgin vegetation everywhere, absolute solitude. The road becomes rough as it goes on, it is obvious that it is nearing its end. 5 km after Ag. Nektarios and 17 almost from Kyparissi, it ends. Only 4 km separate it from the famous bay and port of “Fokianos” in Arcadia, where the only access at present is by path.

EPILOGUE

In the last afternoon before our departure we start to visit the seaside chapel of Agios Georgios. From the southernmost point of the settlement of Paralia, next to a small fountain, we climb a few steps and are immediately on the path. What a sweet little path this is, what a pleasure to walk along it!

The dirt terrain is perfect, the slopes imperceptible, after a while we come across two wonderful benches overlooking the sea. All the vegetation of the place and all the flowers seem to have gathered here. Higher up are the impenetrable slopes of the “Hill of Kalogria”, below the hostile shores that remind one of the rough volcanic rocks of Nisyros.

Halfway along the route we reach the “First groove”, a lilliputian creek, not reaching 15 meters. At the “Second groove”, half an hour’s drive from “Paralia”, is built Agios Georgios, on the cliffs of the coast, with its fine concrete pier, steps and gravel pebbles for mooring boats and boats. Araxovoli for sure, the times don’t take it, maybe only a stubborn maestro. But then again, how many waves can she make, the opposite shore is close by.

It’s getting dark. The waters are darkening, and the surrounding ridge-beds. As we begin the beautiful return, we meet three Cypress women. They are not out for a simple walk to St. George’s. They go to light his nightly candles…