Glenn, Nigel (his friend of many years) and the builder that converted their house, have just jointly bought what is affectionately known as 'The Yacht'. We went down the coast just south of Tyros to assist with the first launch and met Nigel and wife Wendy at the house that they had just built with the aid of their builder and boat partner. It is a beautiful house commanding lovely views down over olive groves to the sea with the island of Spetses in the distance. The generous bedrooms are downstairs, giving the upstairs living rooms the best views. The house has a few olive trees but not a huge amount of land, so it would be ideal as a holiday home. If we were in the market for a holiday home in Greece, this would have been very tempting given its position in such a beautiful area of our beloved Peloponnese.
The 'Yacht' is actually a small rowing boat that will be used for fishing expeditions. It had new oars but the promised rollocks had not been delivered by the builder so Nigel had to improvise with some rope. The launch involved manhandling the boat over the pebble beach that also had some large rocks on it. A path was cleared and a discarded pallet was used to reduce the risk of damaging the bottom of the boat as we pulled it over the beach. Nigel made the tactical move of getting into the boat as soon the stern was in the water – he insisted that this was to assist by pushing off with the oars but we thought it was just to avoid getting his feet wet. The boat was soon afloat and after ten minutes checking for leaks, it was declared seaworthy although rollocks would need to be obtained. Hauling the boat back on shore, I snapped the anchor rope in the process – it was a good job that they hadn't relied on that holding the boat!
We retired to Nigel and Wendy's house back in Tyros (higher up the hill from Sapounakeika) for lunch and spent a very pleasant few hours chatting to them and their 15 year old son Alex. Alex was on a strict regime, rigorously enforced by Wendy, of revision for his impending International GCSEs but was allowed to join us for lunch. He was very good company and very mature for his age. He rebuked Wendy for speaking to him in Greek, saying that it was rude to speak to him in Greek whilst in our company. This was almost certainly to deflect his mother from questions or instructions about his revision! Wendy mentioned that on Monday she was pre-walking a walk for the SAS (Saturday Afternoon Strollers), a group that they run when they are in Athens. They often have over 100 people attending the walks around Athens but this was to be a weekend away in Tyros. We told them about the BAGS (Butleigh Ambling Group) that I had set up in our village but the numbers attending our walks were much more modest! Wendy invited us to join her on the Monday walk and we accepted immediately – we couldn't miss the opportunity to walk in the area with such a personable and expert guide.
In the evening we wanted to go to the church for the Easter service. This has to be conducted in every Greek Orthodox church (not all of the small chapels) and there are three in Tyros and Sapounakeika, but only one priest. This means that they cannot all climax at the traditional time of midnight and the service in Sapounakeika was the earliest of the three. Glenn volunteered to sit with a nervous Sam, as fireworks were already going off, whilst Venice, Jane and I walked up to the church. I was just ahead of the girls and as I walked into the yard in front of the church, the priest came out with his lectern to continue the service. At this point all hell broke out as the boys (including many overgrown boys), who had been throwing the odd banger outside the church, started throwing them into the small square in front of the church. The bangers were exploding all around the small group of faithful parishioners that had gathered close to the door and they increased dramatically in intensity when the priest spoke the words “Christos Anesti” (Christ is risen) and the bells rang out briefly. The noise was deafening as the explosions of these giant bangers, often landing at my feet, echoed around the square. I was trapped in the square, unable to leave as the bangers were concentrated in the area of the steps out of the square. It was impossible to hear the priest – the PA system that he was using was on the blink meaning that only one word in ten was amplified. This lead to a surreal effect of staccato speech in an incomprehensible (to me) language with an occasional emphasised word in amongst the deafening explosions. Eventually, the frequency of bangers diminished and I was able to make a dignified exit. Close to the church was the traditional bonfire, lit just off the road and a few metres down in the deep gorge that runs beside the village. The fire was quite dramatic with flames over 3m high engulfing the bushes around it. It looked as though it was out of control but the people standing on the road by it seemed totally unconcerned. They continued to light bangers in their hands and throw them close to passers-by – I provided a handy target. It was well intentioned – everyone got the same treatment and the trick was not to jump when they went off, a technique that I quickly developed.
This area of Greece (Kynouria) stretches from Astros to Leonidio (over 45km), was very isolated until a coastal road was built in the 1950s. With no roads on the coast and backed by 40km of high plane in front of the impenetrable range of Mount Parnon (6,345ft), the only means of transport was mule or boat and many inhabitants never left the area. The region was settled in ancient Greek times by a people who spoke an ancient Greek dialect similar to Dorian but with elements dating back to the early Bronze Age Pelasgians. This dialect this still survives today as Tsakonika, with many older inhabitants only speaking this language. Venice has learned enough Greek to communicate well generally in Greece (something I would love to be able to do) but the Tsakonika dialect is yet another hurdle that she has to face.
Along with the language, the Tsakonians have their own traditions one of which relates to Easter. Officially called 'Aerostats' and unofficially 'Flying Condoms', they are giant (approx. 2m high), brightly coloured, cylindrical paper hot air balloons. They are launched at midnight from all of the Tsakonian villages as soon as the priests announces “Christos Anesti”. We sat on Glenn and Venice's balcony until 01:30 watching as the balloons were released one after the other from the town of Paralia Tyros (Tyros Beach) below. Looking like giant fireflies, they rose quickly and drifted gracefully south in the light breeze. It was a magical sight as a string of bright dots ran across the dark sky and over the mountains. There were also three very impressive firework displays in separate locations in Paralia Tyros. Starting at different times, we had a wonderful view of them all and when all three were going together it was difficult to decide which one to watch.
Photos: The priest has come out into the square and the bellringer is prepared for the announcement of “Christos Anesti”; Red flares light the faithful – you will have to imagine the deafening noise from the bangers!; Fireworks burst over the bell tower whilst the Greek flag flies proudly.
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