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A Christmas wonderland and masterful stonemasonry under the snow-capped mountains of Tzoumerka, Epirus

The village of Pramanta in Tzoumerka, Epirus is famous for its master stonemasons (known as “mastores” or “mastoroi”).

These skilled craftsmen could produce intricate and durable structures using local stone and traditional methods. The nearby villages of Syrrako and Kalarites, which are absolutely stunning and protected under historic preservation laws, were largely built by these craftsmen.

Perhaps the most famous master stonemason of Pramanta was Kostas Bekas, who constructed the historic Plaka Bridge over the Arachthos River, the largest single-arch stone bridge in Greece.

 
 

It was completed in 1866 but suffered serious damage during the devastating flood of 2015. Today, it stands complete and accessible again, having been restored by a team of contemporary master stonemasons from Athens.

See more photographs of the Plaka bridge and details about its restoration.

Many of the traditional buildings in Pramanta were destroyed in a major earthquake in the 1970s, but the village still maintains its original charm with its beautiful paved streets and stone buildings.

The legacy of the stonemasons is preserved to this day through traditional building workshops and the work of modern-day masons such as Yiorgos Bekas, a descendant of the famous stonemason family.

As you enter the village, the first monument you see depicts a stone trowel on a rock, but that is just a small taste of the tribute the locals have paid to the huge stonemasonry legacy of the village.

 
 

Our coach parked at the edge of the high street at a crossroads. Right at the entrance of that main street, a work of art mounted on the wall depicts stonemasons at work and their various tools.

It leads the eye naturally down the street toward the main square of Pramanta and pays homage to the skillful craftsmen whose works still stand whole and beautiful today, all over the area of Tzoumerka.

The main square of Pramanta had been transformed during our visit into a Christmas wonderland for the holiday season.

 

On the lower side of the square, we admired a perennial plane tree and the church of Agia Paraskevi. The buildings all around looked whimsical decorated with string lights.

A sign at the square informed us that the Greek saint and avid preacher, Cosmas Aitolos (aka Cosmas the Aitolian), gave a speech to the locals at that very square in the summer of 1779.

The saint dedicated his life to preaching the gospel all over Greece and urged the people to build schools so that the Greek children could learn about the Faith and be well-grounded in Christian values.

He is thus widely cherished and celebrated by the Greek church for helping to preserve the faith and the Greek identity during a centuries-old occupation under a barbaric ruler.

Before visiting Pramanta, we had been tipped to choose the restaurant Boutzas for lunch. We weren’t disappointed. It was quite crowded in there, but we got served soon enough. Sitting by a window with a view to beautiful mountains we sampled local pie and cockerel with ‘hylopites’ pasta in an aromatic tomato sauce.

This restaurant experience was simply divine, and I urge you to visit it too if you’re ever in the area. Boutzas is situated right at the square, across from the plane tree (it is not the blue building in the photo above, but it’s standing to the right from there).

After our hearty lunch, we took some time to walk around the “Christmas wonderland” I mentioned before, which included a Santa’s grotto and a mailbox for posting letters to Santa. It was pretty cold, but fun walking around and exploring every corner of the square and the nearby streets until it was time to leave.

 
 

Our next stop was the much quieter village of Agnanta that offers stunning vistas to the mountains and the village itself on the opposite peak. The village is built on multiple levels, some houses standing on much lower ground edged by lush fields.

We had a quick coffee in Agnanta as the light of day waned fast, and soon were on our way back to our hotel in Arta, having admired the Christmas lights and a humble nativity scene once it got dark.

Visit my Facebook page to see all my photos from Pramanta and Agnanta.

Read all about the historical city of Arta and the chilling legend behind its stone bridge.

 

All this talk and pictures of snow-capped mountains made me think of these special low-fat cookies that I make every New Year. I call them ‘magic snowball cookies’ because in the oven they flatten and crack and take this mouthwatering shape.

They annually have pride of place on my New Year’s Eve table with the Vassilopita, i.e. the Greek traditional cake that contains a coin inside!

See this post for details and recipes for both these festive delicacies, and others too!

 

I will bid you adieu with this fun photo of my husband and me from the festive square in Pramanta. Merry Christmas, everyone! I will be speaking to you again a year later 😜 (Sorry, old family joke, couldn’t resist!) I meant, in January 😁 Till then, have fun and enjoy all things lovely and warm 🥰

 

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Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. The story is inspired from the author’s love for Moraitika and its people. Now, also available as an audio book! Visit Amazon

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters! The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind! Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes! Visit Amazon

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The legend of the Bridge of Arta and a church with a tragic story

The haunting legend of the Bridge of Arta

During my Christmas journey to Epirus, I had the pleasure to visit the Bridge of Arta. Oddly enough, I had seen it dozens of times in my life, but only from afar and for a few seconds at a time, just passing through in the family car, as my father drove us to Corfu. Somehow, we never stopped to see it. I guess we were always too excited and eager to get to Igoumenitsa for the ferry crossing on time, LOL!

So, anyway, the time finally came for me to see the legendary bridge of Arta, and it was absolutely worth the wait.

The site is beautiful with a cafe and a local produce store on the side where our coach left us. Walking along the bridge offers picturesque views as the sound of rushing waters from the river Arachthos reaches the ears.

This magnificent stone bridge was built in the 1600s and typically carries the legend of sacrifice related to various stone bridges all over Epirus.

The folk poem is in old Greek and thus quite lyrical as it rolls out the tongue, but I’ll do my best not to ruin it in the translation to English. Here goes one small excerpt:

 

Forty-five masons and sixty apprentices

Were contstructing a bridge on the river of Arta

All day they built it, and at night it would collapse.

A little bird went and sat on the right of the arch

It didn’t tweet like a bird – it spoke as a human:

“Unless you sacrifice a person, the bridge won’t stay in place.

“Do not sacrifice an orphan, a foreigner or a passer by

“But the lead mason’s beautiful wife.”

 

(If you speak Greek, you can read the original in its entirety here.)

So, according to the legend, the lead mason sacrificed his wife, albeit reluctantly, and with a heavy heart. One of the masons tricked her into going on lower ground at the first arch saying her husband’s ring had fallen down there, and the woman offered to find it.

The workers began to build around her, and her husband layed a stone. Realising what was happening, the woman lamented her misfortune and cursed the bridge to fall, but her husband urged her to take the curse back, since she had a brother that might cross it and die.

Thus, the woman took back her curse and blessed the bridge to be strong like the mountains, so that if her brother crosses it he won’t be harmed.

As I stated earlier, there are legends of this kind all over Epirus, related to its masterful stone bridges, and they serve as a symbolism of the great sacrifice that it may take for a creator to make something magnificent.

And, more often than not, it is something very precious to him that has to be lost.

Even though human sacrifice probably never happened in Greece during construction of any kind, the Greeks, believe it or not, used to sacrifice roosters (or, less commonly, hens or lambs) in earlier times. I believe people still did this largely up until the 60s or so, when traditions were never questioned and were still followed religiously.

The owner of the house would kill a rooster, shedding its blood on the foundations, and leave its body there to ensure the house would stay erect. No kidding!

If you’d like to catch the vibe at the site of the bridge, with the sound of the river Arachthos flowing busily, here is this short video I took from ground level, and this one I took from the bridge. Enjoy!

On the east side of the river Arachthos, by the bridge of Arta, stands, to this day, a large plane tree. It is 350 years old, 10 meters tall, with a circumference of 13.45 meters. The locals call it, “The plane tree of Ali Pasha.”

According to legend, the vicious Otthoman ruler of Ioannina and the whole of Epirus used to sit under the shade of this tree looking with glee at the people he had executed by hanging on its branches.

Sadly, I have no picture of it, as I never ventured on the other side of the river where it would be, and our time there was limited.

But you can see it here.

There’s an old folk song that gives voice to the plane tree, with these words:

“What is it, Plane Tree, and you look so wilted, even though your roots are in the water?”

“Ali Pasha has been here…”

Arta has a tremendous and diverse history that goes back for thousands of years. The ancient town Amvrakia used to stand where Arta is today. Arta has been recorded through the ages by Romans, Venetians, and Otthomans, of course.

The town has many places of interest today, as you would expect, including a large Byzantine fortress that stands on level ground amidst modern houses and traffic.

Arta has many Byzantine churches, too. One of the most beautiful is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. Its name, Panagia Parigoritissa, means “Virgin Mary, the Comforter.”

Here is a picture of the church, which I regret to say we never got to see on the inside. This wasn’t a programmed stop for our tour, and the place was closed at the time as it was Boxing Day.

We walked around the grounds from the street and saw from afar beautiful greenery and the 16 old monk cells our tour guide had mentioned, saying a monastery used to stand there in the past. You can see the old structure with the cells in line partly in the background.

Our tour guide also informed us of another legendary “sacrifice.” This one pertained to the construction of this church.

The church was built in 1285-1289 AC by Nikiforos I Komnenos Doukas and his wife Anna Palaiologina Katakouzinis.

The high dome is magnificent depicting the Pantrocrator (Christ). The dimensions of His image are huge, but because of the great height an optical illusion makes it seem normal in size.

Legend has it that the lead mason at this church had a very rigid idea about how he wanted to build it. But, as he was very popular, he had to leave the site at some point and go start work on another church. Before leaving, he gave precise instructions to one of the young masons about how he expected him to complete the building in his stead.

But, this mason had other ideas, and he didn’t hesitate to implement them, completing the church the way he wanted it.

When the lead mason returned to inspect the finished work, he was livid. It wasn’t just that the mason had ignored his instructions, but, as it turned out, the church was more beautiful the way this man had made it.

Consumed by both rage and envy, he led the man to the roof on the false pretense that he wanted to point out a weakness in the construction. Urging him to inch closer and inspect a spot near the edge, he pushed him.

The man got hold of the lead mason as he lost his balance, and they both fell to the ground and to their deaths. Legend has it that their bodies were left there and, in time, turned into stone. Today, two reddish boulders lay on the ground on the back of the church…

According to the same legend, after the young mason’s death, the Virgin Mary appeared before his mother to comfort her, and this was why the church was named, “Virgin Mary, the Comforter.”

Here is a short video on Youtube, just 1 minute long, so you can take a look at the grounds of the church and the truly stunning Byzantine architecture on the inside.

During this wonderful excursion, we stayed in a fabulous hotel just out of Arta, called “Byzantino.” It was true to its name with beautiful decorations of Byzantine motifs and luxurious spaces that would truly make an emperor feel right at home! 😀

GO HERE to see my pictures of the hotel, the church and the bridge.

 

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The joy of traveling and sunny Calamos

You know me… I cannot commit to staying at home too long. My heart always yearns for the next escape. I have always been an eager traveler, but in the recent years, I have been deprived of this great passion of mine.

Family health issues, first with my beloved Corfiot grandmother, then both my parents, who got ill with cancer in succession, forced me into assuming the role of carer that didn’t allow me to have almost any travel experiences at all for about 7 years.

Sadly, all the aforementioned members of my family are now gone. It’s tough to be left behind with all the memories, good and bad, and I am sure many of you can relate, but I continue to count my blessings every day as I have a lot to be thankful for – a husband who is loyal, funny, and who supports me on my writing journey, for one. And he is a fellow keen traveler to boot!

It’s been a busy year travelwise, which had the added benefit of allowing me to escape from the harrowing memories of the past few years and my own sense of mourning.

Traveling opens the horizons of the mind. It unravels and refreshes it and lifts the soul. If you are mourning whatever in your life, I highly recommend traveling to you as an escape, if you can do it. Even one-day escapes or extended time spent in nature often, especially in the company of other people, can have the same effect.

Andy and I had a wonderful 4-day coach tour to Epirus last Christmas. In the photo above, you can see some of the stunning places we visited. We stayed in Arta, that is well known for its legendary stone bridge. It’s pictured on the bottom right in the picture above, and you can read all about it here.

Each day, we went to a different place. We were enthralled to visit Tzoumerka for the first time, a mountain area near Arta very reminiscent of Zagori, as one will find there stone bridges and enchanting villages with beautiful stonemasonry.

We also dedicated a day to explore Ioannina, a stunning city built on a lake, that has a lot of history, mainly from the Otthoman Empire.

Last, we visited Messolonghi and the absolutely breathtaking Nafpaktos. The latter made our heads spin with its quaint beauty. The old fort on the tiny port made our cameras sing. I am going to have a hard time picking which pictures to show you from that place. They are all postcard-perfect!

Before I go, I’ll change the scenery completely for you! I am not going to leave you without some sunshine today. Nuh-uh!  There’s a few months left till it’s summer so I thought some sunny pictures would be very apt right now, to keep our hearts warm. Keep on reading!

 

A weekend at Calamos in north Attica

Since it’s so grey and cold out there right now, I hope these sunny photographs serve to brighten your day. They certainly did that for me.

Andy and I spent a weekend (2 nights) last September in a family hotel called Calamos Beach Resort.

It is situated in the area of Calamos in north Attica, across from the island of Evia (Euboia), 2.5 kms out of the town of Agioi Apostoloi.

We had all-inclusive bracelets, so all meals and drinks were paid for (we had to exercise all of our restraint LOL). We had everything we needed on the grounds for a fun weekend, but we did venture to the town to have a walk around, too.

Agioi Apostoloi has a lovely marina, very reminiscent of our town of Nea Peramos, what with the fishermen fixing their nets and chatting, and the local cats waiting to be fed. There were many inviting eateries and cafes on the seafront that seemed to be popular. We didn’t need to visit one of them, since the hotel provided everything we needed, but it’s lovely to know they are there in case we ever return to stay in town somewhere.

We came across 2 cinemas (always a plus when I visit towns as we are both film enthusiasts) and on the road that leads out of town, at a short distance away, there is a stunning church that I’d love to explore on the inside, perhaps during my next visit.

Back at the hotel, we had the most relaxing time, just lying under the trees or a beach umbrella for hours every day. The beach was perfect for me as I love pebbles – the sound waves make when they scrape pebbles is my favourite beach sound. I couldn’t get enough of it. As for the waters they were incredibly clear. Swimming there was amazing, reminding me of the perfect sparkling waters of my beloved island of Corfu.

The sea bed was uneven, mind you, with large pebbles, making it a little hard to get in and out of the water. I would recommend to use flippers or other suitable swimming footwear to swim in this place. The store in the hotel sells plastic swimming footwear in case anyone needs them.

They think of everything at this shop. It had great merchandise. We bought a box of playing cards to play by the pool in the evening. Doing that in the cool night air while people-watching proved to be more fun than watching TV all by ourselves in the room!

In the evening, we also took long quiet walks on the seafront along a wide cemented road with sparse traffic. The area seemed to be touristy in previous decades but no more. We saw various establishments that seemed deserted.

We didn’t walk too far after dark, though, as it can get pretty quiet there. And, for a short stretch near the hotel, there are no streetlights.

The view to the opposite shores of Evia (Euboia) in the dark was enchanting. In the areas where there are air turbines on the mountains–like in Aliveri–lights came on in the dark that blinked delightfully like little stars. It was all very pleasing to gaze at in the semidarkness.

If you’re interested in booking this hotel, you can find it here at Booking.com.

If you’re driving to the resort, you may benefit from these instructions:

To get to the resort, you take the Athens-Lamia highway and turn off at Kapandriti (after Afidnes). The route takes you via the centre of Kapandriti and continues to Calamos along a quiet country road. At Calamos there is a sign post to Agioi Apostoloi, where you take a right turn to follow a road at high altitude with panoramic coastal views.

Very important: Once in Agioi Apostoloi, make sure to drive all the way to the marina. Turn right there and immediately right again, at the first turn into a narrow road. The way is straight after that, and you will see the hotel on the left side of the road after a couple minutes’ drive.

We made the mistake of relying on Google maps and turned off the main road BEFORE reaching the marina. As a result, we found the hotel after a maze-like detour via narrow dirt roads in the backstreets of the town. Stupid Google maps! LOL!

I’ll know for next time. And I am saying this because I am definitely going back. Andy loved it there too, and we reminisce about it all the time.

I think the reason Andy and I loved this place so much is because it made us feel so relaxed…  As all our meals were included we didn’t have to venture anywhere outside looking for sustenance or even to think about what to order.

This hotel offered us a chance to unwind, and it was somewhat like us reverting to our childhood in a way… No worries at all, no schedule, no to do lists, nowhere we needed to be, no need for a watch. We just ate when we got hungry, swam, and slept all day!

GO HERE to see all my photographs and fill up with Greek sunshine!

 

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Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters! The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind! Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes! Visit Amazon

Kelly ran a marathon in Nafplio and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with tantalising clean romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon

 

A clean romantic suspense short read with an unreliable narrator that’ll keep you guessing! Vera is losing her mind over famous actor Yannnis Ksenos, except, she isn’t just a fan… Now, she plucks up the courage to ring his doorbell… Visit Amazon

 

For my delicious Greek recipes, go here. 
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out my  FREE guide to south Corfu!
 
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Hungry pelicans and shy flamingos in Lake Kerkini, Serres

I visited Kerkini Lake during my stay in Salonica last month.

This beautiful lake with the sparkling still waters is artificial – made in 1932 when a dam was constructed on Strymon River.

Situated in the prefecture of Serres, the lake is near the famous Fort Roupel, and the border to Bulgaria.

It is 17km long, 5km wide, and quite shallow – about 35m deep.

The lake is under the protection of Natura 2000. This beautiful natural habitat is the home of wolves, wild boars, wild cats, jackals, ferrets, and other feral creatures. The lake is graced by many Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus Onocrotalus), Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus Crispus) and a few thousand flamingos too!

Water buffaloes are farmed in the area, making Kerkini a famous location for sampling high quality buffalo meat products.

We got the first glimpse of the lake from the coach about 1 hour after leaving Salonica. Once we drove past the dam, we began to travel along a country road beside the lake to get to the boats our guide had booked for us beforehand.

As we cruised beside the lake, our guide informed us about the water buffaloes being farmed there. A few moments later, a lady on the coach suddenly exclaimed: ‘There they are! I can see them!’ which was followed quickly by the guide saying, as tactfully as she could, ‘Erm… no, actually, these are cows!’

The whole coach erupted in loud guffaws, which set us off perfectly on this wonderful fun adventure on the lake in the company of magnificent winged creatures…

They look serene enough but try and feed them…

We had a lot of fun on the boat as the captain had brought a bag of fish to throw to the pelicans. The ploy worked. They rushed towards the boat and followed us throughout our ride. Two of the passengers were a little boy and a little girl, and they had a go throwing the fish to the pelicans too. Their squeals of joy and their excited faces only enhanced the fun experience.

Natually, the pelicans were fighting for every fish, watching intently, it seemed, as each fish drew an invisible arc in the air before landing in their midst. Most of the time, they would scrap amongst them. Sometimes, they nipped at each other or even chased the pelican that got the fish into their mouth.

I have posted a couple videos on Facebook, all of them short, to share with you the fun we had feeding the pelicans, but most of all to show you their smooth gliding, and the even more mesmerising smooth landings they performed on the water. True poetry in motion!

Do take a look: Video1 Video2 Video3

It was all very entertaining, and the pelicans were evidently very accustomed to the company of people. I was amazed by how daring they seemed to be, floating peacefully, so close to us. At some point, one of the pelicans was floating right behind the side of the boat where I sat – just a sheet of wood between us, and it hit me how amazing it was that I should be so close, gazing into the face of such a majestic winged creature. I perceived it as a great honor and these moments will forever hold a dear place in my heart.

I often see cormorans in my town of Nea Peramos in Attica, seeing that the Natura 2000 area of Vourkari (a marshland) is close to it. The cormorans that live there often fly over to town. I’ve seen them perched on top of the fishing boats in our marina many times, and they sometimes swim close to me in the sea in the summer. But I’d never seen a non-domesticated bird so close to me before. As I said, it was an exhilarating first experience for me.

I wish I could say the same for the flamingos, but no such luck…

According to the local boat captain, who was amazing and really informative, there were a few thousand flamingos in the lake, but they were very timid. Indeed, we tried several times to move closer to them to take a better look and every time they moved further away.

In the end, we gave up and just killed the engine to gaze longingly at them from a distance.

It was fun, mind you, watching them flee. They seemed to be running on water on their spindly legs, something that set the little kids squealing, and all the passengers, in general, marvelling at the sight.

More new experiences awaited us at the restaurant nearby…

The restaurant, Elodia, was decked in beautiful wood and stone and the whole setting with the big property around it made it feel like a ranch-type-of-place, which was enchanting. The property featured a body of water and an enclosure where they kept deer too.

In the above picture, please don’t get fooled! This is not a real water buffalo. Not a cow either haha 🙂

Still, there are living creatures in the water. I’ll get back to that in a minute…

I wanted first to report on the buffalo meat, which both my husband and I tried for the first time.

I had buffalo meatballs in tomato sauce with linguini pasta and Andy went for buffalo bifteki with rice and fries. And he was glad he chose that because he originally wanted a steak, but the waiter warned us buffalo meat is a little harder than pork or beef. Andy was glad he didn’t go for the steak as he found the bifteki a little too chewy for his liking as it was.

I found my meat soft enough, since it was cooked in tomato sauce, and even though I can appreciate it was tasty, I wasn’t too enamoured with it. It had too rich a taste for my liking, just like the deer meat I tried many years ago. In a way, I am glad, as if I’d loved it I’d have had a hard time finding it at the bucher’s in Nea Peramos 🙂

Apparently, buffalo meat is a lot richer in iron and protein than beef. It is also very healthy as it is low in calories and fat. So, if you haven’t tried it, it’s well worth a go.

Back to the creature dwelling in the water outside the restaurant…

It wasn’t just the pelicans, it seemed, that were accustomed to humans in Kerkini. As soon as we approached the water buffalo sculpture, we saw two heads bobbing in the water. One of the creatures rushed to come out and go behind the fence where a family had just arrived.

I didn’t even know the area of Kerkini had otters! It was a delightful surprise.

I left that place feeling absolutely chuffed and well connected to nature.

Our coffee stop in Serres offered one last surprise encounter…

On our way back to Salonica we made a little detour for a stop in the city of Serres for a coffee.

We were taken to a beautiful festive square that was decorated beautifully (it was the holiday season).

Andy and I found the last vacant table at a seemingly popular cafe on the square as it was brimming with locals.

We had a little time to kill before we had to get back on the coach so we walked around the large square taking in the decorations. Suddenly, to our surprise, we saw a squad of soldiers marching towards us in formation!

As it turned out, it was time to lower the Greek flag and to put it away for the night. A local military camp, it seemed, had taken it upon themselves to raise and lower the flag daily.

It was moving to stand near the squad and listen to the soldiers sing the national anthem.

I must say, I returned to Salonica that evening with a mind of beautiful images, along with some extra patriotic pride in my chest LOL! All the more exciting for me as the last bit wasn’t even remotely expected!

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NEW! Clean Christmas romance. Single mother Cathy Roussos gave up on love long ago, and veterinarian Alex Rallis doesn’t believe in it, but one magical Christmas on a Santorini farm might just change everything…
Check it out on Amazon     Read a FREE sample!

 

A clean romantic suspense short read with an unreliable narrator that’ll keep you guessing! Vera is losing her mind over famous actor Yannnis Ksenos, except, she isn’t just a fan… Now, she plucks up the courage to ring his doorbell… Visit Amazon

 

For my delicious Greek recipes, go here. 
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out my  FREE guide to south Corfu!