Seven Power Spots in Ikaria
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 4 Δεκεμβρίου, 2018 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, hiking, holidays, ikaria, pleasure, travel, Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, aegean, atheras, eleni-in-ikaria, explorers, Google maps, Greece, hiking, hiking map, hiking trails, ikaria, χάρτης, Ορειβατικός Πεζοπορικός Σύλλογος Ικαρίας, ΟΠΣ Ικαρίας, ικαρία, μονοπάτια, Mountain Climbing and Hiking Association of Ikaria, my-friends, OPS Ikarias, self-guided hiking 12 Σχόλια.
Hello readers!
The Sturmvogel 💗
said «Soul Powered Works»!
And I say now «Seven Power Spots»!!!
It’s wintertime and summer is a long way ahead, so let’s forget «narcinstagram» 🙂 for a while and get down to serious business. Because here I am going to catch the pending threads from Nana’s glorious old article «Hiking routes…» and weave some more cloth on the loom.
Skip the metaphors…
This article is actually about the work of Hiking Club of Ikaria in mapmaking! Let me quote Nana’s words about these people…
«In spite the lack of support by government and privates, OPS Ikarias are doing more than their best to promote hiking in Ikaria. In the course of time they have literally built with their hands a large network of very popular hiking routes in the island’s varied landscapes and since 2014 when they owned a page in Google they started making Google maps of some of these hikes. Though I have helped several times, it is never enough. There is and there will always be plenty more to do.»
«This entry stands as a due tribute, promotion and encouragement to their effort. As I said and as surprising as this can be, the OPS Ikarias are not funded by anybody. On the other hand, as far as marking and mapping the paths are concerned, given that they are very few and that the terrain of the island is very rough and complicated, they haven’t done badly at all!»
«However, their task is far from being concluded. The maps that I am presenting below to do not correspond to organized, marked and clearly secure trails of the kind we see in other parts of the world. So very often advise and guidance in needed in advance. But the good thing is that the OPS Ikarias are residents who live on the island all year long. So, before you take up any of these hikes, I am asking you to get in contact with them either through their Google page, blog, photo gallery on Flickr and group on facebook.»
And I, how am I involved? Well, I was the naive and ignorant newcomer who put a few red marks on this map of Ikaria and posted it on my blog back in 2006. It became so popular so fast on the net that I felt awkard and had to take it down (Nana, our good archiver, stored it though). You see, although I have done a lot in this direction, I wouldn’t take it on me to draw maps of my island, thus offering reliable guidance across its exciting but rough, exhausting and sometimes dangerous landscapes.
These times are over! Since that old red marker stained sheet of paper, we have had fine quality digital mapmaking on the net, interactive, with a signature, and for free, created by OPS Ikarias for the sake of hiking, nature, tradition, pleasure and sport. There is so much love into this things that I have decided to call the places included in these maps -places where they have dedicated so much time and work (Soul Powered Work!)– I have decided to call them «Power Spots»!
How many are they until now? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 !!!
So here they are, dear readers, nature lovers and possible future hikers of Ikaria, the Seven Power Spots of the island, checked, signed, branded and… blogged!
Love
Eleni
your faithful weaver
. 💗’
.
1) The Lighthouse of Kavo Papas
Check the OPS Ikarias review of the location
About the trail, check the OPS Ikarias map:
«Karkinagri – Kavo Papas»
and the amazing photos included in my article:
«A Day at an Exhibition»
2) «Σπιτάκι της Μαμής»
Check the OPS Ikarias review of the location
and my article: «The little house in the desert»
3) Δάσος Ράντη
See also my richly illustrated article:
«Legends about Ikaria: The Forest of Radi»
«The Round of Radi Forest on Foot»
(See also their review of the location)
4) ΛΑΓΚΑΔΑ
[♦] See the location on the map and read
the OPS Ikarias review loaded with many recent photos.
[♦] See the map & description of the 1st hiking route in the area:
«HINTERLAND»
A hiking round in the wild mountains of western Ikaria
Also in the OPSI blog: «HINTERLAND»,
γύρος στην ορεινή ενδοχώρα της δυτικής Ικαρίας.
[♦] See the map & description of the 2nd hiking route in the area:
«On the old dry stone built trails of Northwestern Ikaria»
Mavrianou – Vrakades – Langada – Amalou
5) Crossing Mt Atheras from north to south
With a stop for a meal in Taverna Plaka».
[Read the OPS Ikarias review of this place]
Map of the hike:
«Karavostamo – Dokimi – Arethousa – Chrysostomo»
Photos:
«Karavostamo – Dokimi – Arethousa – Chrysostomo»
The Pictures!!!
6) Chalares Canyon
[♦] The beautiful area and the old chapel of «Ai Giannis»,
also the epicenter of the «Musical Yards» events in July.
[♦] Read the OPS Ikarias review
about the trail in the Canyon.
[♦] Finally, for the experienced, the bold and the demanding:
«The Round of Upper Chalares Canyon»
7) Μονοπάτι του Αθέρα
[♦] This amazing long trail running on Ikaria’s high mountain ridge starts from the Tower of Drakano. Read the OPS Ikarias review of the place and check out the location on the map.
[♦] About the trail read the OPS Ikarias review
and check out the starting point.
[♦] Finally, the map of the first part of this hike. It’s one of the best I’ve seen on Google maps! I so hope OPS Ikarias will continue with this project!
«THE TRAIL OF ATHERAS RIDGE»
.
Related articles in my blog:
.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Finally, don’t miss to buy the new hiking map of Ikaria by ANAVASI EDITIONS!
All of these locations and trails are included, and even more, most of which offered gratis by the Ikarian Hiking Club!
Ikaria, Greece
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Updated
Monday 29, August 2022
….
Musical Yards ♪♫♬ Μουσικές Αυλές
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 15 Ιουνίου, 2018 Filed under: choses vécues, festivals, ikaria, music, photography, Uncategorized | Tags: aegean, Greece, greeks-in-crisis, ikaria, ikarians, Κίνηση Πολιτών Ραχών Ικαρίας, Μουσικές Αυλές, ικαρία, July, Kar, music, Musical Yards, my-friends, nature-culture, rahes, st.john's, things to know, thoughts, tradition, volunteers, why-ikaria 11 Σχόλια
- One good thing about music,
- when it hits you, you feel no pain.
- [Bob Marley]
What do I know about music?
I know more than you ever thought, dear readers.
Perhaps because my mother was Italian, perhaps because music has been for me a good way to soothe a temper often volcanic, or just because I have strong lungs and throat, I have always sung and I think that my singing is not completely unacceptable to a trained ear. I’ve never had a musical education, and yet during a year or two of my crazy young days I could sing folk songs and jazz music from Hungary – and all that in Hungarian, oh yeah! 😀
What I cannot do, and that’s a life fact, is to dance.
All I do is jump and kick and dangle and that’s a pity because I love Greek music and all the music of the countries around Greece and that music is (90% of it) associated to dancing. So, I listen to it, sing it, but all the dancing is done within me.
What to do? Nobody is perfect.
This was just a soppy introduction. Bloggers are expected to write a couple of soppy things before getting into the subject, aren’t they?
Forget it.
😖
The subject here is the Music Seminar of Ikaria («Μουσικό Σεμινάριο Ικαρίας») also known as Musical Yards («Μουσικές Αυλές») and Musical Fireplaces («Μουσικά Τζάκια»), a long course of lessons, workshops and concerts organized by a small group of young Ikarians in the village of Christos Ráches every February and July.
. .
You would say, what’s big about it? There are several prestigious and popular music seminars taking place in Greece, the most known ones being in Mount Pelion and Crete. Why a seminar in Ikaria? What more does it offer? And who are this “small group of young Ikarians”? It sounds like one more boring folklore festival. At best perhaps a more sophisticated, DIY generational “panigiri”. Nothing new here.
. .
Oh no, readers! Everything is new here! The seminar’s webpage does not explain very clearly the novelties of the event, so I have decided to say a few more things about it. For example, everything that goes around the Musical Seminar of Ikaria is hand-made, home-made and ever-evolving.
. .
Everything about the Seminar is countless hours of unpaid collective work done by local resident volunteers without support from the authorities, without sponsors and with only some help from few small hotel owners, car rentals and bus drivers.
. .
The most remarkable thing about it is that they don’t have art directors, managers, public relations, don’t have «connections». Totally independent and willing to pay the price for this, all and all these guys have is each other and the support of their community. All and all what they want is to do it. And by some magic trick, they do it.
But how? What’s the trick?
. .
. .
The trick is, first of all, dear readers, that it’s not a “big event”. Only capable of hosting a rough maximum of 200 students, the center of everything is the large yard of a countryside chapel near the village of 
Christos.
. .
Several classes take place under the oak trees in that yard, while other classes are hosted -guess where?- in the yards, patios and spare rooms of the surrounding family home
s in the neighborhood. Hence, the meaningful name of the Seminar («Musical Yards»*), a name which does not only signify the location; it says a lot about the character of the event.
. .
It also shows 
the support it receives from the village community, not to mention that, in my opinion, it’s a great way to say «thanks» to the owners of the homes where the classes take place.
(* The same houses, plus/minus some, during the wintertime Seminar turn into Musical Fireplaces. Cool!)
. .
. .
No buses, no traffic, everything is nested in nature, including the participants themselves, around 1/3 of which choose to accommodate themselves in the campsite set by the organizers near the church.
. .
. .
Secondly, “the small group of young Ikarians” is no other than the environmental, political and cultural association “Citizens’ Movement of Ráches Ikaria” («Κίνηση Πολιτών Ραχών Ικαρίας»), a 20yearold group still and always active in various fields (see my 2 footnotes down below).
. .
None of them are idle or leisured patrons of arts; on the contrary, all of them are ordinary working people, faces that you see in the streets on their way to work in the morning.
. .
But there is an unseen difference: in spite of their smallness, in spite of their very limited financial resources, these people care! Moreover, they have skills and experience. Even though none of them are graduates of the Conservatory of Vienna, they know how to make things go right.
. .
Thirdly, the teachers! If anyone ever thought the Music Seminar of Ikaria is some kind of groovy thing, just a glance at the list of teachers is enough to change their minds. Each one in his or her own music, mostly the Oriental, traditional Greek or Balkan genre, as far as I can tell, they are the best among the best!
How come?
. .
Because these teachers trusted the organizers and they liked the concept. Some of them even, who come again and again every year, have proved to be truly committed to this event. They brought along their own students, they helped the organizers with valuable advice and in general, they did a lot to improve the Ikarian Seminar and 
gradually establish it in the agenda of musical education in Greece.
. .
Against the tourist legend that no serious work can be done in Ikaria because everything is unfocused and relaxed, the 
classes are as demanding and as strict as anywhere in a city environment. Besides this, every year the teachers, to show their understanding of the concept of the Seminar, offer three evening concerts which are open to everybody. Arranging themselves in small groups in these concerts, the last of which always blows up to a big party, they play for hours without being paid.
. .
A large audience from all over the island gathers to attend that last concert in the Yards and all the money collected is used for the causes of the Citizens’ Movement, the first of them always being the preparation of the next seminar.
. .
. .
The goal of the Seminar:
«Culture, communication, living together and playing music, teaching and being taught, knowing each other and having a good time too».
Yeah, we know, we know…
I know you know but I don’t think you know everything.
So, let me elaborate and add a few throughts of my own. They are strictly personal -although I don’t think I am totally wrong in what I am going to say. It’s no coincidence the Ikarian Music Seminar “Musical Yards” started in 2012. That was the terrible year when the Greek economic crisis peaked. That was the year of suicides, the year of social cannibalism when everybody blamed each other for the crisis and the dept.
. .
In several occasions during that year, Art, and more particularly Music, did a lot to keep Greek society from breaking apart. To say the least, Music, and more particularly Greek (traditional and post-traditional music), reminded to us that in spite of our differences, we can still love the same songs and can still sing together.
. .
. .
Because 2012 was a bad year for Ikaria too, this was, in my humble opinion, the reason why the Citizens’ Movement, instead of some other activity, chose to put their bets on music. After all music plays an important role in the life of the island.
. .
One out of four mostly younger inhabitants play a musical instrument, one out of three is an excellent dancer and absolutely everybody loves to go out to places where there is live music – no matter 
what kind, no matter how good. So, why not invite other musicians to the island, not just for a concert or two, but to stay longer and share their art?
. .
. .
To cut this short, against all odds, with crisis on one hand, and the love for music on the other, without any support from the authorities and no sponsoring, the first Musical Seminar of Ikaria was crowned with success.
. .
Although small at that time, Musical Yards was a pool of forgetfulness and forgiveness, a pocket of equality and fraternity, a refuge for the young for inspiration and hope, a spot where music was played, taught and performed without interruptions or interferences – other than the song of the cicadas on those old oak trees in the hospitable churchyard of Ai Giannis.
. .
. .
. .
It is still like this and now – 2018 – is their 7th year!
Who would have thought!
. .
. .
Last year I was there for only one day but that one day, as I was guided around by a friend, was enough for me to witness all of the above. The Music Seminar of Ikaria is cultural and social barrier breaker and meltdown. I think everybody involved in musical education – and I dare say all education- have something to learn from the way things go during its course.
. .
. .
I support Musical Yards with all my heart!
😍
Eleni
💗
.
.
. .
June 15, 2018
. .
. .
Except the first taken by kikiller all photos featuring in this article belong to Musical Yards. They can be found in the files of their website and their page on facebook. © All rights reserved 2012-2017.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
. .
. .
A few articles in our blogs about the action of
«Kinisi Politon Rachon Ikarias» through the years:
Articles tagged «Kinisi Politon Rachon Ikarias»
in Nana to agrimi’s blog
Articles tagged «Kinisi Politon Rachon Ikarias»
in Eleni’s blog in Ikaria.
OASIFICATION! 🌳 🌳 🌳
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 30 Σεπτεμβρίου, 2017 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, hiking, ikaria, photography, stories, Uncategorized | Tags: aegean, atheras, deforestation, desertification, environment, goats, Greece, ikaria, ikarians, Αθέρας, Κίνηση Πολιτών Ραχών Ικαρίας, ΟΠΣ Ικαρίας, Σπιτάκι της Μαμής, ικαρία, lets-plant-oaks, my-friends, oasification, OPS Ikarias, photography, portraits, preservation, volunteers 7 Σχόλια
WTF is this word? 😵 ❓ ❓
According to YourDictionary: Oasification
«The process of restoring water, soil, and plant life to an environment that has been degraded by soil erosion.»
According to the Wikipedia: Oasification
«In hydrology, oasification is the antonym to desertification by soil erosion. This technique has limited application and is normally considered for much smaller areas than those threatened by desertification.»
«To help the oasification process, engineers aim to develop a thriving dense woody plant cover to redress the hydrological, edaphic and botanical degradation affecting a slope.»
According to writer F. R. Chateaubriand: Oasification
«Forest precedes Man and desert follows him. Thus has ocurred with many civilizations that we know, settled in arid and semiarid territories. However, desertification is not an irreversible and hopeless process. In this new millenium we must be able to find the solutions to the problems that we generate. Against desertification: Oasification!»
According to the declaration of the three Ikarian Associations mentionned
at the end of my previous article «The little house in the desert»
«Besides that, again with our voluntary work, we intend to fence an area of at least 8.000 square meters around the shelter in order to protect it from the goats. This way, we will allow at least a small part of the overgrazed, eroded and almost desertified mountain plateau to grow green again like it was in the past.»
«Among the benefits resulting from this [project will be] the awakening of the local community concerning the desertification of the mountain volume of Ikaria through creating a visitable framed green space where endemic species will grow. This way, it will be proven in practice that this phenomenon and its disastrous effects (flashfloods, landslides, impoverishment of the soil) is not a natural, inevitable process but something that started for specific reasons [only] few decades ago and therefore, there is a way to stop it.»
«But most of all, what we want to do is to show with a project of our own -no matter its smallness- the great love we feel for our mountain, its freedom and its wild beauty.»
Well, t
hey’ve done it!!!! Against all odds (bureaucracy, indifference, fatalism, pessimism and hostile goat barons) on Sunday, September 24, more than 40 young local people gathered on the mountain and after several hours of hard work, they secured an area of 8.000 square meters around the old mountain shelter on Ammoudia plateau with a long line of welded wire mesh panels.
They ‘ve done it! Look at them at work! You can tell from the pictures which are all first quality, the feelings of joy and fulfillment shared by the participants. I am so glad I’ve helped in my own small way to this project. If things go well -and I have every reason to thnk they will- in less than 3 years, instead of that depressive, although sometimes also impressive, goat desert, we will have an oasis!
Notice: The gallery above is made up of 56 pictures I discovered in three posts at the OPS Ikarias Google+ page. They redirected me to three of their facebook posts: the first one, containing 12 pictures taken by my friend Angelos, the second and the third one containing a total of 44 pictures, taken by our friends from Italy, Paola and Ivo, founders of the association «Η ‘δική μας’ Ικαρία».
All pictures © OPSIkarias & DikimasIkaria 2017
For the title of this article I am gratedul to 
who looked up the meaning of the term «oasification» for me and
suggested that it would be more appropriate to describe the project
of fencing instead of the akward «fencing against desertification»
which wouldn’t make much sense to a reader who is not familiar
with our strange island and its strange problems.
.
• opsikarias2008@gmail.com
• kinisi.politon.ikaria@gmail.com
Picture Calendar 2017! 😎
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 12 Ιανουαρίου, 2017 Filed under: choses vécues, festivals, flying, hiking, holidays, ikaria, photography, pleasure, stories, travel, Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, aegean, calendar, flickr, Greece, hiking, hiking trails, icaria, ikaria, ikaria-in-winter, island in the aegean sea, χειμώνας, ικαρία, μονοπάτια, layers, merominia, my-friends, OPS Ikarias, photography, things to know, up-with-lonely-winter, winter 8 Σχόλια
Dear readers,
in Ikaria almost every village, community or association makes a picture calendar for the new year to raise money for various causes
and needs. Competition is tough so these calendars are getting better and better in both concept and context every year. Take for example this one by the Ikarian Radio Station on the subject of mushrooms. (By the way, do you remember my post about Ikarian mushrooms?)
Anyway, I am not a village, that’s obvious! And my purpose is not to raise money either. I am one of the co-founders and co-administrators of a small photo community about Ikaria on Flickr and there we have the same tradition as on the island itself: every year we produce a Picture Calendar! The idea behind it is not money of course. All I want is to present some pictures which, besides their quality, are worth to be seen by anyone who is interested in our small stripe of land. They are pictures typical of the corresponding months and/or typical of what goes on in Ikaria during these months.
This year too I made a Calendar for the group, but as I said in the forenote, this time the choice of photos would not be mine. They would be either the viewers’ choice through Flickr 
or merely at random through
The only bit of choosing I did was to pick a photo as a sample from the first rows of both websites. The reason was that as we scroll down the pages, the pictures tend to be less and less relevant to the topic, that is «Flickr + location + month».
I hope you will enjoy this. The larger pictures on the left direct to Flickr. The smaller pictures on the right direct to Google. Click and watch our Ikarian monthly panorama!
Happy New Year!
🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁
The Who in The Where (2)
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 7 Αυγούστου, 2016 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, festivals, hiking, holidays, ikaria, photography, pleasure, stories, travel | Tags: anthropology, anti-mykonos, eyes, eyes and smiles, faces, flickr, flickr-photos, frugality, Greece, Greeks, greeks-in-crisis, ikaria, ikaria-in-winter, ikarians, instagram, island in the aegean sea, πρόσωπα, ικαρία, μονοπάτια, lifestyle, local identity, my-beta-island, my-friends, my-idea, my-neighbors, people in landscape, portraits 9 Σχόλια____
«…συνηθισμένοι εις τον θεληματικόν κόπον μιας ησύχου ζωής, ανυπόδουλοι, εξ αρχής της κατοικήσεως των εις εκείνα τα υψηλά βουνά – έχουν ευτυχείς μακρά από την πολυτέλειαν και κακοήθειαν των διεφθαρμένων πολιτειών, ανδρείοι ως ελεύθεροι, φιλόξενοι ως Έλληνες…»
(παλιο ανωνυμο)
__
Hello readers!
There is no need to say much about this kind of post. I think I said more than enough in my first, very enthousiastic «The Who in The Where» 4 years ago. The focus again is on people, our people or the people who visit Ikaria but who somehow seem to have always belonged there. Or is it that our mysterious but so peaceful island has always belonged to them? I don’t know… I only know that I am missing it. I hope that as usual I will return in winter. Meanwhile, go ahead and look through my choice of new pictures of beautiful, meaningful human figures and faces from the summer months as well as the winter in Ikaria. Some of them I know, some others I don’t but I am proud of them all! These people are my next of kin. And though I writing this in a grey overheated city while wearing an uncomfortable formal suit, my heart is with them! I hope you like them too!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
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All images open directly on the bloggers’ or photographers’ own spaces and it goes without saying that they are copyrighted. Special thanks to © angeloska, © Ορειβατικός Σύλλογος Ικαρίας and © egotoagrimi
More material in Flickr can be easily found if you type: «Ikaria + portrait», «Ikaria + face», «Ikaria + girl», «Ikaria + boy» etc.
Closing this let me add that there are more shots but that’s not «The Who in The Where» – that’s …
«Only Few in Only Few Places»! 😀
Bye, bye! Got to work now! 😛
Cross blogging 1: Nana’s WP media
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 18 Ιουνίου, 2016 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, hiking, ikaria, photography, stories | Tags: adventure, aegean, agrimi, blog review, dreams, enviro-lore, environment, girls, Greece, hiking, ikaria, inspirational, island in the aegean sea, island life, ικαρία, μονοπάτια, motivational, my-friends, nana's-wild-photo, stories 7 Σχόλια
Happy Summer, my friends!
It’s not the right time of the year to post long accounts. In the summer people usually browse magazines and look at pictures. So this article is about pictures, pictures of a special kind, older or newer attachements to my friend Nana’s blog posts, that may have passed unnoticed. The same as her blog as a whole, these pictures are not touristic neither do they aim to giving information about the island. All I may say about them is that they are thrilling and they have provided inspiration to a lot of viewers, and if I may say, a bit of motivation as well, and that not only concerning Ikaria but for all similar places of the world gifted with an exciting outdoors and a culture of freedom. Before I write a full blog review, I’ll stop and just say: it’s not pictures from my beloved Flickr that I look at when I am homesick for Ikaria. I look at these pictures. And when I have time, I click on the links and I also read the articles some of which go back to several years ago.
I encourage you to take the ride. It’s a wild ride, as wild and natural as our island. Sometimes the concept does not make sense, sometimes it does, sometimes there’s humor or doubt, puzzlement, even bewilderment. There is art and fun and yes, in some of them a visitor can find some tourist information too.
But this is not the point. The point is a strong, desicive and creative girl living and rambling in Ikaria and what she thinks about it all. Take a look yourselves and say if I am wrong.
.
Someone just asked. Yes, of course there will be a second part and maybe more to come. Nana to agrimi’s media library from Ikaria is big!.
‘The Hiking Trails of Ikaria’ – illustrated interview by OPS Ikarias
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 14 Μαΐου, 2016 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, hiking, ikaria, photography, pleasure, stories, travel | Tags: adventure, aegean, atheras, documentary, ecotourism, enviro-lore, good-conspiracy, Greece, hikers, hiking, hiking trails, ikaria, ikaria-in-winter, ikarians, interview, ΟΠΣ Ικαρίας, ικαρία, μονοπάτια, my-friends, OPS Ikarias, people in landscape, photo rapsody, photography, photostory, preservation 11 Σχόλια.
Hello readers!
You know that my blog likes interviews and this one… well, it’s a good one because it’s like a documentary! I mean that you can just stare at the photos (loads of them) streaming over the questions and answers, only that I thought that the context was interesting too, so I got into the trouble to translate the whole thing in English and then I sent it over to be added as subtitles to the video on youtube. Which video is an illustrated version of an interview to my good Ikarian friend, Angelos K., founding member and representative of the Mountain Climbing and Hiking Association of Ikaria (OPS Ikarias), by Babis Kokosis for «The Hiking Trails of Greece» a regular radio show on «The Voice of Greece», the international Greek state Radio (ERA 5). Unlike what you might have expected, the pictures do not show landscapes and trails and maps and stuff like that but people!
As the introduction goes:
«The photos showing in this video made by OPS Ikarias were taken along our various hiking trips and many other activities in the nature of Ikaria from 2008 to 2016. They are a tribute to our older and newer friends and members of the Club who walk and enjoy the island’s fascinating landscapes and take part in the club’s projects and activities. They are our inspiration and our one and only support. This video is dedicated to them!»
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***Find button to turn on "subtitles". Seen best in full screen mode!
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You can read my translation of Angelos’s radio interview by opening this link to OPS Ikarias Google docs. The interviewer introduces the show like this:
«Today we will visit Ikaria, an island that has managed, in spite of the growing tourist development, to maintain a big part of its cultural traditions.
The natural particularities of Ikaria are many. They are shaped by the geographical features and the position of the island in the Aegean Sea. Ikaria consists of a long mountainous mass stretching from east to west forming a ridge with heights over 1000 m. and separating the island in two sides: the northern side with mild slopes, forestlands and abundant waters, and the southern side with stony grounds and steep slopes. Therefore, it displays an impressive variety of landscapes and natural sights which the visitor can discover by following its numerous trails while getting in touch with its history and the legendary particular way of life of its inhabitants.
Let’s find out a bit more about the hiking routes of the island as well as what a hiker may encounter in them through our talk with Mr. Angelos Kalokairinos, representative of the local Hiking Club.»read more...
And if you are a Greek reader you can check out the original transcript in this link.
The video, seen best in full screen mode, it goes without saying, includes a selection of pictures from the Flickr Album: «Mountain Climbing and Hiking Club of Ikaria». I have exercised my influence 🙂 and gotten a specially coded link so you can see all the pictures -not only the public ones. So take advantage of this privilege and enjoy an amazing slideshow! But if you just like a quick view, here is the album straight out of Flickr:
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I WANT MORE OPS Ikarias Videos!!!
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[related links]
Eleni Ik
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Ikaria, May 14 2016
[BIG DAY!]
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Ικαρία & Φούρνοι: μια εξερεύνηση
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 24 Μαρτίου, 2016 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, hiking, holidays, ikaria, pleasure, travel, Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, aegean, explorers, good-book, Greece, greek-entries, guide, guidebook, holidays, ikaria, island in the aegean sea, ταξιδιωτικός οδηγός, διακοπές, ελληνικά-entries, ικαρία, μονοπάτια, my-friends, my-photos, tourism, tourist-promoter, what-ot-takes, why-ikaria 8 Σχόλια
Γεια σας αναγνωστες 🙂
Σημερα γραφω με χαρα στα Ελληνικα γιατι το θεμα μου ειναι Ελληνικο και μαλιστα αφορα ενα καλο βιβλιο για την Ικαρια! Μπορει να πειτε πως κανονικα δεν θα ‘πρεπε να γραψω αφου ειμαι τοσο παθιασμενη, οντας ολοσωμο κι ολοψυχο το μπλογκ μου αφιερωμενο σ’ αυτο το νησι, αρα η κριτικη μου δεν θα ειναι αντικειμενικη. Ομως εγω οταν χρειαζεται ξερω να συγκρατω το παθος μου. Εξαλλου εχω αλητεψει ταξιδεψει αρκετα και ξερω καλα οτι η Ικαρια δεν ειναι το κεντρο του κοσμου καθως επισης εχει και παρα πολλα μειονεκτηματα. Ετσι νομιζω οτι θα τα καταφερω να γραψω μια νηφαλια κριτικη. Θα βοηθουσε επισης αν σας ελεγα οτι οχι μονο δεν εχω μετοχες στον εκδοτικο οικο που βγαζει το βιβλιο αλλα ουτε καν γνωριζω τη συγγραφεα. Καποτε μονο διαβασα μερικα γραπτα και ειδα φωτογραφιες της και μου φανηκε πως ηταν καλο παιδι. Ετσι απλα.
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Οταν λοιπον εκανε την πρωτη ερευνα για το βιβλιο, μου εγραψε και μου ζητησε φωτογραφιες για την εκδοση. Τοτε ηταν που ειχα ζησει πανω απο 1/2 χρονο στην Ικαρια και μου ειχε κανει μεγαλη εντυπωση που δεν υπηρχε σχεδον καθολου εγκυρο δημοσιευμενο υλικο για τον τοπο που ζουσα. Τοσο που γνωστοι και φιλοι, συνεργατες στη δουλεια, ξεροντας τον χαρακτηρα μου, νομιζαν οτι ειχα κατοικησει σε καποια χιππικη βραχονησιδα με σπηλιες! 😮 Ετσι της εδωσα φωτογραφιες με χαρα και ανακουφιση, νιωθοντας απο ενστικτο οτι η Αλεξια θα εγραφε απλα και τιμια, με διασταυρωμενα στοιχεια και καλη επιλογη θεματων, και ιδιως χωρις κουφιες εμπορικες καλολογιες. Πραγματι, τωρα που κρατησα στα χερια μου το αντιτυπο που μου χάρισε, βλεπω πως ειχα δικιο. Αυτος ο ταξιωτικος οδηγος ειναι τοσο αμεσος κι απλος που εκτος απο «Εξερευνηση», θα μπορουσε να εχει τιτλο: «Ικαρια και Φουρνοι: Εξ επαφης»!
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Το καλο πραγμα αργει να γινει. Μεχρι να εκδοθει σωστα το βιβλιο της Αλεξιας γνωρισε μεγαλες περιπετειες. Απο κοινους γνωστους εμαθα οτι αντι να της ανατεθει η αποστολη απο καποιο αφεντικο, εκεινη ηταν που πηγε και χτυπησε «μεγαλες πορτες» ζητώντας την αναθεση η οποια της δοθηκε μεν, ομως η εκδοση, αν και με τρανταχτη υπογραφη γνωστων εκδοσεων του χωρου, πηγε κακην κακως στη διανομη, δεν έφτασε στα ραφια και τελικα εξαφανιστηκε. 😮
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Ομως η Αλεξια επεμεινε. Σε συννενοηση με την Καριωτικη παρεα του ηλεκτρονικου περιοδικου ikariamag τμηματα του βιβλιου εμφανιστηκαν στο «Ο,τι χρειαζεστε για το νησι» οπου φαινεται πως ειχαν μεγαλη επισκεψιμοτητα, ελεγχθηκαν απο τους αναγνωστες και αναγνωριστηκε η εγκυροτητα τους. Ετσι ψηθηκε η ιδεα για μια νεα ενημερωμενη εκδοση η οποια βγηκε τελικα το Δεκεμβρη του 2015 απο τις Εκδοσεις «Ελευθερες Πτησεις» που συνδεονται με το περιο
δικο και άρα το θεωρω απιθανο η εκδοση να εξαφανιστει κι αυτη απο τα ραφια. 😉 🙂
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Εκτος απο τ
α βιβλιοπωλεια, το «Ικαρια & Φουρνοι: μια εξερευνηση» θα βρειτε σιγουρα στο ηλεκτρονικο καταστημα ikariastore. Εχει 370 σελιδες και κοστιζει 15.00€. Παρακατω θα σας εξηγησω γιατι αξιζει να το αγορασετε. Πρωτα ομως ας δουμε τι γραφει στην εισαγωγη η ίδια η Αλεξια για το βιβλιο της:
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«Το παραδέχομαι, δεν την είχα συμπαθήσει όταν την είχα πρωτοδεί την Ικαρία. Ούτε που την ένοιξε βέβαια αυτήν. Δεν με είχε ανάγκη βλέπεις, ούτε εμένα ούτε κανέναν. Ωστόσο δεν κατόρθωσε να με ξεφορτωθεί τόσο εύκολα. Καθώς περνούσαν τα χρόνια, κάπως τα ΄φερε η ζωή κι επέστρεψα, αυτή τη φορά κάτω από τελείως διαφορετικές συνηθήκες. Η Νίκη κι ο Βασίλης με πήγανε παντού, με φρόντισαν, μου έμαθαν ικαριώτικο, με βοήθησαν να μην αισθάνομαι ενοχές που δεν βιάζομαι, με πήγανε στη ντίσκο στις 5 το πρωί και μάντεψε: τελικά τη λάτρεψα την Ικαρία!..»
«Μετά δεν ήθελε και πολύ. Ξαναπήγα και ξαναπήγα και ξαναπήγα, γνώρισα κι άλλους φανταστικούς ανθρώπους και τελικά έγραψα ένα βιβλίο. Ο στόχος τώρα -όπως και τότε- παραμένει ο ίδιος: ν’ απολαύσετε και να αγαπήσετε αυτόν τον τόπο γι’ αυτό που είναι και όχι γιατί σας το προτείνω εγώ. Κάθε τόπος άλλωστε είναι σαν ένας ξεχωριστός άνθρωπος. Με τα χρόνια φτιάχνει την προσωπικότητά του, ζώντας τις δικές του μοναδικές εμπειρίες, κάτω από διαφορετικές επιδράσεις. Κάπως έτσι γράφεται τελικά η ιστορία του, όποια κι αν είναι αυτή…»
«Ανοίγοντας το βήμα για να φτάσεις στα πιο απομονωμένα σημεία, χάνεσαι μέσα σε ανήλιαγα αρχαία δάση, διασχίζεις ορμητικούς λουλουδιασμένους ποταμούς, βουτάς μέσα σε χρυσαφένιες παραλίες, διψάς μέσα στην πέτρα και τη σκόνη, ξαποσταίνεις σε καταπράσινα προστατευτικά δέντρα. Μέσα σ’ αυτόν τον ταξιδιωτικό οδηγό θα βρεις τον τρόπο να φτάσεις στα πιο κρυφά σημεία της Ικαρίας και των Φούρνων, θα γνωρίσεις ηλιοκαμένους ανθρώπους που κατέχουν το μυστικό της μακροζωίας και θα ανακαλύψεις γιατί ο Ίκαρος διάλεξε να πέσει ακριβώς εκεί…»
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Κι εγω τωρα σας λεω να το παρετε γιατι:
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- Η Αλεξια εφαρμοζει πιστα τους βασικους κανονες του καλου ταξιδιωτικου βιβλιου. Χωρις να θεωρει τιποτα σαν δεδομενο ή αυτονοητο, γίνεται σύντροφος του ταξιδιωτη και τον καθοδηγει να κινηθει στο νησι και εφοσον θελει, να ξετρυπωσει κρυμενα περασματα σε μυστηριωδεις πραγματικοτητες που η Ικαρια διαθετει αφθονες, πιο πολλες απο καθε αλλο Ελληνικο νησί. 🙄 😉
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- Εχει ξεκαθαρισει σε ποιους απευθυνεται. Η Ικαρια της Αλεξιας δεν ειναι για ταξιδιωτες μαθημενους στα ευκολα. Ξερει που ειναι ολα τα αγκαθια, τα βραχια, οι αποτομες στροφες κι οι γκρεμοι, ενω θεματα περιβαλλοντος, τοπικης οικονομιας, τροπου ζωης και κοινωνικων συνθηκων ειναι σε πρωτο πλανο σε ολα τα κεφαλαια του βιβλιου, διχως ωστοσο περιττους εγκυκλοπαιδισμους. Σ’ αυτα τα θεματα εμεις οι γυναικες ειμαστε πιο πρακτικες απ’ τους αντρες. 😉 🙂.
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- Αν και ολοφανερα δεμενη με τον τοπο, εχει το θαρρος της αποψης και της επιλογης των θεματων. Μετα τη θαυμασια εισαγωγη για τη γεωγραφια, την ιστορια, την κουλτουρα, την αρχιτεκτονικη και τις παραδοσεις, διαιρει το βιβλιο σε οκτω διαδρομές στις οποιες μας παει βημα-βημα, δινει τα highlights, καποια αφηνει απεξω, εννοειται, ευτυχως, δεν ειναι εγκυκλοπαιδεια ουτε χρυσος οδηγος! 🙄.
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- Οι χαρτες! Οι χαρτες! Οι χαρτες!
Οι φωτογραφιες! Οι φωτογραφιες!
Οι πρακτικες πληροφοριες και τα μικρα, πολυ χρησιμα, τιπς 😎
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- Δεν γινοταν να λειπουν οι αναφορες στις χτυπητες ιδιαιτεροτητες μας. Τα πανηγυρια ⭐ οι «γκρουβαλοι» 😎 η διαφορετικη αισθηση του χρονου 😳 το οχι/ναι καμπινγκ 🙄 η μακροζωια 😉 – για ολα αυτα (και αλλα που δεν τα ξερετε) η Αλεξια καταθετει την αποψη της θαρρετα, γλαφυρα και με χιουμορ 😀 αλλα δεν παραλειπει κιολας να καταγγειλει τα πολλα σκουπιδια, τα παρατημενα αυτοκινητα, την συχνη ελλειψη αρχιτεκτονικης καλαισθησιας και την αδιαφορια για το περιβαλλον οπως π.χ. στο θεμα της υπερβοσκησης που ερημοποιει τα βουνα του νησιου. 😦
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- Μιας και μιλησα για βουνα, σε καθε κεφαλαιο του βιβλιου γινονται πολλες αναφορες στην πεζοπορια: ειτε για το πολυ απλο, δηλαδη για να φτασει κανεις σε μια απομονωμενη παραλια [«καβατζα» 😀 ] ειτε για μεγαλυτερες διαδρομες οπως π.χ. το Φαραγγι της Χαλαρης ή τον Γυρο του Δασους του Ραντη. Ομως δεν επεκτεινεται πολυ και κανει καλα. Η πεζοπορια/ορειβασια στην Ικαρια ειναι ξεχωριστο, πολυ μεγαλο κεφαλαιο που γι’ αυτο θα αξιζε να γραφτει εξειδικευμενος ταξιδιωτικος οδηγος. 🙄
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- Τελος, ηθελα να πω οτι δεν εχω δει καλυτερο καταλογο δωματιων, ξενοδοχειων, εστιατοριων, μπαρ κτλ. Βρισκονται μετα απο καθε κεφαλαιο στο τελος καθε διαδρομης και απορησα που τα ξερει, γιατι στην Ικαρια ουτε τα μισα κομοντιτις δεν βρισκονται στον κεντρικο δρομο αλλα ειναι κρυμμενα σε μακρινες πλαγιες και ραχουλες! Μαλιστα η Αλεξια δηλωνει οτι για αυτη τη ξεχωρη δουλεια δεν ζητησε κι ουτε πηρε δεκαρα. Φυσικα την πιστευω! Κι εσεις να ακολουθησετε τις συμβουλες της γιατι ειναι γυναικα μερακλου προφανως.
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- Προσωπικά εγω διαβασα το βιβλιο της με περιεργεια αλλα κυριως με μεγαλη ανακουφιση. Η περιεργεια μου ικανοποιηθηκε με το παραπανω γιατι εμαθα πολλα πραγματα που δεν ηξερα. Πιο πολυ ομως ενιωσα ανακουφιση γιατι εχουμε ενα καλο τουριστικο τυφλοσουρτη επιτελους! Να μη χρειαζεται καθε φορα που συνανταμε ενα ξενο να του κανουμε σεμιναριο, αλλα να του λεμε:
-Αγορασε αυτο το βιβλιο, ειναι καλο, το διαβαζουμε κι εμεις οι Καριωτες. Διαβασε το κι ελα μετα, οποτε θες, να τα πουμε με πιο πολλες λεπτομερειες! 😀..
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Αυτα απο μενα τη Λενη και γεια σας, χαρα σας. 🙂
πηγ
αινετε τωρα αν θελετε να δειτε τη
σελιδα του βιβλιου της Αλεξιας στο facebook
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Σημ: Η Αλεξια δεν ειναι απο την Ικαρια ή τους Φουρνους. Γεννηθηκε και μεγαλωσε στην Αθηνα, σπουδασε στο τμημα ΕΜΜΕ του Πανεπιστημιου Αθηνων και λιγο αργοτερα βρεθηκε για μεταπτυχιακα στην Αγγλια και την Ολλανδια. Εργαστηκε στο χωρο της δημοσιογραφιας, της επικοινωνιας και της εκπαιδευσης και απο το 2014 εχει μεταναστευσει στη Μεση Ανατολη. Λατρευει τα εξερευνητικα ταξιδια, ενω η συγγραφη αποτελει γι’ αυτην καταφυγιο. Το «Ικαρια & Φουρνοι: μια εξερευνηση» ειναι το πρωτο της βιβλιο και το πιο αγαπημενο της δημιουργημα στη μεχρι τωρα ζωη της. Το mail της ειναι: alexia.palesti@gmail.com
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Ικαρια, 24 Μαρτιου 2016
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What I blogged about in 2015
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 12 Ιανουαρίου, 2016 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, festivals, flying, hiking, holidays, ikaria, photography, pleasure, stories, travel, Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, aegean, eleni-in-ikaria, enviro-lore, environment, Greece, hiking, ikaria, ikaria-in-winter, island in the aegean sea, ικαρία, μονοπάτια, my-friends, nature, nature-culture, photography, preservation, stories 9 Σχόλια
Happy New Year, my friends!
The same as last year it’s again time to review for you my blog posts of 2015. I wasn’t counting but now I can see they were actually twelve, one for every month! If you are too lazy to scroll, you can just click on the image on the left and you will be directed to Google Image Search to see a gallery of random pics from my posts of 2016. But if you like things to come one after the other, go ahead and scroll below my gaping mouth 🙂 I have set my posts in order of appearance: a book, two maps, a guiding woman, a group of friends, a cook, a craftsman and a crazy girl, a food gathering man, a survival manual, yoga in the wild, hikers in the wild, my river and me, mushrooms, and finally, amazing landscapes in winter. I hope 2016 will be as rich with good subjects as 2015. I hope,..
I am in Ikaria now and it feels like in a lifeboat: heading for the unknown but safe and calm.
Ikaria Guidebook !!! 😎
Two big hikes Google mapped!
Xenia, the Ikarian mountain guide ❤
food, pebbles and headstands 😉
Ikaria in August – Instructions for Use 😎
These Mountains are for Yoga! 🙂
Large views – Small people ⭐
≅ river 2003 ≅ ❤
Mushrooms! 😀
Thick with the eerie awe of the uncanny 😮
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
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Mushrooms!
Δημοσιεύθηκε: 8 Δεκεμβρίου, 2015 Filed under: choses vécues, exploring, hiking, ikaria, photography, stories | Tags: adventure, aegean, ecotourism, enviro-lore, environment, Greece, hiking, hiking club, ikaria-in-winter, χειμώνας, ικαρία, μανιτάρια, μονοπάτια, lost-village, mushrooms, my-friends, Myrsonas, nature, OPS Ikarias, preservation, up-with-lonely-winter 5 ΣχόλιαHello friends! 🙂 🙂 🙂
a guided group hike inside a wooded mountain ravine, looking for mushrooms and learning their names, getting to know their qualities and the big part they play in the eco-system. I am sharing this post because, like many Ikarians, I love mushrooms. I like to look for them, I like to pick them, to eat them, to talk about them, to take pictures of them -like for example, that unforgettable x-large «Parasol mushroom» (lat. «Lepiota proсеrа») from 2005 which I have picked as an introductory image. My dear readers, through the following set of pictures I hope that you will get a bit of the taste, if not of mushrooms themselves, of the magical places where mushrooms like to grow, a bit of the taste of the well-known, yet always unexplored, natural places of my island. Enjoy! Mountain Climbing and Hiking Club of Ikaria © all rights reserved
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