Djilili

Have just returned from inspecting the stream bed down near Djilili spring. The recent storm has made some amazing changes and created waterfalls and deep holes.

WALK 29 - RIP

Today we drove towards Glossa but on the way, encounted a group of walkers, who turned out to be with The Ramblers, totally lost. They had also mislaid their leader! After about an hour, and selling a copy of my book, group and leader were reunited with instructions on how to get to Stafilos.

Loaded up with cutting tools, Richard and I made our way along the track, pic.100, hoping to reopen the way to the lighthouse. We needn't have bothered. A bulldozer has opened a two-way traffic width road where the path used to be. It has totally destroyed this walk. I couldn't recognise anything. And where does this highway lead to? Nowhere. It stops abruptly in a field. I can't tell you how I feel about this destruction.
However, we then drove back to Old Clima and did a bit more to the old path above the village, that links up with the road to Ag Iannis. A lot of work still to do there.

END OF SEASON

So, the season is nearly at an end and the autumn walks went very well, with lovely people joining in. Thanks to everyone who came on my hikes this season and I look forward to seeing you again next year perhaps.

Tomorrow, my helper, Richard and I are off to Glossa to start work on reopening the old lighthouse path. After trying in vain to get permission to cut the fence there, I'll just cut it and wait and see if anything happens!

Thanks to the SCAN budget, I've invested in a pair of battery operated lobbers. Since the RSI, I can't cut anything thicker than a twig!

A SCAN volunteer has errected two styles down in Djilili. Images will be posted soon. Big thanks to Mike.

Forthcoming hikes

In case you are already on Skopelos or planning to come shortly, I have arranged the following:
Glossa Area hike - Wednesday 16th Sep - meet at Glossa school 11am
Coast to Coast - Saturday 20th Sep - meet Internet Cafe (near Bardom) 9.30am
Town Walk - Tuesday 22 Sep - meet by seat next to the Kiosk op central car park/bus station 11am
All Welcome
Other hikes will be arranged until the end of September

Keramoto Cove - Walk 27 closure

I've been informed that Walk 27, Keramoto Cove in Glossa, is impassable. I'll let you know when I've had a change to inspect it.

Orchids & Clearing

At last have been able to get to work and start path clearing. It's been way too wet up until now. So the way from Moutero church, the spring and up to the dirt road, is now clear. I walked down from Moutero to Panormos yesterday and it's fine; just at the bottom of the hill after emerging from the forest (where my friend Jessica found a Birdsnest Orchid - we put branches round it to protect it) the grass is rather long. I'll get that cleared next Sunday. After that, we'll tackle Djilili, which again, is overgrown. After that, I was hoping to clear an old trail from Ag Marina spring up to Palouki.

Out and about, I found a Bumble Bee orchid, amongst others.

Here We Go Again

It's time to get those paths cleared!

No volunteers so thank goodness for the SCAN budget. Having lined up a Skopeliti to help me, his wife gave birth and they are all still in Volos. So I had to find somone else. I asked George, who comes here every summer and helps clean the shops on the front every morning. He said he knew all about strimmers too. So yesterday we dusted off the dust from the strimmer and headed to Moutero, via the petrol station. Felt slightly worried when he didn't know one has to put this bottle of red stuff in with the petrol. Anyway, with the help of a neighbour, he managed to get the machine started. Shortly afterwards the 'strings' disintergrated and the spares the previous user had assured me were 'in the bag' were not. So that was that. The helmet was also broken beyond repair. Not wishing to waste the day, I then took George down to the Djilili area, as this will be the next path for clearing. Even though he has been coming here for nearly 20 years, he had never been to either location or anywhere else inbetween.

On the way through the olive groves, I took these images.

Let's hope things go better next Sunday.