Sunday, May 29, 2016

Meteora_Late spring nature walk




May 29th 2016 

Thessaly is a wonderland for nature in Greece.
We've been staying in Portaria Pelion above Volos a couple of days (a much needed rest near Athens and Volos - a home for our son now). Quick midday drive to Meteora.  Just Roussanou Monastery and a look around. A wonderful trail walk from Kastraki Village and then a drive back to Portaria through the Thessaly Plain; quick stop at the Enipeas-Pinios river confluence near Farkadona (near Keramidi Village).

Some snapshots shared here.


















Spend just a 5' on an umbellifer....












Bats roosting in a crack in the new Keramidi Bridge (Photo: Jay Manolis). These look like Serotine Bats Eptesicus serotinus.


Paliogefyra: The old medieval bridge between Keramidi and Vlochos on the Enipeas river.



Sunday, May 15, 2016

Karystos: Tourism development meeting 2016


Karystos: My motherland and a place worthy of careful tourism development.



May 14- 15, 2016 Karystos Evia 

Southern Evia: Synergies for Tourism and Sustainable Development. A public meeting and promotional event took place at Karystos. Vassiliki and I were both invited and we both talked on very different subjects: Landscapes and amateur scuba diving promotion. About 200 people participated in the discussions. Tourism could be an incentive to revive interest in nature conservation - I hope...Good for nature and culture.

It was nice to be back in my beautiful motherland. 
I recommend a weekend visit. 





The Mayor of Karystos, Mr. Lefteris Raviolos.
Beginning the meeting is Vassiliki Vlami - to talk on cultural landscapes.
My wife with one of the team helpers. Organizing the talk. 



It felt good talking into three microphones: immediate broadcast on the web etc. 

More details from the meeting: