Text: Pantelis Siabanos
Photos: Pantelis Siabanos, Antonis Sassalos

English translation: Dimitra Pappa

On the Slopes of Gerakonas

A beautiful spring day for the well-equipped team of thirteen hikers who set out on Route 18 with the goal of caring for and maintaining the trail.

We departed at 10:00 for the demanding uphill path toward Vrachnou, pruning, picking up litter, while Antonis cleared the way with his grass cutter. After a short stop at Vrachnou, we continued on a clean trail along the shady slopes of Gerakonas, with gentle ups and downs, until we reached Petrias. From there, we crossed Trail 1 and arrived at Falika, where, at the lower part of the village, the very hospitable Virginia Doukissa of “Oak Farm,” welcomed us along with her family.

They greeted us with refreshing lemonade, sour cherry juice, zucchini pie, and lemon spoon sweet. Virginia, with great joy and pride, gave us a tour of the farm, where she raises a Mykonian donkey, goats, sheep, hens, guinea fowl, and turkeys. The old farmhouse has been tastefully converted into a guesthouse, surrounded by seasonal vegetable gardens. Now in its second year of operation, the farm is evolving into a small agrotourism unit, fueled by the passion and love of its caretakers.

As we were leaving, they offered us almonds in small packages. We sincerely thank them for their warm hospitality and wholeheartedly wish them success in their challenging but beautiful endeavor.

From the farm, we soon reached the end of our route, at the Aladinos bridge, completing 4.5 hours from our starting point.

We thank all the hikers who contributed to the maintenance of the trail and look forward to seeing you on the next ones!