‘Twas the Season in Kalamata ~ The Olive Oil Season

Trees and buildings were decked out for Christmas, but it was the mountains of olives that gave a real seasonal feel to the place. Our mid-December arrival in The Mani put us smack dab in the middle of olive harvest and The Olive Oil Season. 

Decorated tree surrounded by olives - Village of Nomitsis

The home we were there to purchase in Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula is an hour’s drive south of the city of Kalamata.

“Kalamata, isn’t that an olive?” we are asked.

“You bet – the olive!” we answer.

Lots of olives. . . tons of olives . . .and their oil.

Kalamata olives

Seems everyone is familiar with the table variety called the “Kalamata olive”.
In this area of Greece the olive varietals are far more specific: a Myrtoya (hearty in areas of drought), Mavroya (early maturing), Kalamon (the classic table variety) and Mastoides (local oil variety of medium-sized with a pointy shape). That middle photo is one of our olives which I suspect is the Mastoides type.*

In everyday conversation around here olives are simply referred to as ‘oil’ or ‘salade’ varietals.

Oil containers on sale at Katerina's Supermarket

Olive oil is serious business in the Messinia region, with some 15 million trees producing 60,000 tons of oil annually.*  Oil storage containers are for sale far and wide. The photos above are of those for sale at our local supermarket.

Bags of olives awaiting pressing at one of the village presses

By day, the olive groves that carpet this part of The Mani were alive with harvest activities. Many of the workers come from neighboring Albania; the country providing agricultural labor much as Mexican laborers do in the United States.  Messinia has some 300 olive presses and more than 40,000 are employed in the olive oil industry.*

Saturday Night at Takis

While we love the idea of growing olives and producing olive oil we had no clue how it was done, we told our friend Giannis’ while dining at his taverna, just below our house on the hill. Turned out the olive press nearest us is owned and operated by his uncle, Takis.

So, Giannis encouraged us to stop by and visit the operation any time. . .

Saturday night at the olive oil press

Unlike in America, where security would likely have stopped us at some distant gate, we walked into the production facility one Saturday night to find the place a beehive of activity: as one pickup load of olives was emptied another would pull up to unload.  The brain-rattling loud machinery didn’t make for conversation, but it did make for photo-taking.

It wasn’t until we were leaving that we met Takis.  I started to explain who we were and why we were there but he stopped me,

“But. . .of course, Giannis told me. You are the Americans. Come. Come with me where we can talk.”

(“But. . .of course. . .” is how so many sentences begin in Greece.)

A feast for the soul

He led us into a side room that served as a kitchen and break room with a small enclosed office in one corner. There he told us to sit and proceeded to pour us glasses of rose wine and cut thick slices of bread which he served smothered in olive oil . 

“This is old oil,” he said as he handed us the plate.“It is three days old.” He then zipped back to the press room, leaving us alone to savor the taste and moment. That thick emerald green liquid was simply an elixir for the soul. Absolutely unmatched by any oil we’ve ever tasted in Tuscany or Spain or France . . .

Bread smothered in extra virgin olive oil

We’d cleaned the plate and emptied our glasses by the time he returned. So the glasses were refilled and this time a large chunk of Feta cheese was put on the plate with two more slices of bread.  He took the plate into the press room, and returned with oil that was minutes old.

Minutes old olive oil

He then poured himeself a glass of wine, raised it toward us and said, “Welcome to my country! I hope you will be very happy here!”

“But. . .of course!” we thought, “We will be happy here. . .we already are!”

Note: Facts referenced with an asterik * in this post come from a report issued by the University of California’s Cooperative Extension Service in Sonoma County.  The map below shows the areas in Greece where olives are grown.  As always the time you’ve spent with us is appreciated.  Hope you’ll come back soon and until then Happy Travels.

(Crete – that large island at the bottom of the map – in the 1990’s was producing 30% of Greece’s olive oil, followed by the Peloponnese, the land mass that looks like an open hand, at 26%.*)








This week we are linking up with the fine bloggers at:
Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Traveler’s Sandbox 
Our World Tuesday

Travel Inspiration – Reflections En Route 

Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening

 

Say “Poppy” ~ Think “Peloponnese Springtime”

Regulars here know I lust for the lemons.
I’ve burbled about the orange groves that in full bloom make the air heady with their seductive scent.  But each spring my greatest delight is seeing the wild poppies that along with other wildflowers carpet Greece’s Peloponnese.

It has been a long, chilly, wet winter but signs of spring on this peninsula to the south of Athens are appearing in olive and orange groves, along highways and empty lots. Mother Nature has again sprinkled her fairy dust to create floral scenes fit for Monet’s brush.

Peloponnese wildflowers

The wildflowers are blooming in The Mani -- in great profusion -- according to our neighbors and friends there. The wildflower season usually begins in March and continues through mid-May, depending on weather conditions. It is well underway and wouldn’t you know it? This year we won’t be there until late May, so will likely miss these sprawling bouquets!

I’ll have to resign myself to looking at photos that I have taken on previous visits (and time next year’s return a bit better).  But I’ve also devised a way to keep those poppies blooming year round – I’ll show you later in this post! But first, here’s a look at some of those flowers. . .

Fokianos Beach - Peloponnese Greece

On our first visit, two years ago, to the Peloponnese we were tipped off to the beach pictured above by our hotel keeper. ( Finding Fokianos ) He’d said it would be memorable and well worth our trip to find this place and as with most of his recommendations, he was absolutely correct.  What he hadn’t prepared us for were the poppy carpets that framed the views at every turn on the winding road to the beach.

This delicate flower commonly known as “The Red Poppy,”  is an annual that grows about 12- to 14-inches high and has blooms from 2- to 3-inches wide. It is sometimes called "Shirley Poppy" (after an English vicar named Shirley who studied the species), "Flanders Poppy," "American Legion Poppy", and in England, "Corn Poppy." It is native to most all of Eurasia and North Africa.

The name “American Legion Poppy” brings to mind those of small paper fundraising remembrance poppies that are patterned after these flowers.

And the “Flanders Field” refers to the place in western Belgium, where during World War I battles raged for four years. Flanders Field, before the war, was covered with the red poppies each spring and summer. Following the war the blooms returned and grow among the soldiers graves there.

 
Despite their rather somber associations, I simply think of sunshine and springtime in Greece when I see them.

So how do I plan to keep the poppies blooming all year long? Well. . .

. . .those of you who follow our stories on Facebook know that while we were in Hawaii I found dishware that would be perfect for our Greek house and I ordered sets of six plates and salad plates, a serving platter and two small bowls. Shipping costs are staggering, so we'll take them over as space in our suitcases allows.

We got a good laugh last week when the items were delivered to our Pacific Northwest home in two boxes so large the delivery man had to make two trips to the door . . .so it may be awhile before we get them over there. But they are the key to how my poppies will keep blooming:

Dinner plate on the left; salad plate on the right

That’s it for this week. Thanks for being with us and as always we appreciate your sharing our blog with those you know by word-of-mouth or by 'sharing' on Facebook. Hope to see you again soon and safe travels until we do!

Of note:

Wildflower tours: A number of tours can be found by Googling ‘wild flower tours in the Peloponnese’ – we aren’t recommending any particular tour.  In fact, it might be more fun to rent a car and do it on-your-own. (If you need tips on a route, just let us know.)

The dishes:  Are found at Pier 1, a popular import store in the United States.  They can be ordered on-line if you don’t have a store near you.  (For those who like lemon or olive motifs, they are also available -- and tempting!)

Linking Up this week with. . .
Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Traveler’s Sandbox 

Travel Inspiration – Reflections En Route 

Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening

Honolulu: Memories and Present-day Madness

Back – ahem – decades ago, Honolulu, Hawaii was our tropical dream destination.

Both young and single back then, (didn’t even know each other). . . carefree. . .and ready for Waikiki. 

Swaying palm trees. . .golden sand. . .picture-perfect blue skies and sea. . .

. . .yep, that’s the way it was back then.

And that is still the way it is now, sort of.

Waikiki's legendary 'Pink Palace' ~ The Royal Hawaiian Hotel

So drawn were we to Waikiki that after we met and married, we made it a mandatory add-on to any trip to any island in Hawaii. In recent years the vog (big city smog mixed with blowing ash from the neighbor island volcano) and vagrancy (homeless camping in parks and on sidewalks) became more and more noticeable even during those brief stays.

One evening three years ago we happened upon a street fight between two homeless men not far from our hotel; a block later the sidewalk was blocked by a group of chanting, tambourine-thumping 1960’s hippie-type throwbacks who competed with the emergency vehicle sirens for noise-making.

Royal Hawaiian pink umbrellas and striped beach towels frame Diamond Head

It was during that visit that we decided then that even the warmest memories can cool when confronted with present-day reality.

We skipped Honolulu and its tourist-magnet Waikiki last year even though our interval home at KoOlina is about 30 minutes (on a ‘good traffic’ day) away. This year, though, for old times sake we trekked into town for a Sunday afternoon visit.

Royal Hawaiian beach Waikiki on the left, KoOlina on the right

We concluded that an afternoon was long enough in Waikiki these days, but still it was nice to visit some of our favorite spots, like. . .

Duke Kahanamoku, surfing legend

The statue erected in the heart of Waikiki to honor hometown boy, surfing legend, Duke Kahanamoku, who was born here in the late 1800’s. This Olympic medalist is considered ‘the father of modern surfing’ and you’ll never see this tribute without his arms laden with flower leis that have been left in his honor.

Window to Kalakaua Avenue's street 'show'

One of the best people-watching places in Waikiki is the Honolulu Coffee Company at the historic Moana Hotel on Kalakaua Avenue. A constant parade of tour buses disgorge passengers while a steady stream of limousines pull under the Porte-cochere to drop off brides and grooms. For the price of a cup of coffee we can enjoy the ‘show’ through the shop’s large open windows.

Moana Hotel's Banyon Tree Beach Bar

Then we must stroll through the lobby of this historic Moana hotel (with a quick trip up the wooden stairway to look at historic memorabilia displayed on its second floor) and then head to the Banyon Tree Beach bar; a beach-front gathering place since the 1950’s. (It’s another great people-watching spot, but difficult to find a seat come sunset time).

Honolulu scenes from Nimitz Highway

We drove into Honolulu taking the older Nimitz Highway after leaving the H-1 freeway for reasons I will show you in the next mosaic.  But that loopy old route gave us a chance to admire some of the newest high rise buildings in town, to see the Holland American cruise ship that was in town and of course, take a photo of the iconic Aloha Clock Tower at the cruise terminal.

Part of Honolulu’s madness these days is its traffic. Like metropolitan areas everywhere with nearly a million people (Honolulu metro area is about 950,000 people)  the place is jammed with too many automobiles. The photos below were not taken during rush hour when the roads really come to a standstill, these were taken at 1:30 on a weekday afternoon and a Sunday morning on H-1, the main freeway on the island.

Sunday morning on the left; Tuesday afternoon on the right

Train track construction - Honolulu

The island’s governing bodies are trying to address the problem with an elevated link train – still billions of dollars underfunded and not yet constructed – but at least they have made a start at laying the foundation for the line that will run west to Kapolei, the island’s second largest city.

Halewai on the island's North Shore is served by bus 52 from Honolulu

Traveler’s Tip: One way to get around in the traffic is to use the island’s incredible transit, The Bus.  Its user-friendly web site caters to tourists with a link “Visitors” that explains how to get to tourist destinations and how to buy passes. We parked at the city’s sprawling Ala Moana Shopping Center (with a visit there, of coure) then hopped the bus to and from Waikiki.

How about your travels? Ever found that you prefer the memories of past visits to a present-day ‘reality’ visit? Are you a country-person or prefer the more ‘happening’ city beat?

Thanks for joining us in Honolulu and for all the time you spend with us. Hope you’ll tell your friends to drop by and join in on the travel tales and tips!

This coming week, you’ll find us joining in the fun at:

 

Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Traveler’s Sandbox 

Travel Inspiration – Reflections En Route 

Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening

Travel Photo Monday - Travel Photo Discovery

Hawaii: Malasada Mondays and Other Tropical Tales

For the last month our weeks have started on a sweet note: Malasada Mondays ~ a lyrical combination that has brought smiles to our faces and – big sigh – added a few pounds to our weight.

Malasadas, a favorite treat in Hawaii, were introduced here in the late 1800’s by Portuguese laborers from Madeira and the Azores who came to work in the plantations.

Malasadas

Think donut holes – great BIG donut holes. Some served with a sugar coating and others sliced open and filled with melt-in-your-mouth custard.

The temptations were great

We’ve been lucky this year as our Hawaiian home at KoOlina has begun hosting one of the many Farmer’s Markets that take place throughout this island chain.

Although teeny in comparison to most, our market brings one Honolulu baker who serves up loaves of Hawaiian sweet bread and rolls filled with tropical flavors like coconut and pineapple. (He doesn’t have a retail outlet, but similar treats can be found at Leonard’s in Honolulu)

One of our favorite things about this one-time-kingdom-now-state in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is the diversity of people here and the customs and foods they’ve brought to this tropical paradise.

They came in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s as laborers to work in pineapple, taro, and sugar cane fields and related industries, from islands in the South Pacific, China, Korea, Japan, and Europe. Thanks to them bringing their foods and flavors from home, today’s Hawaii offers food lovers a feast of diverse culinary cuisine.

Hot and spicy - Korean vegetables

An editor of mine, many years ago asked, “Can you get American food there?” (Yes, he was serious. And yes, you can. Col. Sanders is serving up buckets of fried chicken while Quarter Pounders are being grilled under the Golden arches and Big Box pizza joints are making home deliveries.) But why would anyone come here to eat that food when there’s so many other 'Ono grinds' (good food)  just waiting to be sampled?

Waipahu Saturday morning farmer's market - O-'ahu

SPAM, I am

Some foods though just call out ‘Hawaiian’ in our minds. For instance, SPAM. That canned meat product is so popular here they have an annual SPAM Jam Festival!

More SPAM®, according to one of the conference sponsors, is consumed per person in Hawaii than any other state in the United States, which makes it somewhat appropriate for their signature food festival, which in 2015 takes place May 2.

SPAM® stands for ‘spiced ham’; a product introduced in 1937 by the mainland  Hormel Foods Corporation.  The food cube inside the can is a mix of ham and pork shoulder and now comes in low-salt, spicy and original (simply salty) versions. It is believed to have been introduced by the service men stationed here during WWII.

Its popularity continues to grow. There seem to be new variations available each year! Costco, the big box U.S. chain store, sells it here by the case.

Two key statistics in the SPAM Jam news release caught my eye:
* nearly seven million cans of SPAM® are eaten every year in Hawaii.)

* in the decade since it began, the Waikiki SPAM® JAM, has become one of the most popular festivals in Hawaii. More than 20,000 attend the annual event.


Shave Ice

My Hawaiian friends are offended if I compare a Hawaiian ‘shave ice’ to what we mainlanders call a ‘snow cone’. The premise is the same for both, shaved ice that is flavored with syrups of various flavors.  Apparently – it is the way the ice is shaved that can make this treat a true Hawaiian melt-in-your-mouth (pun intended!) version or a lumpy mainland version.  And a trip to the island of O’ahu isn’t complete without going to the North Shore for a stop at Matsumoto’s for shave ice.  Lines often wind into the street from the shave ice counter in this 1950’s wood-frame grocery store that now sells only shave ice, tee-shirts and souvenirs.

Matsumoto Shave Ice - an island favorite

Food Trucks:

And one can’t make a trip to the North Shore and not be tempted by the eateries that line the two-lane road through Haleiwa (a once-laid-back-surfer-town now teeming with tourists) While these photos were taken in Haleiwa, you’ll find food trucks tucked away in the most unexpected places around the island:

North Shore O'ahu Food Trucks

When you travel do you stick to foods that you ‘know’ or do you ‘go local’? Tell us in the comments below or shoot us an email.  Thanks for the time you spent with us today ~ hope to see you again soon!  "Malamapono a hue hou" ~ Take care until we meet again!

Linking up this week:
Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Traveler’s Sandbox 
Travel Inspiration – Reflections En Route 
Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening
Travel Photo Monday - Travel Photo Discovery

Winter in Greece ~ Baby, it’s cold outside. . .sometimes!

So . . . you didn’t think it got cold in Greece, did you?

I’d planned to take you on a tropical tour of Hawaii today but your questions and responses to our last post like, “So what is winter like in Greece?” and “Snow – in Greece!?!” made me think we needed to show you a bit more of our Greek winter wonderland before heading to tropical beaches.

So here you go – the real story of winter in December and January and illustrated with photos not often seen in those tourist brochures. 

Taygetos Mountains from The Mani

 Snow in Greece? you asked. The Mani, that ‘middle finger’ of the Peloponnese peninsula is blessed with beaches and mountains.  The mountains, part of the Taygetos Range, (named after the nymph Tayget, daughter of Atlas), have snow-covered peaks that soar to heights of 7,887 feet or 2,407 meters. They are snow-covered from late fall to late spring/early summer.

We are on that 'middle finger'

 

You can tell from this map that those mountains form the backbone of this peninsula. They are laced with trails that draw hikers to them in the spring and fall (summer is too hot for much hiking here except in the early morning and early evening hours). For those who’ve asked: sorry, no ski resorts.

What’s the weather like? you asked. The weather during our stay was a Jekyll and Hyde experience. While one day we’d wake to sunshine and warmth, other days the wind – a forceful and cold wind – howled and shrieked down the hillsides and over the valley. One storm hit with such intensity, that the fishing boats were taken out of the small protected harbor at Agios Dimetrios so that the crashing waves wouldn’t smash them against the cement walls meant to protect them.

Fishing port - Ag. Dimitrios

 So powerful were the waves that they crashed over the waterfront road in the nearby tourist-town of Stoupa, leaving a trail of beach sand in their wake.

Stoupa's beach is lined with summer sun-bathers - in July and August

One day we sat ‘trapped’ (that means not crazy enough to get out until the storm subsided) in our car at the grocery store parking lot while hail pounded our car and everything else in sight. Yes, I entertained myself taking photos of it.

Not a good thing, I might add, for the Kalamata olive harvest that was underway.




It gets cold in Greece?, you asked. The temperatures dropped at night to freezing and once or twice a bit below freezing. It was – of course! - during that cold spell that we ran out of fuel for the furnace and had to rely on that fireplace!

We’d just ordered – and stacked -- a load of firewood so we kept the fireplace burning 24/7 until our new oil supply was delivered!  You’ll note in the photo below I am wearing a blue fleece jacket.

Stacking the firewood - great exercise!

 We each bought fleece ‘work jackets’ on one of our shopping trips to Kalamata. The Scout paid 10-euro and mine was 12-euro. The plan was to wear them when working in the yard.  Turns out it was sooo cold and they were sooo warm that we wore them all the time (I did consider wearing mine to bed on a couple of occasions, if the truth were to be told!)

Fleece coats saved the day

Even on the sunniest of days while enjoying our afternoon coffee and “Time with Tom” (one of our two visiting cats) – we wore our fleece.Next year we will take serious winter clothes along.

Stoupa - sunset from Steki Cafe

 

Is it nice there in the winter? you asked. And the answer, is “Yes!” We had days of glorious sunshine and sunsets beautiful enough to give you chills (if the temperatures didn’t). Often times we sat in sidewalk cafes (enveloped in those fleece jackets, of course) sipping wine and watching the sunsets, like the one above as seen from the village of Stoupa.

Scenes from a shopping trip

Some days the sun coming through the car’s windows required us to turn on the air conditioning as we traveled between the villages and Kalamata town. These photos were taken on a return trip from a shopping day in Kalamata.

 

We met quite a few northern Europeans who had rented places – or who own vacation homes -- in and near the villages of Stoupa, Kardamyli, or Ag. Nikolaos and head this way for their winter getaways much like those Canadian and the U.S. winter  ‘snow birds’ head south to Mexico, Florida and Arizona.  (This area is an inexpensive off-season getaway destination.)


I am writing this post in Hawaii where the temperatures are in the low 80’s so I checked the weather back in the Mani the day I started writing this, Feb. 13 – it was 4:33 a.m. in Kardamyli and was still a bit chilly there.

Next post – I promise – we will head out to take a look at our current warm-sand neighborhood on the shores of Hawaii.  Thanks to all of you for the time you spent with us today.  Will see you soon, we hope. And until then, safe travels to you and yours!

We are linking up with some great bloggers this week – if you get a chance, drop by these sites as well:
Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Traveler’s Sandbox 
Travel Inspiration – Reflections En Route 
Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening

Greece ~ Come along. Visit our ‘hood’

Our criteria for a Greek home was quite simple.
We wanted a stone house with a water view and a garden or olive grove.
We ultimately got them all.

Our Stone House on the Hill in Greece

 

What we hadn’t given that much thought was: the neighborhood. Who would live next door? Would there even be a ‘next door’? Would we be in a village? If not, how far away would a village be? We hadn’t focused on those questions because we simply didn’t think of them, so focused were we on 'the house'.

As you know from my recent posts about our recently-purchased Stone House on the Hill, our criteria for the house was met and exceeded. As for the neighborhood – we couldn’t have picked better had we given it any thought.

Come along. . . let me introduce you to our Greek ‘hood. . .

We are furthest right in this photo - hidden by the tree

Our house is the one on the far-right, tucked away behind our big tree at the end of the grove. We have a British couple (part-timers, like us) immediately to our left. Next to them, full-timers Christina and Dimetrios, the Greek couple who built the five homes at the top of the photo. The third house from us is owned by another couple from Britain who live here full-time (when they are not traveling, that is).

We have yet to meet our neighbors in the homes to the far left and below us. Although our Cat Who Came for Christmas, AKA  “Princess” is said to live in that house down below when the owner is home.

The road that links two villages

 

Our row of stone houses is at the edge of a century-old olive grove. To reach them, one follows a narrow, paved road that connects the villages of Ag. Dimitrio below us to Platsa, about three kilometers above us.

You’ve probably guessed, we have very little traffic on this tiny road – and when a car or bike passes, it generates waves, nods of the head or a call of greeting. We are walking distance – via a smaller rutted dirt road through an olive grove – to the port of Ag. Dimitrios and just a bit further is the part-sand, part-rock beach.

The beach is a walk away

Many of you who have traveled in Italy’s Tuscany region will notice the striking similarities between this countryside and that one, particularly the Mediterranean Cypress trees that dot the landscape. (What is nice about here is we get all that Tuscan-type beauty for far-less-the-cost!)

The countryside rivals Tuscany in beauty - but the price is better here!

 

This driveway, just around the corner and above us, leads down to one of the many charming stone homes tucked away amid the olive groves – we have yet to meet that neighbor.
So many ‘new’ people and places just footsteps away waiting to be discovered just like. . .

. . .the villages! So picturesque, they often times don’t seem real. The one in the photo below is Kotroni, (the cluster of buildings at the top of the photo) as seen from just above our home. We drove there once and it, like so many villages, has such narrow roadways that you park your car outside the village and enter it on foot.We’ve yet to do that exploration, but we will!

Village of Kotroni

The views from the ‘hood are sweeping and stretch from out over the Gulf of Messinia to the Taygetos Mountains. The photo below is taken from just above our house:

The Mani Greece

The ‘hood was full of tiny roadside wonders as well on this early January Saturday stroll:

January blooms

 

We are eager to return this spring and see the profusion of color that the spring wildflowers offer. Yet, these hardy blooms were amazing. It was winter. The surrounding hills were covered with snow!

Don't you love the mountain that looms above our home?

 

 

View from our deck

It is definitely a contrast to our current ‘home base’ in Hawaii with its sandy beaches and 80-degree temperatures - where we are enjoying our ‘interval life’, that I told you about earlier this week. We’ll take you on a tour of this tropical neighborhood in our next post so hope you’ll join us here again soon. 

We’ve noticed we have some new subscriber/friends and followers: Welcome! We look forward to getting to know you ~ so hope you will join in the conversation by commenting or emailing.

And to all of  you, we just read that 7.4 new travel blogs appear every second – makes us even more grateful for the time you spend with us!!

Speaking of friends, I need to thank our friend Maria Korma who lives in the village of Stoupa, Greece for keeping us updated on activities there via her Facebook page. She gave me permission to use two of her photos in this post!

This week’s link ups are with:

Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Traveler’s Sandbox 
Travel Inspiration – Reflections En Route 
Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening