Greek Tragedy

It is indulgent Sailing on the Ionian shores of Greece, but when living for two weeks aboard a small yacht, you are conscious of economy of use of water, electricity and fuel. And each port we visited gave insight to the locals resilience, and sadly the effect that sun-seeking people from Northern Europe (mainly Britain and Holland as I saw) are having on the landscape and the population, and the way they use their land.

We sailed some of this area about 10 years ago, and Petriti on Corfu, one of the least developed ports on the island, provided perhaps the greatest contrast. It is still described as an unspoilt fishing village, with a few tavernas, and the harbour is still mostly populated by fishing boats, ranging from the unbelievably small to quite sizeable craft with an array of lights to lure the fish to the surface.

There were several fishermen on the harbour wall, using techniques I had never seen using a rod to catch a small fish, then attaching a hook on a hand-reel to the live bait, getting the fish to swim out in search of bigger fish. These may have been leisure rather than commercial anglers, but one in particular was there all evening, and back at first light, with several hand-reels on the go.

Last time we were here, there were a few smart villas, but most of the houses were modest, set in fairly large grounds, with citrus fruit and olive trees, livestock and woodpiles, a ragbag of tools and toys around the yard, and evidence of the family links with the sea. But now, many of these have gone, replaced by far larger buildings, several to an old plot, with far less growing space.

In the centre, close to the harbour, is a field, full of ancient olive trees, pollarded to around 3 metres high, but as thick as adjacent olives 10 times that height. A couple of handmade 'for sale' signs in English and Greek were nailed to trees. There was a woodpile, a tethered donkey, and a load of chickens and turkeys roaming the site. In one corner was a small shed, and an old wooden boat. Walk around the plot, and a big hoarding announces yet more luxury villas. As a sizeable plot, this will be a whole estate before long.

At a time when we are coming to recognise the values of pastoral life, those who still have this in their grasp are being lured/forced to sell up their greatest asset - fertile land, to plant sterile buildings on. It is ironic that whilst we were in Greece, there were general strikes, and riots in Athens over the planned austerity measures, and yet truly sustainable (if subsistence) existance is being pushed aside to support affluent leisure.