|
DURING THIS PERIOD, POROS ...
... is even more picturesque and cherished. The enormous shady pine trees spread out up to the coast of the sandy beaches. In the mountainous regions the inhabitants cultivate the olive trees and all sorts of crops whereas on the flatland of "Foussas" there are vineyards, wheat and vetches. The threshing floors of Poros are quite famous. Locust, fig and almond trees are planted on the hillsides.
Many residents breed cattle. At "Lemonodassos" (the Lemon Forest) they produce their famous lemon and orange juice. But most natives occupied themselves with fishing and resin collection. By cutting the pine trees, the resign (a sticky flammable organic substance exuded) gathered is initially put in buckets and eventually transferred to large basins. When summer ends, it is carried on horses and mules to Askeli and finally transported by small boats to Peiraia.
The fishermen, as sea experts, did their job according to the equipment and skills which were passed on from their ancestors. Preparing nets, fishing lines, lamps on the shore, slow paddling, grabbing a harpoon and placing the fishing net and twine on the side to have everything handy. Sometimes, when there was no Coast Guard patrol in sight, they would throw some small explosives in order to get a live catch.
They used boats to transport their products, even in dangerous weather conditions. Gradually, the citizens of Poros started to get involved in tourism. Next to the traditional cafés, the first tourist shops appear selling souvenirs based on folk art.
Many homes transform into guesthouses offering rooms to rent. A vivid image of the homeowners along with the porters waiting for the ship to dock in order to offer hospitality to the island’s visitors, guiding them through the whitewashed alleys smothered in jasmine and bougainvillea.
Also, many natives of Poros staffed the island’s ships, which gradually begin to increase, while others become boatmen to transfer tourists to the attractive beaches and to go across to Galata. Some of them use their boats even to transport cars from Galata to Poros.
The residents as well as the tourists spent their time at the small cafés and taverns enjoying ouzo and some octopus. Strolling all along the beach was inevitable. They also thought that watching black and white Greek films on the roof terrace of the movie theatre “Diana”, engulfed in jasmine, was quite a treat.
There is much interest shown for the festival of the monastery of Zoodochos Pygi on April 19th, the celebrations of the Virgin Mary at the beautiful church in Vrysoula right above Synikismos on July 2nd, Profiti Elia on July 20th, Agia Paraskevi in Foussa on July 26th along with many other festivities honouring different saints.
Finally, we should mention the unique trails through beautifully shaded paths you can enjoy by hiking, riding horses or mules in order to get to the Temple of Poseidon.
In the 50’s, people could see various figures roaming the alleyways of Poros such as the door-to-door milkmen who were, actually, two women dressed in black carrying a tin container of milk and selling it around the neighbourhoods.
The street grocers, accompanied by their mules, were selling their products in the alleys. Many peddlers have disappeared today and are greatly missed.
http://www.koutouzis.gr/
We would like to thank Mr. Costas Moraitis for all these beautiful photographs.
|
