The start of the winter hiking excursions on the paths of Kythera for the season 2022-23 was impressive. More than 50 people responded to Frank's call, gathering at the square in Potamos and taking the baptism of fire for this year.
For Sunday, October 30, the route from Potamos to Agios Nikonas was chosen, to follow from there the route Lianianika-Logothetianika-Katsulianika-Mavrila and back to Potamos.
The first stop, after a 20-minute drive through the old mansions of Potamos and meadows with olive trees and tender cows, is the Byzantine chapel of Agios Nikolaos. It is an excellent example of Byzantine architecture, the like of which can be found only in Kythera and in a total of 3 cases (Agios Dimitrios in Alexandradades and the church of Panagia in Agios Giorgis in Vouno the other two).
The building, simple and unpretentious, in full harmony with the humility that the Orthodox tradition exudes, is decorated with exquisite examples of frescoes of the 12th century AD. A stop is imperative for photos and a quick snack before the route resumes.
Passage, then, through the 3 traditional villages, the beauty of which captivates the senses in the primeval magic of otherworldly times. Lianianika, Logothetianika, Katsulianika, with a stop in the last one before the difficult helical climb through the gorge of Maurila.
This final stage consists of a newly opened “road” through a “forgotten” path that was cleared only two years ago. «We had to bring in chainsaws to get the job done, as the whole area had turned into an inaccessible forest,» Frank confided during a break in the trail.
The entrance to the “Slit Lagadi” of “Maurila” and the magic of Chirigo's “Middle Earth”
From this point, the route takes on a mythical, almost fairytale-like quality. The merry company of the River suddenly transformed into the “Fellowship of the Ring”, in search of the “precious”. Where in place of “precious”, you can define anything that captivates or haunts the senses.
Honestly, it's hard to find words to describe the magic of the landscape. The whole image of the congregation crawling in a serpentine arrangement through the winding ascent of the canyon was reminiscent of the elves in the LOTR (Lord of the Rings) movie's transition to the fairy tale “Rivendell”. Or in Greek, “Slit Lagadi”, as vividly depicted in the passage of the “Blackbird”. Awesome experience, the magic of which annihilated any fatigue.
The final part of the route took us through fields full of oak trees to the northwest entrance of the River, from where we ended up at the original assembly point in the square.
With the end of the day and the glorious sun reigning lazily behind Agia Moni, we swore loyalty to the “Fellowship of the Ring” and renewed our vows for the eternal search of the “precious” (within us) through the next winter excursion to the unique paths of Kythera.
Next Sunday, we will be there again, on the hospitable shores of the land of Tsirigotiki. Frank, thank you.
