UPDATES
FP29 At the end of the former ‘fire-road’ encircling the hill-top, are 3 new bungalow villas.
The road is now concreted. The path down to the Church – Ag.Spiridon – is blocked at the first bend below the top – the LH (SW leg) overgrown and obliterated and the NE leg blocked-off with a high stone wall infilling. (From the bottom, behind the church, it appears as a paved driveway for a bit and then a jumble of stones – see photo R.)
The green path to the NE is OK, merging as shown just below and alongside a villa. Apart from this, all the paths above 29 are best avoided
FP29a The ‘Marble’ Workshops are spreading extensively with a large storage yard below the road beyond the colourful bungalow (which now has a new, smaller, bungalow recently built behind it.) See photo R. This ‘yard’ is such as to destroy the upper part of 29a which is now diverted on a ledge around and below it, to connect with 29 just behind the new bungalow and it’s hen-run. The Easterly branch seems to have disappeared.
FP30. Peter Greaves has composed a new commentary on this once troublesome path as follows:
North to South
Having got beyond the farmhouse the route continues as a vehicle width track between double walls for a further 100 metres. The wall on the east side is part of an enclosure and where it completes its circuit the path clearly continues south east until another walled enclosure is reached on the east side. Part way along this wall is a bean tree. At the corner of the wall turn east along the wall and then bear off across the relatively open ground descending gently. Notice the orange waymarkers. Skirting the slopes of cypresses continue down more steeply into the more overgrown bottom of the streambed. All well marked with orange dots. Cross straight over the stream bed and the path is equally overgrown but visible as climb up. Look for a wall that descends towards the steam bed which should remain some 5 metres on your right as you climb up. The path takes you over this wall and 5m after crossing the wall turn left up a hill which continues uphill keeping the wall now on your left. After 20 metres see the large blue water pipe which goes over the wall having followed the wall down from the cement works. Climb over the water pipe follow the wall up for 30 metres. Take option on your right into olive grove and follow debris strewn path up to cement works and back onto the cement drive up to the road.
South to North. The start is obvious on south side of cement works off a cement drive down to office. Rather than scramble down the original route which is now debris strewn, divert into olive grove on left (south side) following wall west then drop back onto path below debris. The large blue water pipe uses the path before crossing a wall. Keep wall on right and after 50 metres, although the path clearly continues down the hill, take a right turn down a slope and over the wall to descend to the steam bed. If you miss this turn all is not lost because at stream bed, which is contained in 2 metre high drystone walls, you have a relatively clear route to trace right (downstream) to pick up the orange markers at the correct stream bed crossing.
FP34.At Erimitis, almost as soon as I finished drawing the 10a edition Map, an earthquake brought down a considerable chunk of the near vertical chalk cliff. To confuse matters even further, the construction of two new villas was started on the old terracing in this very remote spot.
For a while things were in total disarray and FP34 seemed doomed to disappear at this, its seaside, end.
Now however things down at Erimitis, as far as the track and footpath are concerned, have been fully restored and the steps down to the cisterna and beach very much improved such as to be quite easy. The beach has changed, or rather renewed, as a result of the 2007 earthquake. There is now a fine, pebble beach, grand for bathing, where before there were just, sea-urchin infested, rocks! How long will it last, one wonders, before the waves erode it? Of course the two new villas do nothing for the ambience of this formerly deserted bay and the vehicle track will, no doubt, sooner or later be entirely surfaced, encouraging more traffic, alas.
Down below the new cliff-side villas, there are gates both sides connecting with newly cleared and being-restored olive groves/vinyards. See photo right. Some seem to be essentially ‘gardens’ to the villas, especially that to the N. Within it is a new, stone-built Studio.
Also on FP34 the walled branch E to Magazia village is cleared and good. It exits right by a ┤ roadsign. See photo right.
One can reflect on the women carrying their very heavy water-jars up here from the cliff-bottom cisternas to the village! This path which I discovered in 2008, is shown on the Magazia insert, above.
IKB 19th. October 2009
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