A Night with the Gods

All of nature’s elements coming together to create a magical experience

It’s been only a month and yet it feels so distant.

It’s been only a month and yet it feels so strange, so far off from the reality we are now into.

I am talking about the recent adventure that I and some friends made at Valia Kalda and more specifically, the mesmerizing night we got to spend at the plateau of the Flega alpine lakes.

That magical night we spent under the stars, listening to the sound of the howling wind and staring at the fire’s primal dance.

It was a long hike. Around 16 km, since we decided to reach the lakes through the long trail that starts from the Valia Calda Mountain Shelter just outside of Vovousa. We got up around 07.00 am and had a quick breakfast before starting our journey. From its beginning, it was clear that this was going to be an epic hike. The valley of Valia Calda is famous around Epirus for its stunning views, waterfalls and colors, especially in Autumn, but I won’t speak much about it, since the national park deserve an article of its own.

After passing through the river of Aoos multiple times, swimming in the natural stone carvings created by its waters, witnessing gigantic primordial trees and hiking until we could no longer feel our legs we reached the plateau.

Surrounded by the nearby mountain tops and standing beneath the Flega peak (from where their name derives), the two lakes offer a view that you seldom have the pleasure of viewing. We usually see lakes on lower altitudes, and in my case, most I have seen were on valleys or at the base of mountains.

But these two sit at the top of a plateau, offering an outstanding view - in front of the lower lake where there is no surrounding land - of tens of other peaks that go as far as the eye can see. It’s a landscape that seems like it was born out of a fairy tale, two mystical lakes hidden underneath the mountain, a place where fairies would come and bathe under a night with a full Moon.

It was already late so we had to set up camp fast. We put up our tents and lighted a fire. The sky was turning into a beautiful deep-blue pallet of colors. Twilight was upon us and it’s my favorite hour to shoot - especially when there is a fire in the scene. The radiant, blazing orange of the fire seemed like a hearth of comfort, a sanctuary of some sort, against the cold but beautiful silence of the surrounding landscape.

We baked some coffee and sat down to enjoy this moment of connection with nature.

As the last rays of the sun started disappearing, the cold air embraced us, but gently, making the body feel an invigorating rush due to the low temperature. We could feel fragrances of pine, coffee, and the smell of burning wood feeling our nostrils. Oh, the smell of burning wood, I just love it. It brings a feeling of coziness in my mind, one that I had longed to feel again.

And the fire. This radiant spectrum of reds and oranges, roaring fiercely with its burning embers. Caressing the body with its warm touch. It’s been a companion of humans for almost 2 million years and its effect on our gaze stands as concrete proof for the role it has played in our evolution and survival. We stood there, watching it tirelessly, devouring its ever-changing colors and tones, as it devoured the wood that we fed it.

Going a bit further away to take some pictures, I turned back and looked at the scene.

It almost looked like a pagan ritual. Three figures standing around a pyre, moving, shouting, playing music, in the middle of nowhere. When witnessing scenes like this my mind goes back, thinking about the first of our species who harnessed the power of fire.

I think of how important it must had been for them to be able to gather around a source of warmth in the relentless cold they had to face. And how beautiful the landscape around them must have looked. Pure and wild, without any of man’s technological interventions, pollution and destruction. Like the scene we had the privilege of enjoying that night - if you exclude our tents of course.

I look up at the night sky. The stars are shining brightly. Another scene we have come to treasure deeply due to its rareness. The night sky that our cities offer is usually home to tens of stars in the best-case scenario. In the wild you see hundreds, thousands or millions. In places with no light pollution and nights with no Moon it can feel like there is more light than darkness up there, and that’s something that words or images can hardly describe. Only your eyes can make you feel the true sensation of witnessing a proper starry night sky out in the wild.

I believe that looking at a night sky full of stars is of paramount importance. It allows our minds to wander off freely, without constraints and borders. It’s a place where reality and fantasy blend into an opaque mix of light and darkness. A place of total detachment from the hustles of everyday life that allows us to get lost on our thoughts, embracing them fully with their light and darkness.

One of the few scenes we are able to observe and actually feel the grandness of the unknown. A liberating source of visual magnificence, reminding us how vast this world we live in is, how little we know about it, how small we are, but at the same time how lucky we are to be alive right now, right here, enjoying this moment.

And for me this is a source of creativity, liberation, and introspection that rejuvenates me like nothing else.

After a few hours the moon started appearing behind a nearby mountain top, dimming the star’s light and filling the sky with its silver radiance.

The water’s surface on the upper lake started glimmering with beautiful shades of green, cyan, blue and grey. If there is a place where dryads lived this would probably be it, and I could almost see them emerging from the lake bathing themselves with water and moonlight.

My roaring imagination was halted by the shivers of my body. The cold had started to become unbearable and it was time for me to go to my tent.

I went back to our fire and stood there for a few minutes warming my hands. A feeling of appreciation filled my mind for the scene we got to experience this day. The stars, the moonlight, the trees, the mountaintops, the sound of birds chirping, the strain on the body’s muscles after a vigorous workout, it’s all things we need but have come to enjoy so seldomly, especially this year with the lock-downs imposed due to COVID-19.

I put out the fire as I started to prepare to go to sleep. Before going in I decided to check it again, making sure it’s properly extinguished. I threw in some water and it made a loud, hissing noise. I looked down at the last burning embers. They looked like sprinkling stars shining out in front of the background of black coal. I looked up the actual night sky and saw the resemblance.

I guess there is beauty everywhere, I thought, you just need to have the eyes to look for it.

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The New Normal

Photographs of the New Normal in Thessaloniki

It was tough, it was strange but we came out of it.

The curfew measures imposed by most governments have started getting lifted across the world and with them, a new reality unfolds.

A new reality with masks, gloves and lots antibacterial hand gels. International travel has been to put a pause. Events, meetings and educational seminars have quickly adapted and moved into digital form.

It still seems surreal, considering how fast this all happened. The world around us has changed and I am eager to see how long this change will last.

Only time will tell if this “new normal” is good or bad and how long it will stay. What matters is that it’s shifting how our society works, and its important that we document this (probably) pivotal change of our society for future reference.

Hair salons were the first to open after the quarantine and barbers were some of the first to face the new reality of having to wear a mask while working.

Children started going out again, enjoying the lovely weather that our city offered for the first days after the quarantine.

Churches are open once again but disinfections have to be carried out to keep places of worship clean and safe.

My little sister taking her school classes through Zoom. Digital video calls became the new normal, replacing traditional school classroom lessons.

A fast-food restaurant employee, looking at the camera. People who work in restaurants and cafes are some of the ones affected the most, as they have to wear masks through long shifts, while working in conditions with high temperatures.

A woman feeding stray cats. People who fed stray animals played an crucial role in keeping cats and dogs on the street alive during the curfew.

Believers sitting on plastic chairs outside of the church of Agios Demetrios to hear the Sunday chant.

Antibacterial hand gels are everywhere.

Many small businesses were brought to their knees during the curfew, seeing their revenue drop to almost zero. Others face the unfortunate possibility of permanently going out of business. The full economic impact of COVID-19 on the Greek economy though remains to be seen.

Many people still to choose to spend time outside by themselves to avoid possible infection or spreading of the disease.

Shoppers have to face long lines outside of almost every shop in the city center.

Two women look at the sunset while keeping a safe distance from each other

Lovers met again, some after 2 months of quarantine.

As the risk for another lock-down continues to stay imminent, I am curious to see if these images will become a relic of the past, reminding us of an odd situation we all faced or become something else, become the new normal.

P.S. A big thank you to my friends at RAW Society for inspiring me to do this short photo essay and helping photographers worldwide develop their skills and visual thinking.

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Georgia, the best travel destination so far?

Georgia, The Best Travel Destination So Far?

Having been a fan of Mitchel Kanaskevich for some time now I have been watching closely his work and journeys from all over the world.

In one of his articles, he said that while traveling back from Mongolia he passed through Georgia and fell in love with the country. I made some quick research and quickly discovered the breathtaking landscapes of the Caucasus and the rich cultural heritage of this country. That was enough to get me intrigued.

A few days later I was lucky enough to find a round trip ticket with just 30 euros, from my city, Thessaloniki to Kutaisi, Georgia. I booked the tickets immediately.

I started organizing my trip to Georgia and for my accommodation, I chose to use Couchsurfing. The first time I used was while traveling to Madrid with a friend after my Erasmus and had gotten a taste of the way it can enhance your journey. Since then I always try and help travelers through Couchsurfing and even host some people when I have the time.

So, after sending some requests I found hosts in both Kutaisi and Tbilisi.

And that was the only thing I had planned. I decided to truly go with the flow in this journey and not make detailed plans beforehand on what to visit and how much time to spend in each place like I usually do in other journeys.

So with my bags packed and everything ready, the day of my flight arrived.

Four hours before the take-off and while going to the airport, my host in Kutaisi sends me a message. He said that he will be my flight’s pilot.

My mind was blown. I couldn’t believe it. I knew he was an aviation professional but what were the chances of something like this happening?

I said hello to him as I entered the plane and he invited me to the cockpit. The journey had started and I already had one amazing experience. A beautiful story to share.

Arriving in Kutaisi

We arrived at Kutaisi, took his car and went to his place to leave my luggage then immediately went out.

Kutaisi from my host’s balcony.

The locals were incredibly welcoming and wanted to find out where I was from, inviting us to drink chacha with them, a traditional Georgian drink with lots of alcohol. They were curious about my camera and many asked me to photograph them.

A couple in Kutaisi posing happily for my camera.

Another man I met in my first hours in Kutaisi, posing happily for the camera and inviting me to drink chacha with him.

Men, sitting at a butcer-shop, drinking chacha, smoking and discussing about the daily news.

The town had a big street market selling a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, tea, spices sweets and anything else you can imagine. A utopia for everyone who loves tasting new things, I felt the need to try everything.

We sat down for some Hinkali and beer at a local restaurant. Hinkali is the most typical Georgian food and it is a dumpling stuffed with meat, potato, or cheese. It’s delicious. After filling our bellies we continued our walk to the city as the sun was slowly setting down, changing the colors of the city as the night lights were slowly turning on.

Some bizarre fairy-statues just outside the Georgian parliament in Kutaisi.

Tskaltubo

The next day my host suggested that I should go visit Tskaltubo. I made a brief research and immediately got interested.

Tskaltubo is a former Soviet Sanatorium, a place where people went after getting permission from the government, to relax and blow some steam off. The park has therapeutic hot springs and offers a beautiful view of the surrounding nature. Around the park you can find huge Soviet buildings that were used as lavish hotels but are now abandoned and silent, as nature is starting taking over, enveloping the concrete giants.

Photographs from Tskaltubo: An abandoned sanatorium.

Photographs from Tskaltubo: Two cats looking melancholically outside of the window in an abandoned sanatorium.

Photographs from Tskaltubo: The entrance to one of the biggest sanatoriums in Tskaltubo. People were living in its interior.

Photographs from Tskaltubo: An old playground in the middle of the park.

As I walked near the concrete giants I felt a slight melancholy. There was a certain silence in this place that it’s hard to describe. After walking around a few more buildings I noticed clothes hanging from the balconies, cats and curious faces looking through the windows. The sanatoriums were now being used by refugees who had to fled from the region of Abkhazia once Russia too over in 2008.⁣ Making the most out of what life has thrown at them, they have brought life back to the grey giants creating a post-apocalyptic atmosphere that gets carved in your memory.⁣

Photographs from Tskaltubo: A man is working with his tools in one of the abandoned sanatoriums of Tskaltubo.

Photographs from Tskaltubo: Colorful bed-sheets hanging from the balconies of the grey, concrete giants.

After hours of walking around it was time to go. The sun was setting and I had to catch a bus back to Kutaisi. I left Tskaltubo with a bitter-sweet feeling of melancholy in my mind and an absolute certainty that I will come back at some point. One day at this place was surely not enough to properly photograph its concrete giants and the people who live there.

When I came back my host proposed that we go to eat something at a local restaurant he knew. I can’t describe the food we ate that day and I hoped I had taken some photos to help me do so. Khinkali, chatsapuri, saslik, river fish, salads, dips and a tasteful Georgian black wine. We tried almost everything there was on the menu and the price was probably about 1/5 of what would someone pay in most European countries. It was stunning.

As the wine was ending and the head started becoming heavier I felt excitement. Excitement for how great this adventure already was and for what laid ahead.

Tbilisi - The Rise of a New Photographic Interest: Street Photography

The next day it was time to visit Tbilisi. After a 4-hour bus ride and a 10 lari ticket (around 3.5 euros), I arrived at the capital. Life here immediately seemed much different than the one in Kutaisi. The city was bustling with life, tall buildings, cars, lights and traffic.

I started walking towards my host with my camera on hand, trying to capture pictures of what I show on the way.

My hosts, Laura and Martin were two amazing people from Latvia that made me immediately feel welcome at their place. After chatting and getting to know each other it was time to sleep and wake up fresh the next day to start exploring the city.

I woke up at 9.00 am had breakfast with Laura and Martin, picked up my camera and went out for a walk.

One of the first things I noticed while going around Tbilsi is how many clothes Georgians hang from the balconies. It’s almost like a form of decoration, transforming the otherwise boring, grey houses into mosaics of textiles and colors.

Clothes hanging between houses in Tbilisi, Georgia..

The streets of Tbilisi, like the country itself, is a mix of contradictions. People selling all kind of products and trinkets on the street, open markets and narrow corridors sit beside huge modern monuments, breathtaking gold orthodox churches and all that gets embraced by Tbilisi’s river, Mtkvari and the surrounding mountains and hills.

Tbilisi’s river Mtkvari, at sunset.

Another view of the Mtkvari river and the beautiful views of the city it offers.

The majestic statue of Mother Georgia (Kartlis Deda) is always watching gracefully the city underneath, decorating the urban skyline with its imposing presence. The statue was erected on the top of Sololaki hill in 1958, the year Tbilisi celebrated its 1500th anniversary.

The statue of Mother Georgia from afar.

The imposing statue of Mother Georgia from atop the hill.

It is truly a must to go up the hill of the Statue of Mother Georgia as it offers an incredible view of the whole city and its surroundings. As I was making my way up the hill where the statue resides, a soft grey mist was enveloping the buildings below covering the whole city in mystery.

Tbilisi at sunset.

Some guys enjoying the view on top of Sololaki hill.

Tbilisi at dusk.

When the night lights around the city started slowly turning on, it started transforming into a gem, shining brightly in the dark horizon. Glamorous Orthodox churches, skyscrapers, houses and modern monuments lighting the night sky with their beautiful and diverse colors.

A young couple enjoying Tbilisi by night from a nearby hill.

Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi, Georgia.

A girl with a yellow coat standing out in Tbilisi’s subway.

It was a long and very fulfilling day and when I thought it couldn’t get better Laura and Martin asked me if I wanted to join them at a friend’s house party.

I said yes and an hour later we arrived at a flat full of people from all over the world. I met some incredible individuals that night and oddly many of them could know how to speak Greek. Some had been Erasmus students in Greece, others had Greek boyfriends/girlfriends. Whatever the case it was very interesting and pretty bizarre to meet so many people that knew Greek, in a flat party of a guy I didn’t know in Georgia. After a considerable amount of beers and lots of “Nice to meet you”, we headed back home. It was a long, amazing day and I needed some rest.

After 2 days in Tbilisi and quite a lot of photos, my photographic taste started getting focused on what was truly unique and beautiful about this city. Its streets. As I said before, they teleport you in a different era, one that you seldom see nowadays in Europe.

So the third day I woke up and knew what I wanted to capture. The streets of Tbilisi and its people, to show the intimate and kind of vintage moments that this amazing city has to offer.

I don’t usually shoot in Black&White but I thought that street photography in Tbilisi is ideal for that and a street-market I stumbled upon with my friend Raminta that day was ideal to put this idea to the test.

To be honest, I loved the Black & White look on the photographs from the streets of Tbilisi and it was the point in time where two new photographic interests were born: Street Photography and Black & White Photography. With the absence of color I could see emotions and moments with more clarity, especially in a busy environment like a street market and the man street vendors of the city felt like they were meant to be captured without color.

The Caucasus

The last but definitely not least part of the journey was a trip to the Caucasus mountain range. As a lover of landscapes and nature, I couldn’t leave Georgia without visiting at least one of its beautiful mountains so the next morning we woke up and we decided to hitchhike to Gudauri, with my host, Laura.

The last time I hitchhiked was in Spain, as I was traveling there with a friend after our ERASMUS in Portugal had ended. Our experience there was not so good since we wanted to go from Vitoria to Madrid and had to wait for hours until somebody picked us up. Even when this happened we only managed to reach a small town 200 km outside of Madrid and had to take a bus because there was no place to stay for the night.

Hitchhiking in Georgia couldn’t be more different than that. We reached a mall close to a highway, just outside Tbilisi by bus and there, just after waiting for 30 minutes we got picked up by two awesome guys who were going to a place to Gudauri. They offered to take us to the village and while going there we spoke up Georgian culture and the guys constantly stated the love they have for their country. After 5 days in Georgia, I could understand why, as I had also been enchanted by the beauty of this country and the hospitality of its people. Just before reaching Gudauri we stopped at a local restaurant to recharge our batteries.

According to the guys who took us in the car, the restaurant there had the best khinkali in all of Georgia. I only tried khinkali from 3 restaurants while I was in Georgia, so I can’t say for sure if that was the best in all of the country but it was the best I tried during my stay. We accompanied the khinkali with a beer and of course a couple of shots of chacha and after 5 minutes of almost begging them to let us pay for at least some of the food we ate, the guys paid for everything saying that: “you are our guests and the guests in Georgia mustn’t pay.”

After one more incredible example of hospitality by the Georgian people and a 20-minute drive, we reached Gudauri.

The ski-resort in Gudauri.

The Caucasus mountain-range had been on my travel list for a long time now. and I was finally there. We bought a coffee from a nearby shop and sat at the balcony to enjoy the view of a nearby peak. Every breath was like a pure dose of clean oxygen. The face felt refreshed as the light mountain breeze caressed it softly and the body felt rejuvenated as the sun started to warm us up. A place where all the senses felt pleased.

One of the most photogenic peaks we saw in Gudauri.

After enjoying our selves on this balcony for almost an hour we took the lift to go a bit further up the mountain and see the view from up there. Endless white mountain peaks sprang across the horizon all around us as the clouds were playing hide and seek behind around them. Skiers and snowboarders were enjoying the fresh snow at the mountain slopes. I couldn’t help but feel the need to stay there for days or weeks, to explore the nearby peaks and villages.

A Siberian husky with one injured eye looking at the bypassers.

Two skiers walking close to one of the peaks in Gudauri.

In ancient Greek mythology, Caucasus was a shepherd who lived close to the region and helped Zeus against his father, Kronos. Enraged by that, Kronos killed him and Zeus named the area where he lived (the Caucasus mountain-range) by his name. it was the place where the leader of the Greek gods would later tie Prometheus in chains for giving fire to men. His punishment? An eagle would fly to him every day and eat his liver, only to grow back the same night for the punishment to continue the next day. Zeus imposed this punishment for 3.000 years but Hercules saved him after 30, receiving immense praise by mortals.

Another beautiful peak we had the chance to see.

The beautiful sunset we saw as the day was coming to an end.

A journey comes to an end

As the sun started going down and we began to look for a way to go back to Tbilisi I realized that my journey was also coming to an end. This was my last day in Georgia as the next one I had to go back to Kutaisi and catch my return flight.

We struggled a bit to find a way to go back but eventually, someone agreed to give us a ride back to the city. Hitchhiking in Georgia had again proved to be an easy and enjoyable feat to accomplish.

As I laid down to bed I felt grateful for all the great experiences I had, the amazing people that crossed my way and the breathtaking landscapes I saw that day.

The next morning I bid farewell to my hosts, thanked them for the warm hospitality, had a brief coffee with my friend Raminta and then took a transport to Kutaisi. While riding the Marshrutka, this famous remnant of the Soviet area used as a mini-bus, I thought about the journey I had and how I felt about Georgia after these 7 days.

It’s hard to give a specific answer about Georgia since there are so many things to say.

Georgia is a stunning canvas of so many different landscapes, cultures and people that need much more time than just 7 days to be explored.

The Georgian hospitality though can be felt from day 1 though, with the locals welcoming you to their country with every opportunity. It’s a country with tons of history and it’s one of the places that Homo Erectus roamed the Earth from the beginning of the Paleolithic Era.

Its cuisine is something out of this world. As a Greek, I have tasted tens of of amazing dishes from my country’s local cuisine so it’s hard sometimes to get impressed. In my visit to Georgia though, I was stunned. The variety of recipes they have is remarkable and all of the ones I tried left me impressed. I will not start speaking about Khinkali because I can talk about the taste of this amazing thing for hours.

It has one of the most diverse landscapes, combining sea, lakes, desert, and mountains going up to 5.193 meters.

Its cities are a cocktail of flavours, smells and colors with the local markets selling every possible thing you can imagine.

So what is Georgia? It’s a country of warm people, breathtaking landscapes, incredible cuisine.

A country for every taste and pocket and one that I already miss and will be visiting again soon.

PS: I want to say a big thank you to my hosts Jurian, Laura and Martin for letting me stay at their couches and offering me tons of guidance, help and some unforgettable experiences!

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A photographic journey to the villages of Grevena, Greece

A photographic journey to the villages of Grevena

I have been looking for some time now for the article I wanted to start the blog with. I knew it had to be something that had to do with travel photography. I thought of writing about one of my past and most exotic travels, my trip to Morocco or maybe the amazing experience I had in Scotland, since the photographs from these countries are some of my favorites.

But a recent trip to a place not far from home changed all this.

A journey begins

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you will have seen the recent trip I had at the villages near Grevena, Greece.

Located at the Western part of Greece, Grevena is a small city of approximately 14.000 residents. While the city itself does not offer any spectacular sights, the nature around it is truly breathtaking, offering some amazing opportunities for anyone who is interested in travel and nature photography.

My friend’s parents come from a village up the mountains near Grevena called Lavda so when he told me he wanted to visit his grandparents I immediately agreed to come with him. We had been at the place a few years ago and I remembered that the landscapes around the village were staggering.

And that was the main reason I wanted to go there. To capture the breathtaking landscapes that the mountain ranges of Pindos had to offer. I wasn’t disappointed.

The mountain peaks were playing hide and seek with the clouds.

The mountain ranges lay in front of us showing us their beauty.

We saw landscapes covered with fog.

Stone bridges and rivers with emerald waters.

A night sky full of stars.

Beautiful wild horses, living free on the mountains of Pindos.

After all these beautiful scenes we saw I thought that my photographic appetite had been sated. Our stay in the village though, made my lens get interested in another subject. One that I didn’t have to go far to capture, nor climb mountains or hike for hours. That subject was my friend’s grandparents and the life they led.

A new photographic subject - travel portrait photography

He has told me a lot about them and the following 3 days I spent time observing them, looking at how they live their lives. Their habits, traditions, opinions.

They are simple people, that live from the earth, growing their own fruits and vegetables. They have their own goats and sheep, taking care of them and using their milk, cheese, and meat to live. They have no need for fancy cars and clothes. A couch by the fire and a warm plate of food are enough to make them happy.

Being nighty years old they have lived in an era that we can’t even imagine and faced difficulties that we probably never will. Their hands are hardened, full of scars from the hardships they had to endure to make a living in this inhospitable place.

The people

Grandma Chrisoula is 82 years old and yet she is one of the most sharp-witted individuals I have ever met.
Being able to make jokes, give suggestions, advice, and comment on modern social issues she truly amazed me with her clarity. Be it the clean air or the pure, drug-free food they eat, there is definitely something that has helped the people of these villages retain their cognitive status.

Always kind, warm and inviting she made our stay there unforgettable. She wears a glove on her right hand because she had a stroke 15 years ago and she can't move it anymore. That makes her story even more inspiring since she is still able to do all the chores that are needed to run the house. Clean, cook, feed the animals, help Grandpa with his daily chores and after all that she still had the mood to make jokes and conversations with us. This incredible woman is living proof that age is just a number, not an excuse.

Grandpa Euthimis is responsible for the house's heavy-duty jobs such as cutting wood for the fireplace and carrying heavy bags of supplies for the winter. He may look rough but he is kind and warm, always inviting us to join him at the table and share stories from his service in the army.

My friend's family used to own almost 300 hundred goats and sheep and grandpa Euthimis was responsible for taking care of them, guiding them up the mountains to find fresh grass to feed. Being 90 years old now, he can't do that anymore but that doesn't stop him from still being active and having the ability to do most of the chores that are needed to run their home. I was actually amazed, by how much strength and energy he had, having seen other elders of his age.

Hardened and strong this man was and still is the muscles of the house.

Grandma Zacharoula is the sister of grandpa Euthimis.

As it was typical in these years you had to get married to leave your family home and start your own.
Grandma Zacharoula didn't find a husband so as tradition required it, she lived her life with her brother and his wife. Her calm presence was always welcome and this photograph of her portrait is one of my favorites so far.

Their life

One of the house’s rooms filled with family pictures and traditional greek hand-woven textiles.

Old metal heater, also used as a stove.

The metal heater is the heart of the house, located at the living room and constantly burning wood to keep the house warm. It is also used to boil water for tea or cook food and can be seen in many traditional houses in the villages of Greece. The family gathers around it to watch TV, discuss or greet guests.

An apothecary built by the family to store supplies for the winter.

The house’s apothecary used to store food, tools, and supplies.

Onions left to dry in the apothecary.

Grandpa Euthimis takes his small herd of 5 goats around the village so the animals can feed on fresh grass.

Grandma Chrisoula, watering her plants.

Wood, stored for burning through the cold winter that is about to come.

Grandma Chrisoula with her grandson and my friend, Euthimis.

We spent three amazing days at the village of Lavda in Grevena, Greece. Three days that made me further realise how much I love travel photography and its necessity in sharing the beauty around us. The beauty of nature through landscape and wildlife photography and the unique stories of the people you meet along your journeys.

I hope that through my photographs you experienced how life is in these Greek villages which are lost in time and whose people lead lives very different from our own.

This is the first of many articles to come, about the places and the people I see and meet in my adventures, as I use photography to capture the world’s beauty, one shot at a time.

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