As Jonathan was uploading the previous posts, two very large fire-fighting planes (with pontoons) flew overhead. A short while later his British friend Rose sent a text message: "Is that your house on fire?" Jonathan stepped off the porch in Loutsa and looked up at the mountain--it was, and still is, ablaze. Hundreds of acres of olive orchards are burning, along with a relatively new forest of indigenous black pine.
The people down in Finikounda were angry that the firefighting planes had dropped single loads of water and then retreated to their base in Kalamata--night was approaching and this is work that can only occur in daylight. Now, at 1 a.m., the fire burns out of control. There is a surreal quality, sitting in the cafeneion, looking across the bay at the conflagration, which grows unchecked in the evening.
Jonathan drove to Dimitri and Yioryia's house for their planned sojourn to Pylos, to hear the Philharmonic Orchestra of Kerkyra (Corfu) perform in the town square. Before leaving, the music-goers walked out into the pasture and watched the distant fire grow. Dimitri, in particular, was indignant, sad, and slightly apoplectic at the prospects of this loss: once again, the Greek state had failed to provide a basic service, and common people pay the price. The fire burns some pristine hiking territory leading to the beaches of Marathi and Tsapi, and they are perilously close to our own house in Akritohori.
Pictures of the fire, taken from this very cafeneion table, will be posted tomorrow.
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The concert in Pylos, attended by hundreds, exceeded Jonathan's expectations. The Philharmonic Orchestra of Kerkyra, formed in 1840, is truly world class. Their repertoire commenced with Greek classics (Theodorakis, Hadzidakis), progressed to Andrew Lloyd Weber, touched on Deep Purple (their 80-piece rendition of "Smoke on the Water" seemed eerily prescient) and ended with a medley of international music--from Italian folks songs to the stuff of spaghetti westerns.
Among the attendees were a handful of dignitaries, including a legislator representing the prime minister, Antonis Samaras, who was unable to attend (that particular announcement elicited a mocking moan). The legislator was protected by a dozen plain-clothes bodyguards, whose furtive glances seemed largely directed at...your correspondent.
The people down in Finikounda were angry that the firefighting planes had dropped single loads of water and then retreated to their base in Kalamata--night was approaching and this is work that can only occur in daylight. Now, at 1 a.m., the fire burns out of control. There is a surreal quality, sitting in the cafeneion, looking across the bay at the conflagration, which grows unchecked in the evening.
Jonathan drove to Dimitri and Yioryia's house for their planned sojourn to Pylos, to hear the Philharmonic Orchestra of Kerkyra (Corfu) perform in the town square. Before leaving, the music-goers walked out into the pasture and watched the distant fire grow. Dimitri, in particular, was indignant, sad, and slightly apoplectic at the prospects of this loss: once again, the Greek state had failed to provide a basic service, and common people pay the price. The fire burns some pristine hiking territory leading to the beaches of Marathi and Tsapi, and they are perilously close to our own house in Akritohori.
Pictures of the fire, taken from this very cafeneion table, will be posted tomorrow.
------------------
The concert in Pylos, attended by hundreds, exceeded Jonathan's expectations. The Philharmonic Orchestra of Kerkyra, formed in 1840, is truly world class. Their repertoire commenced with Greek classics (Theodorakis, Hadzidakis), progressed to Andrew Lloyd Weber, touched on Deep Purple (their 80-piece rendition of "Smoke on the Water" seemed eerily prescient) and ended with a medley of international music--from Italian folks songs to the stuff of spaghetti westerns.
Among the attendees were a handful of dignitaries, including a legislator representing the prime minister, Antonis Samaras, who was unable to attend (that particular announcement elicited a mocking moan). The legislator was protected by a dozen plain-clothes bodyguards, whose furtive glances seemed largely directed at...your correspondent.
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