The main attraction was a 400 foot waterfall pouring out of the mountain, through trees and bushes and into the river. It was just beautiful, and basically in the town's back yard! Theo Niko (Uncle Nick) told dad that his oldest sister, Marianthi, used to put Little Stefo on a donkey to walk through the area for work, as their were no paths back in the 1950s! The rest of the siblings had NEVER been there while growing up because they went to school all day and then worked with the family after. They didn't know what free time meant back in those days.
We walked through the woods, over wooden bridges to cross the streams and the river, climbed rocks, saw the barbecue area where the family often goes to celebrate weddings, birthdays, and more often than anything else, just to be with family. For the first time in 50 years, my dad put his hand in the ice cold mountain water source for the entire village, giving him a physical and mental surge of energy he had long forgotten.
As we returned from the walk to our cars, we were met by Sophia, the girls, and many of the other family members - what a pleasant surprise! My dad's sisters didn't want to be apart from him so long so they came to meet us on our walk - even his 80 year old sister Marianthi!
Afterward, we all went together to a hotel with a view of the entire village (and with the river AND the mountains in the background!). What a view it was. We sat down for a couple of hours to have frappe (basically coffee drinks), iced teas, and a lot of conversation while enjoying the landscape of our new home away from home.
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