words & walks

We were told by a number of people that we would enjoy the Homers School walk with Katrina Parsey who runs Walks and Words and ....we did!I am not a Homer, Iliad, Ulysses or Odyssey student [never read them or knew much about the story at all to be honest] but it really does / did not matter as our walk to Homers school was fun not just informative. We were not going to go to start with but we were lucky enough to meet Katrina briefly the Sunday before our walk and talked to her over Frappes at Dodonis in Frikes. She was so nice we decided that [as we wanted to see the sight in any case] it would be far better to do a walk with Katrina and it certainly was!Homers School is well worth seeing and the route she takes makes it a lovely walk of about three hours duration. You truly do need her knowledge to help you understand the site properly and in order to get the most from the experience. You could go on your own, but not only will you get so much more from the site and surroundings with Katrina but it is arguably much safer as well. This is not a site with lots of fences and health and safety signage. More of an archaeological work in progress actually. It’s not just Homers school that you will learn about. On the walk there and back Katrina gives you a special insight into the flora and fauna as well as general history [ancient and recent] of the area. All from the perspective of someone who has lived there for 17 years and clearly still considers her surroundings to be a privilege.Katrina is natural and engaging and has a good sense of humour. Her acting and performance background also means that she has the tools to communicate her passion both for the island and the subject under discussion. Katrina clearly loves her adopted island home and enjoys showing it off. It was like taking a trip with a particularly well informed gregarious friend certainly not a would be professor or teacher dryly regurgitating facts. This is much more of a walking conversation than a lecture. Katrina was happy to talk about all sorts and everything not just things relating to Homer. Anything from, what makes the holes in the trunks of the olive trees to the rather soulless [IMO], remodelling of the Old Kalamos Hotel that once played host to such as Sophie Loren and Winston Churchill although not I think at the same time!Walk over [I would suggest you take some decent walking shoes or even boots if you have got them] we ended up at a nearby Kafenion at [I think] Ag Sarangas.This was a small typical Greek hang out which is a part shop / bar / cafe all at the same time and exists for the villagers and locals not tourists. Run by one of the north of the islands best known characters Nikos Douglas [everyone seems to know him]this place had great ‘home made’ local wine and cold beers which we enjoyed in good company while sitting outside and watching a small amount of local traffic try to negotiate the hairpin bend a few meters up the road. This place is a great and authentic experience. Friendly locals who make you feel like an honorary part of the community for an hour or two. A brilliant place to visit after walking around Homers School and one we would not have discovered without Katrina. Perfect before heading into Frikes for dinner at Remontzo or, as we did on this occasion, further afield to Mythos in Kioni.You can get in touch with Katrina at http://www.wordsandwalks.com/