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| Looking down on Maroulas |
For my last couple of weeks around the Eastern Mediterranean I decided to head north and spend time in Greece. I really wanted to experience the classic village life in Greece so I did a bit of research and found a website where people from around the world post adds looking for ‘helpers’ - I came across a woman (Marianna) living in a small village outside of Rethymno on the island of Crete who was looking for someone to help her with her herbal shop…. It sounded like the perfect fit for me. The village, Maroulas, sits on a hillside at 300 m – overlooking olive groves and the beautiful Sea of Crete. The village only has around 200 inhabitants and is ~ 800 years old – originally built around an old olive mill.
The herbal shop is pretty much the only shop in the village – sitting beside the one café and a few doors down from the ‘Taverna’. Also, a few steps away from the shop is Marianna’s lovely stone house where I have been living the past week with her family (two sons, 12 & 21 and the father George). My typical day in the village thus far is as follows: I wake up around 7 am to have tea on the balcony with Marianna and George – waking up slowly with the quiet morning light. Then, I join George on the roof for a session of Tibetian rejuvination excercises (similar to yoga). After a shower, Greek coffee and a small breakfast I begin working with the herbs~ cleaning the various dried herbs that have been collected, helping make large batches of various teas and then packaging the teas. Later in the afternoon I help out with lunch (the largest meal of the day) and then everyone goes their separate ways to relax for a bit – I usually take some reading to the rooftop or go for a walk in the village. As people regain their energy, the early evening is usually spent doing a bit of work with the dried herbs or gathering fresh herbs in the surrounding hillsides.
The village life has been treating me well – and after a hard last push to finish my research in Israel, this is exactly what I needed. Staying with the family and working with Marianna has been a great experience and I have learned a lot about not only the herbal healing properties– but also how the relaxed culture can rejuvenate & heal as well;)
Within the next few days I will say goodbye to the family and travel around the island for a bit before I head home! Here are a few pics from around the village.... I will include more of the family and herb shop in the next post:)
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| The local cafe~ |
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| 'Main street' with the herbal shop right on the corner |
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| View to the East from above Maroulas |
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