Hidden Treasures

          

Grapes placed in  this Vat
In front of our house
Waiting To be stomped

   While we wait for permits, we spend some time at property, pruning, cleaning, disposing debris, removing  junk that has accumulated over many years. A seat from an old pick up truck, rotted doors, broken windows , black rubber hoses, beer cans, smashed wooden table,brush, lots of un-salvagable stuff to be disposed  of.

  Among debris, under bushes & overgrown shrubs we have unearthed 

some interesting treasures, some obvious, some hidden away waiting  to be discovered. 

Stone Kitchen sink

Marianna, Paschale's wife  & our good friend, is very  knowledgeable  about the  Island, even though she was born in  Athens, her grandmother lived on Ikaria, she spent every summer here while growing up, eventually met married a Ikarian man.  

She  knows myths, legends, secret beaches , local customs,

 IKAROTE DANCES, how to cook delicious  Ikarian foods. She explains that this time of year (September) grapes are collected  from vineyards,  locals place them inside vats like this one in front of the house, Ikarotes stomp on them with bare feet to get all juices from harvested grape.

Marianna says, look down there, I look down, I see nothing but green thorny thick  shrubs. LOOK CLOSER  she says, underneath all those thorny brambles, we see  a stone vat that has been hidden for years  with overgrowth, she then goes on to explain thats where the juices of the stomped grapes drain from up above.

She says look over onto the other side, in an almost mirror image to  first , all we can  see is more brambles it looks like you have two, maybe three Kioupi's. 

 We have what?  Marianna laughs, she  says those  

are antique terracotta vessels  called Kioupis, locals  take juices from grapes that has drained into the stone vat  pour them into Kioupis to age,sometimes locals bury the Kioupi's into the earth, as this is  a perfect temperature  for  wine making.

I am so excited , I grab my garden snips, put on my gloves, run down to where the Kioupis are.

 I`m ready to cut away brambles to uncover these beautiful artifacts. Marianna starts waving her arms  as Greeks do when they are excited,  STOP she says, startled I stop my work to look up to where she is standing, waiting for explanation.  These are very valuable, if  you uncover them for the gypsy to see, they will take them to sell . Greeks love to have these  100 year old pots in their gardens, or on their terraces. Kioupis can bring as much as 500-600 euros. 

You must wait till you move into house, then have Micos your ( stone guy) who knows how to  recover  these delicate vessels, without breaking them.

 I think to myself, I have so much to learn here on Ikaria.

Under years of  overgrowth we can see another stone structure of some kind, 

off to side of  house. 

We begin clipping away at the brush covering  a stone form.

It's a  Fourno declares Marianna,  Fourno is Greek  for outside stone oven, this  is an ancient way to make  village bread, its cooked inside a stone oven over a wood fire.

Anyone who knows my husband (Teddy)he  is primary cook in family,  he gets excited says I can make amazing pizza in this oven. 

Of course we  all can't wait for that day to come!

Addendum: We have learned from  our Notary, our paperwork has made it to Samos for approval,

 but Clerk of court will be out on sick leave for a few weeks

She is only one who does this job, so Samos has  closed court till she returns, but we are still smiling