Chrysoupolis to Toxotes – August 15th
Distance: 18.1 km – Elevation +130 m -90 m
Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 33 degrees
I had decided on a short 12-mile walk for today which meant I could start a little later and enjoy the breakfast that comes with the room rate. Normally with early starts breakfast is missed. So after breakfast I left the hotel at 8.30 am. I could already feel the heat, it was going to be a very hot day, there was not a breath of air as I started walking.
I had intended to follow the Via Egnatia Foundation tracks which with conditions like today I knew would be too hot, with enclosed white stone trails which reflect rather than absorb the heat of the sun. So I sat and worked on a new route that was more open. It was a good decision because with the more open road I found more shade and more air. In the end, it was a relatively easy walk through the Nesto National Park on a hot, hot, hot day with temperatures of 34 degrees but with a 40 degree feel.
Two moments of kindness marked the day. The first was in a cafe located in Neos Xerias where I enjoyed a frappe. The owner with his hand on his heart presented me with two delicious fresh figs with the words “I give”. Later when I was about 5 kilometres from Toxotes, I noticed an open-top car pass by me going in my direction with two men and one woman, all in flamboyant dress. Five minutes later it came back in the opposite direction and completed a U-turn and stopped, and as I approached an arm extended from the car with a bottle in hand, a bottle of iced water! – such wonderful thoughtful kindness!
Nearer to Toxotes I saw a sign to a cafe which was situated in the middle of a field where there were mothers with young children playing. There was no apparent service and one of the mothers pointed to a distant house and eventually the owner arrived and served me a lukewarm beer. Clearly, the cafe had no electrical supply for refrigeration!
I arrived at the Hotel Filoxenia in Toxotes just after 3.00 pm. Later I walked into the village centre not realising that I had arrived on one of the major festival days of the Greek Orthodox church – “The day of the Assumption of The Virgin Mary “. The village had been closed to traffic and as I sat outside the village bar and cafe I watched a religious procession of a band followed by close to 15 clergy moving to the village square and was followed by a sermon and prayers given by the lead cleric. Despite not understanding a word the cleric’s voice was soft and gentle and I could feel the holiness of the moment. The Virgin Mary is the protector of the whole of Greece. The celebrations started with folk dancing in national costume and singing for which I joined the seated audience. We were all served with free snacks and a small liqueur. There were street sellers, barbecue food, and market stalls. It was a fun evening and families were still arriving when I returned to the hotel at 10 pm.
