poison is queen

From Erymanthos we got to Klitoria..lots of opportunities for adolescent humour in that name..and from there we went to Planeteri. We went there because we met some Norwegian persons, who recognised me and G from Athens News, and they recommended it. And very strange it was too. The waters come out of the ground at Planeteri in a very dramatic way. There is a most splendid plane forest there. And also,the first fish farm in the Balkans. They produce trout and salmon.
We camped in an abandoned restaurant. There was hardly any grass to be found for George, but luckily we had a large amount of corn that some nice people in Klitoria had given us.
Next morning we set off up Helmos. When we were most of the way up we met some local persons digging a hole in the road, in order to get water for a village lower down the mountain. Since the name of that village is "Valtos" (Marsh) This must be an indication of climate change, or change of water use. The state of the mature, but not elderly, firs on the mountain is also indicative of some kind of change-almost certainly in the water table on the mountain. You can see from the photo that a worryingly large proportion of trees are dead or dying.
While we were chatting with one of the guys George took the opportunity to snatch some grass.
"Don`t let him eat!!" he said in an agony of concern.

"The snow sucks poison out of the ground and spreads it over the grass"
It seemed that he thought that this happens on all mountains, not just Helmos.
To avoid upsetting the guy, George and I had to travel another half hour before we could stop for a break. I couldn`t bear for this kind person to feel that I didn`t believe him.
So far George has not suffered any ill effects.

Where we stopped for George to graze there were some juniper bushes. On these there were strange jelly- like excrescences. They were translucent and weird. I`ve never seen anything like them. I thought they might be some kind of parasitic fungus. I`m still not sure that they aren`t. But when I looked with my hand lens I saw tiny orange maggot type creatures on them. If you look in then photo carefully you can see them. Had they made the jelly, or were they feeding on it? anyone who knows the answer please comment.

Next we revisited Stymfalia. As we approached there was the most incredible noise like the clamour at a nesting colony of birds.. what could it be?
FROGS!! Stymfalia was full of water, and the frogs were as noisy as I have ever heard them.
I decided to stop and record them. Unaccountably, and of one accord, they fell silent.
Stymfalia seemed in really good shape though . It has actually dried up completely recently, so this very wet winter has helped it. Lets hope that some improvement in what the EU persists in calling "wise use" of water policies will protect the lake for the future.

You`ll be glad to hear that the bronze taloned birds are still in residence. Or something WORSE actually lives in the reeds. George noticed them. These birds are normally invisible, because they are small and unassuming. However they make noise like pigs being slaughtered. So of course George went into freakout mode. Eventually one of these birds, known as water rails, emerged from the reeds onto our path. Research has shown that people would rather believe what they believe than change their opinion when faced with absolute proof that what they believe is bollocks. George is the same. He refused to admit that this small bird was the cause of the terrifying noise, and went on being terrified.
Nemea? This is where the Death fairy holds her court.
She organises the local people -the Pera Brisi taverna in Asprocambos is the centre of her activities-so that they carry out her plan to wipe out all oxygen breathing life on earth. They also deal with the threat posed by visiting environmentalists by vastly overcharging them so they don`t want to come back.

The Death fairy is absolutely inexorable in her attack on life.. and attends to every tiny detail. For example, no one is permitted to dispose of any poison container safely. In the photo you can see how every empty bottle carelessly chucked away furthers her plan of total destruction of the environment.Even an empty bottle can do useful work killing off plant life in areas not normally dealt with by vine growers.

These people have formed an association, the title of which when translated into English is something like "The Pan Nemean Association for the Prevention of Photosynthesis". This organisation is hugely powerful, and its aims are furthered by the widespread and constant use of herbicides to attack PLANT LIFE. As we know, plants conduct photosynthesis, and thus reduce carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. We all know that if the rainforests go, we go too.

The Death Fairy has worked hard and long to get rid of the rainforests, and is now attacking Greece. Nemea seemed a good place to start because her plans had already been well advanced by the vine growers.

No but seriously.. it must have been a fairy that made the people decide to destroy themselves, and their environment, and their source of income -mustn`t it?

Couldn`t have been multinational agribusiness, could it?

Look at the photos of the poisoned ground..which is for the spreading of nets..to dry grapes..NEXT Autumn. The herbicide is spread now to keep these HUGE areas clean of all life all year round. I have also put a photo of the traditional way of keeping the ground clear of high growing plants (grazing by sheep and goats) The Death fairy has managed to stop this healthy and traditonal practice almost everywhere.

Then just LOOK at what she has persuaded the vine growers to do to the land.

There are signs telling motorists to follow the "wine routes" of Nemea. But somehow its not quite like the "wine routes "in France. Elegant chateaux? No! what rich educated person would choose to live amidst such a countryside and risk their health and that of their children?

In France the vineyards often have some semblance of life. They have even bred a small sheep that can live in vineyards, eating up the unwanted grasses, but not tall enough to harm the vines or steal grapes.

The Death fairy HATES that kind of thinking, and forbids her followers to get ideas like that.

In the small areas not poisoned (tops of hills, rocky outcrops, riversides) there is still considerable biodiversity. But compared to the hills with the same type of Geology which are protected near Stymfalia, the variety of life is strikingly less abundant.

Travelling through Nemea is still a very sad thing to do.

Messinia, which was even worse 6 years ago, is much better now, with great increases in organic production, two or three particularly harmful chemicals have been banned, and the ban seems to be working.

The olive tree people of Messinia are changing their ways, slowly, but definately.

The Death fairy has lost ground there. So she has concentrated on making sure that the vine workers remain unreconstructed.

Such a dreadful thing to see.