Category Archives: nature

2131 – Living from land and garden: fruits and vegetables

Posted on April 13, 2020 by

This looks like Aloe Vera or another cactus-like succulent plant. Do they use for beverages or for medicinal uses? This wild spinach-like vegetable grows in the steep gardens of Simonos Petras. A small cornfield in the middle of knowhere reachable … Continue reading →

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2119 – The beauty of Athos, flowers and more

Posted on March 19, 2020 by

Here are some images of the sometimes overwhelming beauty of the natural environment of Mount Athos. Along side the footpaths, in the woods, Euphorbia start growing. But also in the rocky parts, on the slopes of the Holy Mountain itself, … Continue reading →

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2112 – Crossing the stone fall of Megali Sara

Posted on March 2, 2020 by

Between Nilou or Nilos and Prodromou the monopati runs over an impressive stone avalanche area called Megali Sara The path was formed by passing monks after the 1905 earthquake, that created the stone fall. The region is geologically quite unstable. … Continue reading →

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2099 – The waste and litter problem on Mount Athos

Posted on January 25, 2020 by

In 2014,  very close to the monastery of Filotheou , waste and rubbish are still dumped in the valley. I don’t know if that is still common practice. I hope not. On the path from Pantocratoros to Vatopedi  in  2019 … Continue reading →

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2092 – a botanical paradise

Posted on January 3, 2020 by

Dried plants from Mount Athos are found in a herbarium from the Natural History Museum/ Smithsonian Institute in the US. This European Hop or Hornbeam f.i. can de found on the slopes of the Mountain between Kerasia and Panagia. Also … Continue reading →

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2082 – Athos pilgrimage 2019: the hike from Prodromou to Kavsokalivia

Posted on November 30, 2019 by

Planning a pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain is a necessity. Not only you’ll have make reservations for a place to sleep in a monastery or skete, you will also have book your trip by boat for Ouranopoli to Dafni and … Continue reading →

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2071 – When nature takes over….

Posted on September 5, 2019 by

When we were walking in Kapsala we met a friendly man in the rain. He explained that it was not easy to find the correct road to Stavronikita. He went to get some water in a nearby house. When he … Continue reading →

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2060 – Ferdinand Bauer, a botanical draftsman

Posted on July 5, 2019 by

Ferdinand Bauer, a German draftsman, was hired by John Sibthorpe for an expedition to Greece to collect organic specimens that later resulted in the publication of the famous botanical work Flora Graeca Sibthorpiana. Another member of the scientific party was … Continue reading →

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2046 – Early spring in Mount Athos

Posted on April 18, 2019 by

When visiting the peninsula in April, as we did this year (2019), flowers and fresh green of blossoming plants are all around you. Slopes are turning purple due to this plant. Yellow broom and white daisies alongside the roads and … Continue reading →

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2028 – arsanas Prodromou

Posted on November 24, 2018 by

In post 2018 I showed you the pictures from Athos made in the Second World War by German soldiers. The photo’s  triggered me, not only to find the German flak position somewhere above the hills of the Prodromou area, but … Continue reading →

Posted in arsanas, nature, Prodromou | 4 Comments