Original subtitles

(energetic music)

- From the bustling streets of Athens

and the historic port of Hydra,

to the beaches of Zakinthos and the villages of Kythera,

our journey over the coming weeks spans many

of the Ionian islands, some well-known,

others that few ever get to visit.

But before heading off, you probably want to know

a little bit about me.

My story starts as a boy growing up

in the inner suburbs of Sydney.

Like a lot of Greeks early last century,

my parents moved overseas to find a better life abroad.

They arrived with very little and worked extremely hard

to give my sisters and I a loving upbringing.

They also made me believe that if I too worked hard enough,

I could achieve anything.

54 years later, I've built a successful business.

And that has enabled me to do things I once only dreamed of.

One of those dreams was to step foot

on all 227 inhabited Greek Islands, and I'm going to take

a big chunk out of that in this first series.

In the last few days, I finished up

an in-depth exploration of Nafplion.

It's a gorgeous port with a huge array of ruins

and architecture, spanning centuries of varied occupation.

Right through this valley there are tombs for kings,

archaeological digs that are happening everywhere,

it's a treasure trove of history here.

A highlight was walking around

the ancient pyramid of Hellinikon.

This crumbling ruin is shrouded in mystery,

and believed to be a tomb for soldiers

lost in a great battle in the nearby plains.

From there, I made my way to Monemvasia.

It's an awe-inspiring island with an imposing fort

that towers over the sea below.

My journey continues this episode as I delve deeper

into the story of the region.

I'll be visiting one of the world's most historic

wine-growing areas, checking out a church

that's said to be one of the oldest in the country,

then raising anchor and heading to Elafonisos.

It's gonna be a busy few days,

but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Right now, I'm in the Monemvasia,

amongst the ruins of the fort, as my guide Effie

and I continue hiking up the hillside.

Last episode, we explored the lower section,

but it's near the summit

where the most interesting things are.

Now, I understand there is a wonderful church

at the top here, Agia Sofia.

- Yes.

- Can we go and have a look at it?

- Of course, we will.

- Let's go.

The climb up the countless stairs

to the top is well worth the effort.

Apart from the amazing views,

there's plenty to explore along the way.

And it doesn't cost you a single Euro.

On the way up, we passed the ruins of the ancient villages.

It's a living archaeological dig,

with up to 20 people working here at one time.

In amongst the rubble and remnants

of the houses and churches,

they're constantly unearthing new and exciting things,

that tell the story of the people

that lived here hundreds of years ago.

What I love about it, is that the castle

was never conquered.

Yes, it was taken over by invaders on several occasions.

But this was always achieved peacefully

through negotiations, which is why many

of the original buildings still remain.

(dramatic music)

- Mind your head here.

This is typical Monemvasia dwelling

and this is maybe the most important part of the house

because we have the storage room here.

It was important because they would grow everything

on the mainland, carry it here,

and they needed to have a lot stored.

And at the back, this room is the cistern.

That's maybe the only disadvantage of this place,

and maybe one reason that would make you not to choose

this place to stay.

There's no water, no springs, nothing.

So, they were totally depending on collecting rain water

from the roof.

- How many people would have lived in this house?

- 10 maybe more. - 10 people!

So, there's one floor above us, and this is storage.

So, they would have lived on the floor above, 10 people.

- Yes. - Wow.

And these holes would have been for some beams,

with a mezzanine?

- Exactly.

They needed to have a lot of storage,

especially for the times that they were under siege.

The family living here must have been one

of the most prominent families.

We know the aristocracy lived in this area of the castle,

the upper town in general, but this house is also very close

to the gate, very close to Agia Sofia,

they have a great view.

And those are all signs that the people

living here were important.

- Okay, well, we're close to Agia Sofia,

so why don't we go and have a look at it?

- Let's go.

- Thank you.

The people here had to adapt to the harsh environment

and rigours of life in a relatively remote hilltop town.

Today, I live in a home where I store my food

in a fridge and pantry, that take up 1% of my space.

These people had to use two thirds of their home

in order to have enough to survive during winter,

drought or siege.

It would have been a tough existence.

Is Agia Sofia the only church in Monemvesia, the rock?

- It is the most important, but we have many.

We have 27 churches today and we know that there were 46

during the 18th century.

- 46?

- You know, this was a very cosmopolitan place.

So, rich people also.

Catholics, Orthodox populations at the same time,

they needed different churches.

- Unbelievable, it's only like one third

of a square kilometre and they had 46 churches.

- 46.

- Unbelievable.

- Every community, every neighbourhood, had its own.

- Well, 20,000 people,

you needed a few churches, didn't you?

This is absolutely magnificent.

So, how old is Agia Sofia?

- [Effie] The church was built

in late 11th, early 12th century.

- [Peter] 1,000 years old, it's standing in front of us!

- [Effie] Mm-hm.

- [Peter] Wow, and is it still used?

- [Effie] Twice a year only but, yes, it is.

- It is.

Fantastic.

With all the stops along the way and so much to see,

the long walk to Agia Sofia went by quickly.

That's not to say my legs weren't feeling it

by the time we reached the top!

The heat of the day can also take its toll,

but all that disappears when you walk into the church.

Effie, thank you for bringing me up here.

I've been here before, and I must say,

this church would have to be my favourite church

that I have seen, in all the churches that I've seen

for many reasons.

But one, as a builder, I realise the amount of work

it would have taken to build this,

to take the materials up to this promontory.

And just the architecture for its time,

1,000-year-old church, you see the central dome,

there are another three or four domes,

there's a number of vaulted ceilings, the columns,

the stone work, and that it's a thousand years old.

It feels like it was built yesterday.

- [Effie] It was restored recently, but no, it's that old.

It's a rare type of church, there's only seven or eight

of this kind in Greece.

- [Peter] Is that right?

- [Effie] Yeah.

- Well, there might be a reason

behind my liking of it so much.

- Yes, maybe.

- [Peter] After a thousand years,

the church still has an undeniable presence.

It's as much a symbol of faith, as it is a place of worship.

So, regardless of how often it's used,

and of your stance on religion, simply looking at it

from afar, gives you a sense of its impact on the faithful.

I can imagine that for those living in the streets below,

looking up to Agia Sofia would have given them

an incredible strength during hard times.

(energetic music)

The fort of Monemvasia is full of quirky hotels,

restaurants, taverns and shops, that sell things

unique to the region.

There's jewellery stores, antique dealers, art galleries

and other weird and wonderful retailers,

all crammed in amongst the laneways and narrow streets.

Whatever you're interested in,

there will be something to tickle your fancy.

Even if you're not keen on shopping,

a walk around the old town is a great way

to spend an afternoon.

Just make sure you've got some cash handy

because I'm certain you'll end up buying something!

Being an old town with narrow streets

and plenty of hills and stairs, they use trolleys to cart

your luggage up to your hotel.

It reminded me a bit of Hydra, only here the work is done

by fit young men instead of horses.

The mornings here are relatively quiet,

but, as the day progresses, the streets gradually fill up.

Anyway, there's no point being an early bird

on the Greek Islands because nothing is open

until later in the day!

In the afternoon, the place really comes to life,

with everyone heading to the taverns and bars

for a meal and a drink.

There are plenty to choose from

with many serving local delicacies

and regionally-produced wines that taste amazing.

Whether you find a spot in the heart of the town,

hidden in an alleyway, or you go to one

of the more popular establishments overlooking the water,

you'll discover there's a bit of quirk and plenty of charm

to be enjoyed in Monemvasia.

There's even a local wine you have to try!

- [Effie] Okay, there's something I have to show you.

There is local produce you have to try.

- Monemvasia local produce? - Of course.

- Fantastic!

- Two famous products, two important things.

This one, Melitokraso, that's mead.

It's made of honey only, nothing else.

And it's something that is produced by one bee keeper

all over Greece, you can find it locally.

- Wow, fantastic. - So, that's a unique thing.

But I also told you about trade in Monemvasia

and how important it was.

And the important local produce was wine.

- Right.

- Wine produced locally, in the mainland near Monemvasia,

and apart from the rest of the wines, what you see here,

there's something that is really, really important.

This wine is called Malvasia,

and it's the most historical produce of this area

that was being exported abroad to Europe

since the middle ages.

- [Peter] Wow, so this is symbolically Monemvasia.

Malvasia Monemvasia, that sounds--

- Malvasia is the Venetian name of Monemvasia.

- Right, well, I want to taste this.

Where do they make it?

- Ahhh, we will go to the winery if you want to!

- Let's go, let's go!

All right, I want to taste this!

Thank you very much!

- You're welcome!

(speaking in foreign language)

Bye!

- Throughout summer, Monemvasia is alive with tourists

and locals, all going about their business.

It's a stark contrast to life in winter.

During the colder months,

there's only a handful of families that stay.

So, you can imagine how peaceful it must be.

(speaking in foreign language)

Effie, there is nothing like a Greek coffee

after the day that we've had!

- We deserve it.

- We deserve it, you bet.

Let's see what it's like.

(speaking in foreign language)

Oh, that's awesome.

That's fantastic.

I love Greek coffee, you know.

- I do too.

- That makes me truly Greek.

(dramatic music)

A short drive inland are the mountains and fertile plains,

that acted as the breadbasket for the fort centuries ago.

Today, it's not a whole lot different,

in that the traditions of making wine and growing olives

are still maintained.

One place that's producing some of the best wines

is Monemvasia winery.

It was founded by George Tsimpidis and his wife Elli,

who still run the place today.

Their story is a fantastic one.

George took a 1,000-year-old recipe

and engaged the best sommeliers,

archaeologists and historians, to reproduce a sweet wine,

that was the basis of trade in this region, for centuries.

He essentially brought back to life,

one of the oldest wine varieties in the world.

Apart from its archaeological history,

Monemvasia has given the world a wonderful gift

in these babies right here.

And four other varietals of grapes themselves

which together produce one of the most award-winning,

sweet wines in the world called Malvasia.

And it all started in 1200 AD.

When the Byzantines here in Monemvasia produced this wine

and the pirates and the traders came here and spread it

right around the world.

To Portugal, and Madeira today, to Crete,

to Spain, to Italy, the Venetians took it,

and it was from this mixture of grapes,

and this beautiful, sweet wine,

that George decided to reproduce that ancient wine

and create what is today, an award-winning, sweet wine

that is delivered all around the world.

But what gets me is why did he start this?

- Let's go and taste it, hey!

I've heard so much about it.

Some say that the Madiera, and other similar sweet wines,

were derived from Malvasia, as a result of its distribution

by pirates and other traders.

We're just about to taste the Malvasian

coming out of the barrel.

Now, I'm not a wine expert.

But I'll tell you what I think, as an amateur.

Oh.

It's truly God's nectar.

If the amount of awards this family-owned winery has won

is anything to go by, then you can be sure

it's a fantastic drop.

In the 20 years they've been operating,

they sure have achieved a lot.

But, perhaps, the greatest achievement of all,

is that they have resurrected a wine,

that to a certain extent, put this part of the world

on the map.

The wine industry in Greece

is having somewhat of a renaissance,

largely thanks to producers like George.

You can once again find Greek wines

in restaurants around the world.

(gentle music)

(energetic music)

I love these places.

Monemvasia is well known for its amygdalota.

These almond cookies or almond biscuits,

are absolutely magnificent.

I haven't tried one yet, but I'm going to try one soon.

We have Maria here who owns this establishment.

There are four establishments in Monemvasia

exactly like this, and the reason we came here

is because Maria makes them without butter,

so they're less fattening here.

Maria is going to tell us what's in it,

and make some for us.

- So, this is the almond.

It used to be local but it comes from Volos now,

and that is stripped of its shell.

So, we got 36 eggs, in egg white.

Castor sugar.

- Six kilos, vanilla essence, baking soda.

- And we've got rose water.

- Oh, there's 12 kilos already mixed in there,

of the peeled almonds.

Now, you can work out your own fractions.

- So, if you want to make 600 pieces,

that's how much you need?

So, you need to do the mathematics on your own.

Jeez, that looks good.

Here we go with the vanilla essence, one, two.

One and a half teaspoons.

Jeez, that looks nice and fluffy, look at that.

What a great job!

And it goes in.

How wonderful.

Look at that, what a lovely emulsion.

You must understand this is a secret recipe,

and you can't tell anybody about it.

- She's saying it's a secret,

so you can't tell anybody about this.

Oh!

Yours are much better, look at, look at!

Hang on a second.

That's like my nose.

Aye, see, it's like my nose.

I can't make 'em, I'm gonna make them my nose!

People will throw them away.

Anyway, from here, Maria will put them in the oven

behind us, like we said, and they'll turn out like this.

Now, I have been dying, to have one of these.

- They normally put butter in these,

and I'm pretty sure I taste butter.

Maybe she's lying to me, I don't know.

But she's not, she's a good woman.

These are awesome!

You got to come to Monemvasia

and have the best amygdalota I've ever had!

Better than my mothers.

- Of course!

Fantastic.

These delicious almond biscuits are made

in many different ways, all over Greece,

with butter, without butter, with icing, without icing.

everyone has their own spin on it.

Captain Yianni thinks the tastiest are the ones

we saw in Hydra.

While my sister believes these are the best.

I'm of Kythirian descent, so I'll wait until we get there

before choosing a favourite.

Back at the boat, we had an unexpected guest.

One that had swum some 200 miles or more

from its nesting place.

Of all the critters that live in the sea

in this part of the world,

turtles are one of the most nomadic.

They're protected in Greece, and on the islands of Zakinthos

there are sanctuaries for them.

I'm looking forward to visiting the nesting beaches soon,

but for now, watching one feed

on a fisherman's scraps was a joy.

The Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece

has been working with authorities and community groups

since 1983, to protect these amazing animals

and their habitat.

Each year, over two and a half thousand nests are protected

and some 300 turtles are tagged for research.

It's an important task that relies heavily

on volunteer support.

This footage was actually taken by one of the ship's crew,

the engineer, Rhette.

He plays a hugely important and quite varied role

on Mia Zoi.

He's essentially in charge of running

and maintaining a mini city.

Not only does he make sure the boat's engines work,

but he keeps the water flowing, the power running

and the toilets flushing.

He's an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a window washer

and also a mean water sports teacher,

which makes him a favourite with my son

and any kids on board.

- [Rhette] Come down Pete!

- [Peter] I'm coming mate, I'm coming.

Man, its warm in here!

What's the story?

- [Rhette] We run the pre-heaters

on the main engines 24 hours before departure,

just for basic wear and tear, you know?

- Mate, we got everything on this boat, it's amazing.

At the heart of Mia Zoi are these two MTU engines.

There's 5,600 horses between them

and Rhette calls them his babies.

It's a love affair only a seaman can understand.

I understand your family, they are all sea men!

- Yes, they are!

- So, it's in your blood, in your genes, hey.

- Yeah, I'm a third generation prawn fisherman.

My grandfather started fishing up in the gulf of Carpentaria

in the 1970s and I've had all of my uncles and aunties,

grandparents, basically, work on trawlers.

- And your dad?

- And my old man as well.

He sold his trawlers in 2001 but he's currently working

on a yacht, similar to this, in Indonesia at the moment.

- Wow.

- Someone spending their life at sea,

I think it's a big commitment but you know,

we wouldn't do it unless we didn't love it.

- And you see the world!

- And we see the world, yeah.

- You like Greece?

- I love Greece.

It's my favourite country so far.

- Really! - Yeah.

- Oh fantastic.

The boat was designed and built

by the world's best boat builders, the Dutch.

They've managed to fit everything you need

to run a small city in this limited space.

For a person that's into their machines,

the hum of the engine room is orchestral.

Amazing!

You have to, don't you?

- I also wear 'em when my girlfriend's talking too much.

(laughing)

(dramatic music)

- Leaving Monemvasia, we made our way

to the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese,

and the beautiful island of Elefonisos.

It's located just a few hundred metres from the mainland,

so getting there is relatively easy,

even if you don't have a boat.

We arrived late in the afternoon

and were greeted by a stunning sunset.

The colours of the sky reflected off the mirror-like sea,

to create a spectacular scene.

It's times like this that you sit back, and take it all in.

We've seen some amazing landmarks, built by human hands,

however, Mother Nature has a way of making everything else,

pale into insignificance.

(dramatic music)

(energetic music)

Apart from the beautiful beaches of Elafonisos,

there's also great diving and snorkelling.

There's even sunken ruins you can swim

on called the Lost City of Pavlo Petri.

At 5,000 years of age,

it's one of the oldest submerged cities in the world.

For those not so keen on getting in the water,

a coastal walk to see the old graves

is a fascinating way to spend your time.

To tell us more about the areas past,

I met with the head archaeologist of the site,

Despina Koutsoumba.

She's the leading expert on the ancient history

of this fascinating, and beautiful location.

- So, you have to imagine that all these,

from here to Elefonisos was land, in antiquity.

- Wow, so we have Elefonisos behind us,

we have the main land of Peloponnese here,

and the whole sunken city is through here.

- Yes.

- [Peter] And tell me, Despina why has it sunken?

I don't understand.

- This is a major question for the science.

The truth is that in Peloponnese,

we have many, many tectonic movements of the sea shore,

mostly from earthquakes.

We know that Pavlo Petri sunk in three different times.

Maybe a major earthquake or a tsunami

that occurs after an earthquake, sunk the place.

- [Peter] So, how much did it sink?

How far down did this city sink?

- [Despina] 4.5 metres.

- [Peter] Right.

- [Despina] In 4.5 metres depth, we have sunken sea shore

of the third millennium BC.

That's for sure.

- [Peter] And how old is this city?

- The first settlers came here before third millennium BC

because we found Neolithic finds,

that means something like 5,000 BC or 4,000 BC.

But the city itself was built in the third millennium BC,

when we have a very flourishing,

Greece flourishes, has many, many settlements.

And you know, this is a crucial place

because we are, it connects Peloponnese

with Crete through Kythira.

- We're going to dive with scuba tanks,

but four and a half metres and two and a half metres,

I would have thought anyone could snorkel here.

Could they?

- Yes, and we are lacking that also.

We encourage people to come here and snorkel,

because it is a place underwater,

a very nice, a very important place under water,

that even a child can come with a snorkel and visit it.

- So, it's not forbidden to snorkel here and look at the--

- No, no no.

It's just forbidden to dive if you don't have permission,

which you do.

- Which we do!

- You do have permission.

But everyone can come and swim,

and there is a very nice beach here,

and see also the remains of Pavlo Petri.

- Well, what a good day you'd have here.

You'd come to the beach, have a swim,

and then go and snorkel on this.

Let's go and have a look!

(speaking in foreign language)

I'm very lucky to have the opportunity

to spend so much time with someone who is so knowledgeable,

and passionate about this site.

Despina brought the place to life, with fascinating stories

about who they think would have lived here,

and what life was like thousands of years ago.

The research she and her colleagues are conducting here

has far-reaching impacts.

It helps piece together civilizations

and the movement of populations through time.

It tells the story of Greece's ancient past,

and provides information for not only historians

and archaeologists, but oceanographers, geologists,

marine biologists and other scientists too.

You're probably wondering where all the houses are.

Well, after 5,000 years of being submerged,

the mud bricks have dissolved and the timber rotted away.

What remains are the foundations,

that were built using stone quarried from nearby.

We carefully explored the ruins,

looking at the footings of the homes that once stood here,

and the streets that, thousands of years ago,

would have been bustling.

To the naked eye, and the layman, there's not much left.

But for the experts, there are gems hidden amongst the silt.

Little pieces of history that tell the story of the city,

and people, that once lived here.

It's a struggle for the archaeologists

to find definitive answers to many

of the questions they have.

However, through painstaking work and dedication,

they're managing to chip away at it.

We may never truly know what happened here,

but one thing's for sure, the likes of Despina

and her colleagues will spend years searching for the truth,

behind this lost wonder.

The great thing about this location is that you don't need

to be a historian or archaeologist to swim around here.

Anyone can pop on a snorkel and mask and explore the ruins.

It's a lot of fun and makes you imagine

what life was once like.

Just be careful not to touch anything,

leave that to the experts.

Back on dry land, the day was quickly warming up.

With that comes a load of tourists.

Lots of yachties and day-trippers come here for a swim

in the warm, clear waters, and it's not hard to see why.

This place is stunning, and, regardless of which direction

the wind is blowing, one of the beaches on the isthmus

will always be sheltered.

Just a 400-meter ferry ride from the south east tip

of the Peloponnese, is this beautiful island of Elefonisos.

Elefonisos (speaking in foreign language)

in Greek means deer.

And many centuries ago, deer roamed this whole island.

But that's not what's special about this island.

Just pass those sail boats over there,

a couple hundred years ago, the French, British,

and Russian fleets met to strategize the battle of Navarino.

The last battle, fought with sails on ships.

Turned the Greek War of Independence.

It all happened here.

Enough with history though, I'm dying for a swim.

Lazy days in the sun.

That's what a trip through the Greek islands is all about.

You come here to not only explore the ancient ruins

and eat great food, but to switch off for a little while.

Back home, life moves at a million miles an hour.

There's noise, stress, constant activity

and a lot of headaches.

Here though, it's the complete opposite.

Everything slows down.

The days seem longer, my heart rate drops, I sleep well,

and the most stressful thing I have to do

is decide which swimmers I'm going to wear.

It's the flip side to my life.

Don't get me wrong, I love my work and home,

but I'll take any chance I can, to explore

the hundreds of islands Greece has to offer.

(gentle music)

(energetic music)

I've said it before and I'll say it again,

we Greeks love a good panigiri.

We'll find any excuse we can for a party.

A lot of the time when you visit a small town,

there will be some sort of festival

honouring a saint or martyr, after all,

there is a lot of them.

In this instance though, the people of Elafonisos

were celebrating independence from the British in 1850.

(energetic music)

I love these little snapshots of the past.

It gives you a taste for the culture of the islands.

A lot of the old ways of life are slowly disappearing.

As people move away and technology wields its influence,

many of the traditions are no longer being practised.

One example is the fishing trade.

It was once the lifeblood of the island.

A massive fleet was based here,

but as fish stocks have declined

and the cost to import seafood has reduced,

many of the fishermen have lost their way of life.

The boats are still plentiful,

but the bounty is hard fought.

Today, the main source of income for the island is tourism.

Which means the restaurants are always in need

of fresh produce.

So, anything that is caught locally, stays on the island,

and generally ends up in one of the taverns.

The deer on Elafonisos are all but gone.

Basically, nothing lives on the island,

it's only 19 square kilometres.

So, they have to live from the sea,

and if you have a look around me,

there is a lot of fishing boats.

As a result, fish are huge here.

And the barbouni is the fish of Greece.

This is the barbouni, which is a red mullet basically.

Mullet, where I come from, is not a famous fish.

But mullet or barbouni in Greece is absolutely awesome.

It's a really sweet fish, this is it here.

Generally, it's fried.

You can have it grilled, but fried it's so sweet.

I'm actually looking forward to having some right now

to be honest with you.

Oh, man.

She's a beauty.

Mm.

With every Greek meal, one dish is never enough.

We aim to please everybody.

Today, accompanying the barbounia we had horta, zucchinis,

calamari and sardines, all washed down with a Greek beer.

It's not the healthiest of meals,

but, man, does it taste good.

Cheers buddy!

Mm.

Song, dance and costumes are all part of Greek culture.

Any good celebration features a bouzouki or laouto,

a bit of percussion, in this case, some folk clarinet.

Throw in a splash of colour and lots of laughs

and you've got a great way to spend an evening.

This annual festival is one of the most important

to the people here.

It celebrates the end of over a thousand years

of foreign domination of the island,

which occurred on July 6th 1850.

Throughout that period, there were different powers

that controlled Elafonisos, each leaving their mark,

which is most visible in the varying architecture you see.

Today, it's a generally relaxed and peaceful island.

The summer evenings are spent dining by the water

and watching the always spectacular sunsets.

Life here has changed a lot through the centuries,

but one thing that will always remain the same,

is the stunning scenery and, hopefully, the delicious food!

Leaving Elafonisos is always tough.

The slow pace of life and romance of the island

can be seductive, but where we were heading to next,

is even more alluring to me.

A short distance away is Kythira, the island of my heritage.

It always amazes me how you don't have to travel far

in Greece to find very different experiences.

The landscapes change quickly,

and so too does the history and culture.

Everywhere has its unique quirks, and for me,

this island will always be a favourite destination.

We're coming into Kythira now,

the birth place of my parents and forefathers.

And I always love coming in here, it's a special feeling.

It's a slow reveal by boat, and I get really emotional.

At my age now, I'm passed my 50s

and I've really never discovered my roots.

In this trip, I'm going to do that.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Let's go, captain!

Our first stop is the port of Diakofti.

I don't think I've visited any port in Greece,

or the world for that matter,

that has such a beautiful beach within its harbour.

If you arrive by ferry, this is your first impression

of Kythira, one that you'll never forget.

The small concrete (mumbles) in the centre of the harbour

is shallow, and only used by fishing boats.

Captain Yianni brought Mia Zoi in with only 200mm

of clearance to the bottom.

It was a gutsy move that I didn't know about

until after we had birthed.

As soon as I arrived, I got the sense

that things weren't as busy as normal.

The beach was a hive of activity,

but the taverns were quiet.

It turns out the ferry from Pireaus was broken down

and not working this season,

which meant local businesses were suffering.

If you take the car ferry from Neapoli to Kythira,

it comes to Diakofti.

The first thing you will see, is this magnificent shipwreck,

The Northern.

And, if you look at it,

it looks like it must have been doing

some pretty major speed, to be up right like that.

Well, it was.

The story goes that the crew had put it on auto pilot

when they left Pireaus.

And they were downstairs, watching the world cup soccer.

It kept going, and they didn't see what was coming.

Pretty awesome.

Rhette, let's go a bit closer,

and I might put on some goggles and have a look, hey.

You shouldn't be surprised that there's a shipwreck

in this spot.

The straight between Kythira and the Peloponnese

is quite narrow, and a heavily congested shipping route.

The majority of ships leaving the Bosporous or Asia Minor

and heading for Europe, travel through this passage.

There are many well-documented wrecks on the northern side

of this route, largely thanks to the rough weather it gets.

I always get a bit of a kick out

of exploring old shipwrecks.

They're like sleeping giants,

slowly being eroded away by the elements.

It can sometimes be a bit daunting,

looking into the shadows of the ghostly remains.

But it's also really interesting to see the marine life

that has made the wreck its home.

If there's one positive that can be drawn

from this disaster, it's that its created

not only a great snorkelling location,

but an artificial habitat for fish and other critters.

All the more damaging pollutants have been removed

and anything of value salvaged.

In days past, they may well have tried to recover

a lot of the steel, or even attempted to float the vessel.

But such was the damage that it was decided

that this would forever be its resting place.

You don't need to snorkel on the ship

to enjoy the wow factor.

Coming in on the ferry or looking at it from the shore,

you can see the wreck rising from the water.

It's something so unexpected that your imagination runs wild

questioning what happened here.

Well, now you know!

(gentle music)

(energetic music)

Looking north from Diakofti,

you can see the southern tip of the Pelopponese.

Apart from the ferry from Pireaus,

there's also a daily car ferry that runs

between the mainland at Neapoli, across to here.

Lots of people drive from Athens, along the coast,

visiting the Corinth Canal, Nafplion, Tripoli

and Monemvasia on the way, finally boarding

the transport ship over.

It's a great road trip and a fun way to get to Kythira.

Perched above Diakofti is a monastery

that's a sentimental favourite of mine.

As a 10-year-old, I spent a couple nights here

with my mother and sister, and I have wonderful memories

of playing soccer with the priest.

As a boy, I found priests difficult to approach.

But this guy helped me open my mind to our cultural faith.

Father George explained everything in a way

that even I could understand.

This icon for example, has an interesting story

that if you were none the wiser, you would just walk on by,

oblivious to how significant it is.

- I reminisced as Father George took me on a tour

of the monastery.

He's spent his entire priesthood here,

devoting most of his life to the clergy and this one spot.

It's a commitment that should be respected.

Talking to this quietly-spoken man made me wonder.

He's kept himself relatively isolated

from the outside world.

Away from the rat race, politics and technology

that have made the earth so much smaller,

and life so much faster. (bells tolling)

He's avoided many of those little things

that clog our minds and complicate life.

You would think that it may well have given him

a narrow perspective on things.

But then it happened.

He showed me something that blew my rationale out the door.

Father George has built, with a local Catherian,

the only candle-making machine, in all of Greece.

I love this machine.

He puts the paraffin or the bees wax

into this container here,

you can see there is a furnace underneath

that melts the wax, it goes back down into here,

and there's a floating balance.

There's a float that makes sure that the wax is topped up.

And here you can see the wicks,

and they get dipped in, and out.

As they come out, they go back over seven or eight times,

and it becomes a candle.

This is an awesome machine!

And he's had it for about 15 years.

- Oh, and there is a fan just here!

This fan is awesome.

You've got to come and have a close look at that.

Very technological, but it works!

And this is all Father George's idea.

- So, he makes 1,300 candles an hour!

He should make a business out of this.

- So, he gives them of course, he's going to give them away.

In another life, Father George

could have been a mechanical engineer.

His simple creation supplies the churches of Kythira

with candles for parishioners, solving a supply

and demand problem.

Some of the engineers I know should come here

and take a few lessons from this humble inventor!

Father George built the machine from discarded parts

of bicycles, cars, sewing machines

and electrical appliances, even a toaster!

You have to marvel at the ingenuity of the contraption.

It's a great example of overcoming adversity

with a little brainpower, elbow grease and creativity.

He's a modern-day Archimedes!

Many months of trial and error

went into the design you see today.

The simple idea of winding the string to set the candles

took Father George and his friend a year to get right.

This machine allowed them to go from making

200 candles per day, to over 400 every 20 minutes.

It's candle making on a mass scale, in a monastery!

- So, Father George is amazing.

What he could do in 20 minutes with his machine,

would take three or four people, two or three days to do.

It's awesome.

Just like the first priest I met at Agia Moni 44 years ago,

Father George has again not only made me feel comfortable,

but has shown me that despite being remote

and somewhat disconnected, it doesn't have to limit

your capacity as a person.

I not only felt culturally connected to Father George,

but it was a real eye opener.

You know, spending the day with Father George

here at Agia Moni and listening to his wonderful stories

and the history of this beautiful monastery

has been an uplifting experience.

But have a look at it.

It's a beautiful summers day and it's empty,

there's been only a few people go through here,

and that's a function of Greece

and all these churches and monasteries.

On Kythira alone, there are between 350 and 400 churches

and only 15 priests, as a result, Father George

has to look after two or three churches.

He can't look after them all.

They can't look after them all, and a lot of the churches

are being dilapidated, a lot of history is fading away.

It's sad.

Time moves on.

Populations rise and fall, and cultures evolve.

With these changes, there's sometimes loss.

While it's a shame, as I'll show you in the next episode,

there's often a lot of gain as well.

Kythera is a great example of a place

that has undergone a huge transformation

through the centuries, but not forgotten its past.

Many of the old-world charms still remain.

However, there's plenty of modern influences that have added

to the rich fabric of the island's story.

I'm going to explore my family's heritage

and also show you some of my favourite things

about the place.

It's a hidden gem and while I might be a bit biassed,

no doubt, you'll see why I think Kythira,

is one of the best places in Greece, possibly the world!

It's been a fascinating and fun adventure full of laughs,

great people, and incredible experiences.

But we've only just begun!

There's so much more to see in the weeks ahead,

and I can't wait to show you

where My Greek Odyssey takes me!

(gentle music)

(logo swooshing)