Like a well-hidden treasure…

Many years have passed since I came to Alonnisos. The only thing
I knew then was that opposite the peninsula of Kokkinokastro, on
an islet, covered with red earth, tools and fossilized bones from the
palæolithic era had been found; discoveries said to be the oldest in
the whole Aegean.

I’d heard — half-jokingly, half-seriously — the story that in olden
times witches lived in the island — surely true, because since then
I’ve been coming every year…

The first and unforgettable picture as I arrived was ‘Plakes’. An
inhabited abstract sculpture, these representatives, volcanic in
origin, of wild beauty. And on the peak the Old Village like a Byzantine
watch-tower, an impregnable charm, hidden in a pure white shawl of
cloud, an Arabian universe, the beginning of questions and a journey
into history.

Following arrival, it was discovered that all the preceding conceal
within themselves an astounding nature. Deep green woods and waters
blend on a naturalistic canvas, hinting that one must patiently seek
out many hidden secrets, possibly even in human nature. I believe my
fi rst thought was that I had to do here with a mysterious place.

Possibly, æons ago, some people chose this place as a refuge, a
hiding-place, or even a land base if they were pirates. And if the
visitor gazes from Plakes out over the magic Aegean, he’ll make out,
by the rays of the burning sun, a thousand and one stories of wild
adventure and myth drawn on the bright waters. He will be tempted
to wonder which are true, and which are make-belief, and with this
thought he’ll search in the forests, the caves, the footpaths and the
beaches for the answer,

like a well-hidden treasure.