9th Maintenance Hike report
On the route Agios Nikolaos monastery – Achla beach
Text: Simon Chytiroglou
Φωτογραφίες: Dimitra Pappa, Simon Chytiroglou, Nikos Paraskevopoulos
English Translation: Simon Chytiroglou
On Saturday, June 13th, we gathered early in the morning at the Monastery of Agios Nikolaos: 29 volunteers of all ages, including permanent and seasonal residents of the island, visitors, a French couple who speak Greek, an Australian woman who doesn’t know it yet but will start learning Greek soon, and one dog.
Without wasting time, we immediately formed a large circle, just to waste time talking about Andros Routes, maintenance hikes, volunteering, and Route 6. Then we introduced ourselves, so we would know who to call in case any of us got lost, and started hiking the section of Route 6 from Agios Nikolaos Monastery to Achla Beach.
The weather was an ally in our mission. A cloudy backdrop felt more like a romantic autumn morning, with the wind blowing just enough so no one could say for sure whether we had brushed our hair that morning or not.
Along the way, we pruned everything that didn’t belong on the path, leaving the local goats that frequent the trail still searching for us. Additionally, we moved rocks that had taken a wrong turn in life and picked up the few pieces of trash we found along the way.
When we reached the beach, we were greeted by a rare sight for this time of year: an empty beach, both on the shore and in the water. Such was our luck that most didn’t even test the water’s temperature, choosing instead to admire it from a distance.
On our return, we walked for a short while through the wetland “Elos Ormou Achla” (code GR422345000), among canopies of plane trees, Mediterranean salt meadows, shifting coastal dunes, and dunes with sclerophyllous shrub vegetation, before re-entering the trail.
Our destination was a konaki (traditional hut) somewhere along the route. Traditional food from Andros was waiting for us there. The local wine was abundant—to the point that some, or perhaps someone, drank the share of future hikers as well.
Route 6 is now cleaner than ever, and we are ready for the next maintenance hike. See you in September.
