Text: Stelios Vartholomaios, Katerina Pantazi
Photos/Videos: Stelios Vartholomaios, Antonis Sassalos, Elli Iliou, Klio Meendiz, Katerina Pantazi, Philippos Perrakis, Myrto Apostolopoulou
Translation to English: Katerina Pantazi

On Sunday, March 23, the 5th maintenance hike for 2025 took place on the Kapparia circular route. Hikers from all over Andros (from Korthi, Batsi, Gavrio, Fellos, Amonakliou, Mesathouri, Kypri, Apoikia, Kapparia, Aprovatou) as well as others who took advantage of the celebration of the national day March 25 and traveled from Athens, met to walk, to maintain and to discover the beauties of southern Andros.

After the usual introductions at the flag-decorated village hero monument, in good spirits, we set off to maintain the circular route with tools and garbage bags. However, in the first steps a pleasant surprise awaited us at the Kapparia school. The Kapparia Cultural Association welcomed us with traditional dishes, raki and handmade liqueur. The President of the Association, Orsa Mandaraka, spoke to us about the history of the association and the future plans.

And if we got a little lost on the way, moving away from the Association, it was not our fault, but the beauty of the village… and the raki! We eventually found ourselves again and, leaving Voreina, we proceeded to the other settlements of Kapparia, Martseo, Megalo Chorio, Tzeo, Morakaio, Asteo. This route goes in and out of the settlements that make up Kapparia. Thus, the rural landscape, the terraces and the agricultural buildings alternate with the coherent settlements, offering a variety of images to the hiker. Throughout the route, we were accompanied by the colors and scents of the wildflowers that shone under the spring sun. The few but warm residents of the village came out to their yards and invited us for a treat.

On this route, in addition to the rich nature and the well-kept houses, we could not help but admire the dovecotes for which Kapparia is famous. In front of a well-preserved dovecote, we stopped to discuss its architecture and the importance.

After a short break in the courtyard of the church of Christ where the Route Angel volunteer Stelios Vartholomaios and the trained volunteer Irini Micha treated us to sweets, we took the uphill route. On our route, the famous Vari spring with the traditional laundry stones, the cistern and the water channels offered a wonderful background for the last photos-memories of a wonderful day on the paths cared for by the volunteers of Andros Routes.

Another surprise awaited us at the end of the hike: the President of the Kapparia village Nikos Manetas had arranged for another treat at Marianna’s cafe, two delicious homemade pies, a vegetable pie and a cheese pie made by Marianna herself, soft drinks and plenty of raki were the icing on the cake.
The route is in excellent condition, we pruned vegetation and collected a little trash.

We hope to see you all on the Andros Routes maintenance hikes! See you at the next one, on Saturday, April 5, on the route Panachrantou Monastery-Stavropeda.

❤️ We would like to thank everyone who participated in the maintenance hike! We thank the Cultural Association of Kapparia, the President of Kapparia and Stelios Vartholomaios and Irini Micha for the treats. We thank the residents of Kapparia for their warmth and hospitality!