My grandparents, authors and activists from Berkeley, California, came to Greece in 1984, bought what was considered a near-worthless piece of land, rocky and inhospitable, not suitable for farming, covered in thorny vines and bushes, the edges all steep, rocky shoreline and cliffs, and began to clear the thorns, camping here and there. They adored its natural beauty, having spent years looking for a perfect, affordable piece of land in Greece. The seed for this was planted while they travelled across Europe with their 4 children in the sixties. The arrival of these Americans in this quiet rural area sparked quite a few rumors and wild theories about their reasons here. In truth, they were just retirees with very high, particular standards for their living situation, and this place just happened to both meet their budget restrictions and hold the promise of immense beauty, peace, and adventure, along with a convenient mooring for my grandfather’s sailboat.
Having met as activists for labor rights, and spent decades together arguing, learning, teaching, and advocating for a more just and beautiful world, my grandparents came to this place in search of peace and freedom. They found both in the process of creating a new home and finding their place in a lively community that included farmer neighbors who leaped miraculously over the language barrier, educated Zakynthians who spoke good English and loved talking philosophy and politics, and lively fellow expats from England and France.
My grandfather is an excellent sailboat captain, a former sailing instructor and the champion of many races (with the trophies in the house to prove it!). He’s also an avid gardener and a veritable cat magnet. But my grandmother was the driving force whose love for the ease of natural beauty, peace, quiet, and self-determination brought them to this place. She was a master of enjoyment, and took great pleasure in being in her garden, surrounded by flowers, trimming back the thorns, taking daily soaks in her bathing place within the mineral-rich sea, and bringing her children out to the countryside to enjoy beautiful meals and endless summer days together. Everything we do here is inspired by her warmth, elegance, sense of humor, and superb aesthetic sense. Held in their legacy, our family has a distinct predisposition for adventure, an eagerness to throw ourselves into the embrace of the world and be educated, humbled, and delighted by it.
It was only because they decided to move here that my mother, who was visiting for the summer, went to the disco and met the Greek fisher-boy who would become the father of her children. My sister and I are incredibly grateful to this land which has been one consistent touchstone in a life full of unpredictable change. When there were periods of serious earthquakes on the island, we would come out to this house built on bedrock, where the tremors were barely felt. Throughout my childhood here on the island, I remember the sense of fun anticipation which grew as we bounced, singing, along the bumpy roads to Pitsimenti on weekends and holidays. I would hold on tight when we reached the steep driveway, a brief descent in which gravity makes you tilt forward to catch a glimpse of the house on its lovely perch, framed by sea and grapevines. Days here were spent effortlessly, with breakfast on the sea-steps, bread generously buttered by my grandmother, warm candlelit dinners around the long table, listening to animated political arguments, drawing, playing cards and dominos, playing dress-up and running around outside with the animals.
After more than 30 peaceful, happy years here, my grandparents moved back to California in 2008, my grandmother’s health troubles making it necessary, and a new grandbaby recently born there making it a joy. We followed a couple of years later. The house was maintained and rented in the summer to vacationers by a caretaker for 10 years, offering peaceful sanctuary and the ease of being surrounded by plants and animals to many visitors from all over the world, sending precious memories back out into the world.
In 2022, my mother, sister, and I took over management of the property, installing our cozy camper on the south side of the land in the spring. We moved over there and set up a camp in preparation to welcome our first guests. We were excited to be involved, to redecorate, take new pictures, and promote the listing, but a bit nervous that we would mess something up, as we had no real experience with hospitality. We asked for some help in getting started from friends and family— almost everyone on the island is involved to some extent with a summer rental. Our guests were very happy vacationers— each group that arrived expressed such delight with the location that we too had to stop and remember how lucky we were to be here in the first place.
But through this time managing the property as a private villa, another vision was growing in the background. What if, instead of simply offering guests access to our family home, timeworn and small as it is, what if we could offer them the real gift of the land more directly. Being immersed in the natural cycles— breathing with the breeze, slowing your heart rate to match the waves, sleeping with trees and stars above you, rising with the sun, being among growing things, cicadas, lizards, the occasional snake, and the many birds passing through the space— this is the gift of bodily wisdom, the peaceful space in which to connect with oneself that has so benefitted me and my family. Still beyond this grounding vision, we have a dream, a picture of Pitsimenti as a beacon shining across the world, where lovers of freedom and wildness, activists and thinkers, creatives, life-long learners, and humble, curious multi-dimensional beings can gather together with the aim of strengthening the health of both individuals and communities, sharing resources and knowledge, and fully experiencing moments of divine beauty within the ease of a harmonious, inspired circle of friends.
