The footpath route PASTRA

The footpath route
PASTRA – KATELIOS

A simple route
Of duration approximately 1 hour 30 minutes

Follow the wooden signs and the yellow markings throughout the extent of the route. The markings and text on the pamphlet describe the route, which follows the progress of the water from Pastra to Katelio. Alternative ways of returning are provided by the existing farm road network. We kindly request that visitors do not enter the ruins of the watermills buildings. They are privately owned and the old buildings have not been secured from the point of view of safety.

Starting point

The hike begins from the campanile of the Virgin Gravaliotissa, opposite the Town Hall of the Elios-Pronnoi municipality. We follow the descending cement road in front of the Town Hall, pass over the bridge and proceed up to the edifice of the Skoula spring.From Skoula we follow the footpathdownhill towards the river,crossing over the small wooden bridge.The wetland of the river is breath taking. Large plane trees grow along the riverbed,

creating thick shade and coolness, even in the middle of summer. One may observe iny, fems, “polykombi” small frogs and hundreds of insects that inhabit the habitat of the river. Following the footpath along the river, we arrive at the first watermill on the route.

1st Stop: The watermill of Pastra

According to information provided by the locals, this watermill stopped operating approximately
20 years ago and has been
kept in a very good condition.
A lot of the equipment has been saved from the time when it was in operation, such as pairs of scales, weights and vessels.
Continuing on the route along the river, we arrive at the ruins of the
2nd watermill on the itinerary
Many of the mills were destroye dduring the great earthquake

of 1953 and have never since been reconstructed.

2nd Stop: Ag. Anargyroi

We continue on our course along the irrigation channel that leads to the church of Ag. Anargyroi. The church dates back to the 12th – 13th centuries and is considered of historical importance in the region. Its frescoes are kept in the basement of the Argostoli Archaeological Museum.

3nd Stop: The Pantazatos Watermill

We turn back to the main branch of the footpath, which leads us alongside the irrigation channel to one of the most impressive and largest watermills on the route, that of the Pantazatos family. As we pass along the footpath past the tall parapet with the stone stairs, it is worth peeking into the inside of the mill through the window,to see where a fig tree has taken root inside the hole of the grinding stone.

We go past the mill and follow the footpath alongside the gorge. Walking beside the olive groves, we come out on the farm road leading to he village.

Detour

At this point we can make a quick detour up to the neighbouring branch of the river. Turning right on the farm road, we have the opportunity of visiting five more broken down watermills. A double mill is found next to the road, while another is drowned under a covering of iny near the other river. Look out for the other two mills among the thick foliage on the opposite bank. Having spotted them, you can return to the crossing on the farm road.

Back near the river

From there we turn left and left again at the wooden sign, leaving the farm road and descending to the already familiar branch of the river. We walk along its length. At many points we can distinguish burned tree trunks, leftovers of a great fire that devastated the region in 1988. We descend the steps towards the river and continue alongside this among the thick vegetation.

4nd Stop: The Cataract

Stop on the wooden bridge and listen to the sounds of the river. Next to the bridge, a little after the rocks and hidden from prying eyes, among the impenetrable vegetation, is a cataract approximately 25 metres high! We leave the bridge behind and continue on our route along the banks and the course of the river. Our descent brings us to yet another bridge that crosses the river beside magical little pools.

5nd Stop: The old apiaries

We carry on up the slope and, walking next to the dry stone wall, we arrive at three quite well preserved watermills.
A little further down, we meet the old apiaries on our left, in older days they didn’t use the wooden beehives with the frames that we all know, but rather stone ones. Many of the beehives we see here are stone-built and constitute a part of the dry stone wall, while others are made up of three roof tiles held together with

wiring and closed with round tops on both sides. This type of beehive was used a few years ago, mainly for bee reproduction.

6nd Stop: The last watermills

Continuing a little further down the footpath, we reach the last two watermills on the route. On the opposite side of the mountain, but also throughout almost the entire length of the route, can be seen the old stone wall terraces which served as boundaries of the farms and kept back the earth, making it possible to cultivate even the most inaccessible banks of the mountain. It is worth reflecting on the region filled with cultivated fields of wheat. In those days each family kept bags of wheat in its home, which it gradually brought to be ground in the watermills according to its needs.

The mill also played an important social role since, it was a place of meeting for the peasants and there was time for exchanging news, gossip and match making while the com was being ground. The view is also very impressive from this point. In the distance Katelios can be distinguished and, beyond the sea, Zakynthos. Following the footpath, do stop and smell the myrties that evergreen shrub that grows at many points along the route.

7nd Stop: The Bridge

A little lower down, the footpath reaches an impressive irrigation channel, which forms a bridge over the river. We go past the peaks of trees and, walking along the length of the fields, we arrive at the farm road that leads to the settlement of Ano Katelio. The road leads us between the houses and fertile gardens of the village to the first crossing. There are two ways for one to reach Katelio. Taking the left farm road leads us, in parallel with the river, to the beautiful beach of Agia Varvara. A dip in the clean sea is the best reward for the tired hiker. Alternately, we can turn right onto the farm road of Ano Katelio.Before reaching the district road that joins Katelio with Skala,
we will go past the ruins of the Byzantine church of Agios Andreas, belonging to the Sdrin family. At thedistrict road we turn left and proceed up to beyond the bridge over the river. There we will meet the footpath that leads to the beach of Agia Varvara.The coastal

region we are crossing is a designated archaeological zone. Finds and parts of buildings that have come to light bear witness to activities in the region during the Roman period.

In order to reach Katelio we walk along the length of the beach. We cross the river for the last time at its estuary into the sea. Often in summer one can see many sweet water turtles that inhabit the river basking on its banks. You can distinguish between the two species existing in Greece: the marsh turtle that bears yellow spots around its neck and the river turtle, which has yellow stripes on its neck.

The end of the route

Katelios is a charming little fishing village, with considerable fishing and sea-going tradition. In olden times navigation was mainly conducted with caiques, many of which were based in Katelio and carried people and goods to Zakynthos and back or between the island and continental Greece.