Innovative, active and visionary, Iyad has for many years been dedicating his time to showing the very best of Greece’s ecological magnificence and potential.

For over a decade Lebanese-Canadian Iyad has travelled far and wide across Greece working to advance a more sustainable model of tourism and to highlight its multi-varied natural abundance. Through his responsible travel portal and resource hub, Ecotourism-Greece.com, he pours all his intimate knowledge about the country, its outdoor activities and its biodiversity into it. Here he talks to IN+SIGHTS GREECE Editor Alexia Amvrazi about the past, present and future of ecotourism, which is a hugely growing trend in the travel industry and for all the right reasons.

How did you get involved in Ecotourism?

I grew up in Greece and developed a deep love for the country, so I decided to use my education in tourism to change the existing tourism model beyond a happy-go-lucky sun, sea and sand summer destination. The old model neglected to highlight the fabulous natural bounty, heritage, gastronomy, traditions, and rich local culture of Greece’s different regions. It also favoured seaside destinations and cookie-cutter resorts, overlooking the mainland with its year-round hiking paths, family-owned guesthouses, and a plethora of outdoor activities. It was time to attract the travellers who preferred hiking over partying, sailing over sunbeds, and slow local cuisine over basic resort food or imported fast food.

What was Ecotourism-awareness like when you began 10 years ago? 

Ecotourism was a vague concept belonging to the more niche “alternative tourism” category. The industry considered hikers, birdwatchers, climbers and nature lovers curious eccentrics. Destinations like Zakynthos, Crete and Kos were selling their rooms to ruthless tour operators who squeezed hoteliers to create low-cost vacations. Luckily, a new brand of European traveller was emerging, seeking more authentic experiences and immersive activities. Ecotourism-based activities, from hiking to learning about fauna and flora, to cooking Mediterranean farm-to-fork cuisine began emerging. Greece became ideal for eco-friendly activities such as rock climbing, diving, pottery making, hiking, sailing, birdwatching and more. It began offering enriching and rewarding experiences that the evolving travel market craved.

How has your vision of Greece changed since you launched this project?

With Ecotourism Greece I had bitten off more than I could chew! The more regions I explored, the more I realised that each region is a real treasure trove of natural and cultural gems, secrets and experiences. There were stunning natural landscapes, charming unknown villages, heavenly hiking paths, secluded monasteries with rare

Byzantine frescoes, forgotten archaeological attractions, Venetian or Frankish castles and centuries-old stone bridges where you least expect them. Endemic plants, rare animals, hundred-year-old trees and people battling to preserve them are in every corner of the country, and I’ve been overwhelmed with so much multifaceted beauty. I also came face to face with the threats to the country’s biodiversity, whether caused by climate change or people, making it very challenging to raise awareness and document it all online. Naturally, my knowledge of Greece has become so much more intimate and comprehensive.

Are other people supporting you? How does it become viable?

Early on we had decided not out to prioritise the environment over profit. While our project must be economically viable, our mission is to engage, educate and of course delight. We’re launching a mechanism where other lovers of nature and of Greece can contribute to our cause, becoming Ecotourism ambassadors for a minimum contribution to support the initiative. Businesses related to sustainability and ecotourism can also benefit from a targeted green strategy and stronger promotion with a small fee.

How did your ecotourism platform evolve since you launched it?

We quickly became the de facto national reference point for ecotourism. Individuals and organisations contacted us thinking we were the official ecotourism body for Greece, so obviously there was a need for something like this to be created. Our training with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council supported this. We now tie our Ecotourism Greece membership with green recommendations for hotels and outdoor activity providers to help them improve their green profile, increase competitiveness, and attract more eco-conscious travellers. Municipalities and environmental bodies are increasingly approaching us for partnerships. We’ve launched a free resource site in Greek, green-guide.gr, to help hospitality businesses such as hotels and restaurants become greener.

How has this sector evolved in Greece throughout the years in your eyes and from your experience?

The evolution began abroad, mostly in Europe. Travellers to Greece demanded authenticity, greener accommodation and experiences which didn’t harm the environment. They became more aware of their carbon footprint, more knowledgeable about experiences through online platforms and more independent in their travel habits by not relying on tour operators. The Greek market responded, and it was already rife with ecotourism-friendly activities by default, pushing hotels to adopt greener practices, municipalities to open more hiking paths, and activity providers to offer more off-the-beaten-track tours. Ecotourism slowly became mainstream, no more a niche concept, even if there is still a long way to go.

What does the future hold for Ecotourism Greece?

It will not only serve as a green portal for travellers and a resource hub for all stakeholders in Greece’s travel industry but also grow as a network like-minded members and affiliates to promote sustainable tourism. Many countries already have a formal Ecotourism promotion body, and we’re talking to our friends in the Ministry of Tourism to head towards that direction.

Modern Stoic Alkistis Agio reveals how ancient Socratic thought can powerfully help us deal with today’s greatest problems.

By Alkistis Agio

Today, we colloquially use the term ‘stoic’ to describe someone who remains calm under pressure and avoids emotional extremes. Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy, developed by Zeno, who was inspired by the teachings of Socrates. It was later adopted by the Romans.

Today there is a movement called the Modern Stoicism. Stoicism is a valuable “operating system” for life. It offers a solution for modern people, who want to have a “moral compass” based on humanist values & principles, without the need for religion or priests. It’s the original ’self-help’ philosophy.

Stoicism centres around relentlessly focusing on what you can control and ignoring what you can’t. This seems simple & straightforward— and that’s because it is. It’s not ground-breaking. It’s not complex. It’s clear and simple- so anyone can practice it.

As Epictetus taught over two thousand years ago: “Just keep in mind — the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”

Stoics are grown-ups. We are realists. We focus on what we can affect, which are mainly our own thoughts & actions. Stoicism gives us back the power, offering equanimity & inner peace in the face of life’s highs and lows.

How can we apply Stoicism to today’s world, and help us counter some of our everyday challenges, like the COVID threat or economic problems? The ancient Stoics prided themselves on being rational, objective thinkers. They believed that humanity’s greatest asset is a functional mind, and to exercise reason is the most virtuous pursuit. Stoics didn’t believe in gods, mysticism, or magic.

You might ask, where does love fit into this equation? Stoics believe that if we all thought more rationally, there would be more love, peace & justice for all. In fact long before Jesus Christ taught about love, the Greek philosophers taught us that we should treat others as we would like to be treated. Why? Because it makes sense: we all benefit when we don’t behave irrationally or egotistically.

Regarding Fear, Epictetus taught that “Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the view which they take of them.” Like all other emotions, Stoics consider fear as a subjective judgement. It’s not a true, objective representation of the external environment- rather, it is a personal evaluation of external circumstances.

So, what lessons can the Stoics teach us to counter fear? For example, with regards to the Corona Virus pandemic.

First: Knowledge is power. (especially scientific facts)  With COVID-19, it means understanding things like how the virus spreads, what the symptomatic range is, and how simple measures like social distancing and handwashing can dramatically alter the impact of the virus on a population.

Second: Do not Dramatise things. Describe things as objectively as you can. Stick to the facts. When we remove the heavy load of our emotional judgments, it improves our ability to deal with our circumstances like mature adults.

Third: Let go of trying to control external circumstances. This means doing everything that is under your control to not fall sick, and then willingly accepting the consequences if you do.

About Illness Marcus Aurelius taught… “If it is endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining.”
In other words: “Keep calm and suck it up”. Complaining or talking about your illness will not do anything. It won’t change your circumstances, and it won’t make you feel any better. If anything, you will feel a vicious cycle of self-pity, frustration, and anger.

How do the Stoics easily accept illness?

We practice the Cognitive Distance “Ataraxia”. Ataraxia is a Greek word that means to be ‘unshakable’. Essentially, it means we Stoics create separation between our mind and our ailments by dis-association: Instead of saying “I am sick” we say, “My body is sick.”

It’s a subtle difference, but it significantly changes how we view our illness and its impact on our quality of life. By doing so, we maintain a functioning, rational mind without succumbing to the “noise” of our physical health.

We Stoics also meditate on our Death every day. “Memento Mori” is the Stoic practice of meditating on the inevitability of our death and the transience of our life.

This may sound like a depressing idea. But ‘Memento Mori’ actually helps us to live in the here and now, as Marcus Aurelius taught: “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” Of course, this is all much easier said than done. It requires ‘prosoche’, the Greek word for ‘Mindfulness’. The result is inner peace and harmony and isn’t that what we all really want?

For more information and to download a free summary of my book, “From Fear To Freedom” click on my website: www.alkistis.net

A New Book About The Greek Crisis By Jorge Sotirios

Born in the shadow of Bradman Oval in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Jorge Sotirios worked at his father’s Mittagong cafe when not obsessively following the St. George Dragons.

Since then he has travelled the globe as a travel journalist covering the Arts, the Environment, Politics, and Culture and has written for ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ and ‘The Australian Literary Review’. Part philosopher, part adventurer, and always the clown, Sotirios has travelled to 30 countries working as a foreign correspondent.

‘Lonesome George Cést Moi’! is his first book and recounts his travels in South America during 2004-2005. A captivating story told with comic flair – romance, broken hearts, and self-exploration – told with wry humour while illuminating the beauty and culture of Argentina. Here he writes exclusively for IN+SIGHTS GREECE about how his successful new book, ‘Graffiti Over Marble’ came into being, and the invaluable experience of keeping a journal.

Travels in Lada

When I dusted off a journal from a stacked pile deep in my study, it reminded me that sometimes failure is the mother of success. Years ago, my intention had been to pen a travel book on Greece. My model was Henry Miller’s intense Colossus, alongside the elegance of William Dalrymple’s From the Holy Mountain. I undertook the journey but the journal, now a bundle of yellowing paper, is all that remains of that encounter. I failed, in other words, to see the book to its end.

The adventure though would prove to be formative. I crisscrossed Greece by car, all the while scribbling notes down. The vehicle of choice, the Russian Lada, common to Greece towards the end of the 20th century, was an efficient and unpretentious car, more iconic of the Soviet-era. Squat in shape, without power-steering, but possessing a steering wheel that burnt like handling hot coals during summer, the Lada would transport me to the drab ports dotted on the Greek map. By journeying up and down the coast connecting with an uncle working aboard a passenger ferry, I stopped at obscure ports like Rafina, Kavala, Monemvasia, Gytheion, and Patras. My aim was to portray a dialogue between the rugged mainland and the divine sea. Greece was then in transition. A travel narrative based on dual perceptions, myself and uncle Panos, would ideally have shown a different country hurtling towards the new millennium. Pre-euro, post-donkey.

The simultaneous construction of new highways changed shipping routes immediately just as the flash BMW, Merc and Audi phased out the dowdy Lada. Travels in a Lada became the working title that I’d pretentiously coined for its play-on-words. It didn’t eventuate because I lost inspiration, what with Greece in an economic boom. I dispatched drafts to the book crypt, the bottom drawer of my desk. Flash forward in time and some of that exchange infused my current book, Graffiti over Marble. Although focusing on the Euro crisis since 2012, elements of the shipping industry, the Peloponnesian landscape, and the people met along the way, I owe to that previous failure. Importantly, Panos would play a key role in my current book as would the friendships made and sustained, alongside the romantic flings made and lost. The seeds were planted earlier and I’m glad I safeguarded my archives.

The doyenne of travel scribes, Paddy Leigh Fermor, recommended taking “meticulous details”. The importance of small details can’t be judged until the bigger picture emerges. The meaning of an encounter doesn’t reveal itself till later. The reason why the accumulated journals for Graffiti over Marble, totals a dozen. Each journal contains the scenery but far more crucially carries atmosphere, moods, and emotions. Ticket stubs, doodles, cartoons, news clips, to-do lists, graphic cut-outs: all these items evoke a unique period.

These journals came in many forms from the blue exercise books favoured by Greek schoolchildren to leather cloth bound together by string and textured paper. Plain notepads with spiral binds have acquired haphazard poetry over the course of time. Journals of all sorts take me back not only to Greece but to my 21st-century trips to India and South America and the places they were used: on a hammock beneath the stars within the Amazon jungle for instance, or in rambling colonial hotels across Rajasthan’s desert cities (in fact, the howl of the monkey subconsciously stayed with me, as the accompanying pages indicate).

So, I advise those starting out on their travels to pen thoughts to focus the mind and senses. To those that have done so, re-read them and you’ll retrace your mind’s journey and maybe smile at youthful ambition. Journals act as sacred objects but they’ll probably contain ill-thought-out ideas, cliched observations, or just plain old rubbish. But I think it was Hemingway no less, who advised a fellow author to delete 95% of the total adding for effect “imagine what the remaining 5% will be”. That’s a ratio worth fighting for.

Graffiti over Marble, A Portrait of Greece in Crisis

An unforgettable multi-sensory discovery of Greece through endless, dreamy summers aboard beautiful yachts…

By Kassandra Lefakinis

Marina Zeas, once the sole point of reference for yachting in Greece and departure point for flying dolphins, is now just one of several impressive marinas near Athens. For me personally, growing up in the Greek yachting world, Marina Zeas was the epicenter of my summer life and the launch point for exquisite nautical summer memories.

Yachts as My Homes on the Sea – Families Included!

I’ve been lucky enough to have had a father who ran his own yacht charter business in Greece. For me, that meant summers amidst the harmonious bustle of the comings and goings of yachts and international guests. He began Valef Yachts in 1969, long before I was born and before he met my American mother, Kathy. He had already acquired four yachts, which my sister and I were fortunate to have grown up on. The beautiful and unique Prince de Neufchatel, with its black wooden hull and yellow detailing, the Doxa I & II, motor-sailers as well, with white wooden hulls and yellow and blue detailing, and the motor yacht Lady K. Each had its own charm and atmosphere, making each trip special. A big part of those experiences was the crew on board, who became like family.

Different Boat, Different World

Onboard Doxa I, I fell in love with Jenny’s moussaka – and with her beautiful blue eyes. I loved to peer down into the galley, accessible from the side of the yacht, and inhale the aromas churning out from below to guess the next meal. Jenny was married to the captain, Tassos, who looked like the most classic and brawny sailor from a comic novel from the ’60s. She was his classic Betty-Boop pinup girl, serving up amazing homemade Greek cuisine. Her flair for breakfast was chocolate and orange cake which I indulged in as a morning ritual, special to Doxa I.

On Doxa II the crew was one family: Captain, cook, sailor, and hostess. Roula, the young daughter, would make up card games for us to play as we slowly cruised between islands feeling the rhythmic waves beneath us, carry us onwards to the next port or private cove. At night my sister and I would entertain my parents’ friends and the whole crew with ‘Disco Doxa’, us dancing brazenly in the strobe light set up at the deck fore, to popular Greek and American hits. I dragged my introverted sister to perform beside me, as laughter and applause were guaranteed from the ouzo-accompanied adults.

Onboard the Prince, I loved to tuck into my parents’ cabin for siesta time. The large bed took up half of the cabin, wall to wall, and had a glowing star motif on the ceiling that twinkled down at me as the rock of the boat moored in a bay lulled me to sleep. Lady K offered another feeling; a sea breeze in our faces and the excitement of the next destination rather than the dream-like sinking into the journey offered on the motor-sailers.

Childhood Formed By the Sea

The days were long aboard the boats; all day in the sun and evenings in bustling ports dashing out for ice-cream parfaits or amidst pine trees and screeching cicadas when at anchor in coves. The sound of the sea lapping onto the boat side was like a metronome accompanying me to sleep. The whir of the boat engines in the early morning as we set off, was my alarm clock.

On the islands I remained a forever tourist in my own child-like right, picking up souvenirs at each destination. A porcelain pot with wax-perfume in the commercial ‘Opium’ scent, or a fuzzy little donkey figurine with baskets on his saddled back, or night-lights made of small shells in the shape of a windmill.  Kittens, live kittens, scooped up on islands like Hydra were rare souvenirs, even for just a night, to the dismay of our parents.

Beach cover-ups always – fringed pink cotton shirtdresses with GREECE written on the front or blue and white gauze gowns with crochet at the neckline, a Greek classic.

Sitting at the yacht fore listening to sulky ’80s music made me feel like a sailor in my destiny, the open orange horizon before me, into the sunset, Chris Isaack’s Wicked Game or Madonna’s La Isla Bonita, and me with the waves and occasional dolphins.

Portals of New Universes

When not at sea and exploring the islands, I was on the back of my dad’s moto, running errands with him on the marina docks or the port police, poking around the office, or occasionally greeting clients with him at the airport.

The guests from abroad were portals into many new universes, as was the horizon at sea. My Mediterranean summers were fuel for dreaming,  where growing three inches was common and imagination expansion was guaranteed.

Scent of gardenia, taste of salty ‘maridas’, and the crooning Greek music peppered my days and nights of total adoration of Greece as a country, culture, and people and my life in yachting.

The yachting lifestyle feels like part of my DNA, and is now a science to me, as I run the business with my sister, here in Athens. My parents wondered how we ended up here and them back in the USA, enduring harsh Philadelphian winters. It is no wonder to me anymore, as Greece is a place where dreams come true each summer, afloat in the big blue. I am happy to contribute to that tangible bliss, offered up to anyone willing to gaze into the horizon, and simply jump in.

Valef Yachts on Instagram