I have a refuge, a top destination in my opinion, that is a tourist destination but not to the extreme. It’s one of those places that might have amazing lodgings, a couple of spots offering real food, and unique activities, but the pace remains slow and its main charm remains human and humble.
When the going gets tough I know I want to escape to Ano Poroia. In this corner in the North, at the foot of the verdant Belles mountain range, across the Krousia mountains, with the calm Kerkini lake and the small valley, green with select crops, at my foot. Mild development, magical natural landscape and real people.
Picking blueberries at 1.400 metres altitude
This time we started up high. In a 4×4 car, we went up the neat forest dirt road at 1.400 metres altitude, at a spot with intense history. The Itsios outpost was the entrance point of the Germans in the spring of 1941. Reserve staff sergeant Dimitrios Itsios, from Ano Poroia, bravely defended the land and wrote his own story. The forest is thick, the atmosphere clear, crystalline. We could see above the Krousia mountains down to the sea. Our guide was Dimitris Theodorakelis, third generation owner of the historic fish tavern ‘Pestrofes’, that continues to offer food cooked with soul.
We picked blueberries that Dimitris made into a fragrant jam on the same day, we ate apples from the wild apple trees, we looked for mushrooms with the guidance of the connoisseur Takis, another proud local from Ano Poroia, with a lovely loud voice. And we enjoyed nature’s grandeur and the company of the locals.
The buffaloes, by and inside the lake
The next day, the boat ride – a must – had, once more, many surprises in store for us. Great crested grebes, great egrets, and spoonbills were flying around the aquatic forest and the reeds. Two brave pelicans were flying low over our boat, hoping the boatman would throw them a fish; and they didn’t leave with empty beaks as the captain had reserved them a small snack from his morning catch. We continued our tour of the lake by car so we could also enjoy looking at the slow buffaloes walking around its shores. Small water buffalo herds with their huge eyes posed for nature shots all over south Kerkini. At the area Kairaki, next to a vegetable garden, its owner had lit a fire and was making watermelon molasses. Dozens of overripe watermelons, at the beginning of autumn are turned into unique molasses, holding inside them all the sweetness of the summer. Boiling on low fire, continuously removing the foam and a gastronomic wonder will sweeten our plates.
Mild development, organic crops, & a dairy in the works
This is the area’s identity. Relaxed rhythms, harmonious exchanges between the two mountains, Belles and Krousia, the always charming Kerkini lake, and, between them, a small valley with new crops.
Small vineyards with table grapes fill the local markets with nice crunchy grapes. Organised organic kiwi crops are giving a new boost to the area’s farming economy. Leaving Ano Poroia we also spotted a small family run dairy that is preparing to use the milk from the animals that graze in the area around the village. We can’t wait to taste its first cheeses.
At ‘Pestrofes’ by the fireplace
We enjoyed our food at the historic tavern ‘Pestrofes’ next to the fish farm with the freezing cold waters. Trout enjoys the North climate conditions and has found the ideal refuge here. The tavern’s third generation has become involved in trout farming and serves trout at the tavern in a dozen different ways. We tried, for the first time, trout carpaccio, prepared by Giorgos, and it was amazing and light.
Over this unique delicacy we casually talked about the area’s gastronomic charm. Apart from the variety it offers with the trout, the freshwater fish with the common carp being the best among them, the buffalo meat and its various by-products, and the local pasta, what is distinctive of the area’s hospitality sector is the fact that they serve simple everyday dishes at humble, human prices. Another thing that I love here is that local gastronomy never lost its continuity, it never had to reinvent itself and present itself again as something special.
Before a winter that is bound to be strange and may continue being harsh, the sweetness this land left as with was the ideal balm. Its people reminded us that life finds a way to go on and confirmed that they do whatever they can for it to go on in the best possible way.
