My 50th birthday. Rose at 4.20: ― off by 5.15. Long winding paths through olive groves: then dips & struggles with quite wild places, stuffed with all sorts of underwood, the old olives growing tangly all about. Frogs there were also, & rushes. A man passing, & asked the way to Sparterò ― said ― […]
Rose at 5.30. 6.30 out with G., & drew by the Ποταμὸς bridge. (Calabrians have a boat here, ― a company sent by Primo Pignatelli to search for Liquorice root.[)] Returning at 8.30 ― met Dr. Sansoni, & back with him to Ἅγιος Νάσσος ποῦ ἥτον ἐφολῆ,1 & a giving away of boiled wheat & […]
Slept well, yet I think some heaviness proceeds from the air. At 5.30 ― (why do they put cinnamon in their coffe? ―) G. & I & Dimitri ― a well-behaved obliging χωριάτης1 ― went out. Lovely bits of green sward or fern ― with beautiful olives ― characteristic bits of Lefchimo scenery, we passed, […]
Slept well. No fleas. G. is in anteroom. Rose at 4.30 coffee. Off 5.30 ― with G. & a guide, Dimitri. Heavy mist on all places ― plain & hills: wild paths, & flat desert-like spots: sandy walk by seaside. Inland to S. Procopius ― a picturesque little monastery. beautiful olives. Hills near Sea, Capo […]
Fine day. Rose at 4.30. Rushed off by 6.20[.] Light carriage. Picked up the Fosters, ― I to pay my arranged 4 dollars they 2. Very clear & lovely weather, walked on ― horses resting, ― at Strongili. On to 19th mile, & lunched very pleasantly close to Ἄγια Τριάδα. At Lefchimo by 1. Dr. […]
Rose at 6. ― Got 25£ from Taylor. Breakfast with the 2 Fosters at 9. ― at 11.30. drove with them to Κυνοπιάστες, ― but Villetta was not at home. (I asked Luard to dine ― first, & left a note for G. with the Παραμυθιόττι.) We drove also to Cupido’s fountn. Home by 1.30, […]
Fine till 11 ― we walked about, G. smoking. This place, in an unfrequented spot off the road, is not good to dwell in. At 4.30 ― we packed ― by 5.30 Spiro Assoniti was engaged to find 2 horses ― whereat we packed, & were off by 6. ― Certainly a beautiful nogetable valley […]
Rose at 5 ― a very sleepless & comfortless night: dogs barking ― &c. &c. Off with G. & Spiro Assoniti ― a cloudy threatening sky. ― Across the thin woods ― wonderful scenes of long-armed light-foliaged trees ― like Calabria in 1847. But it soon poured down torrents of rain ― also hail & […]
Particular lovely, all day. Slept vastly better ― not to say well: & rose a little before 5 ― Plain coffee & bread the order of the day: & George & I were off before 6. A pleasant shadeful walk ― & assuredly the olives are wonderful, the interminable perpetuation of this silver light catching […]
Very fine & pleasant all through. But I got little or no sleep, ― at least until 3.30: partly fleas ― partly noises. ― However, at 5.20 ― rose ― & G. had a regular breakfast by 6: & at 6.40 we were off ― Spiro Assoniti preceding as guide. Damp & low grounds ― […]
