Petropouli, Ikaria

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Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in the Ikarian village of Petropouli, near the summit of Mount Atheras, the highest point on the island. Here are a number of images taken during my visit.

This old stone cottage, built in the traditional Ikarian style, still stands in the centre of the village. I don't know who owns, or owned it, but no one lives in the cottage any more. However, there are hundreds of old cottages like this still standing on the island, and many older Ikarians in particular, still live in them (see below).

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Below, another old stone house in Petropouli. Someone is still living in this one judging by the well maintained condition of the exterior paint work. The slate roof may look rough and ready, but it does the job of keeping the rain out.

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And just so you know what a modern island home looks like, here is a perfect example.

Back In The Blue Zone Again

Mount Atheras, the highest point on Ikaria

I have written before about the Aegean island, Ikaria, the place from which my parents and my eldest brother, Nick, immigrated to Australia just before the Second World War. I first came to the island in April 1971, escorting my late mother who was returning to her ancestral home after an absence of more than 30 years. Many changes had of course occurred during her life away from family and friends in those intervening thirty years, and many changes have occurred in the 33 years since I first returned to the island with her.

Ikaria, and many of the Ikarians who live on the island, have now joined the ranks of a very exclusive club reserved for just five regions on the planet. These have become known as Blue Zones, from Dan Buettner's book, "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from people who lived the longest."

Terraced hillsides and valleys make maximum use of the land

Blue Zone is a concept used to identify a demographic and/or geographic area of the world where people live measurably longer lives, typically well into their 90s and beyond. The five regions identified and discussed by Buettner in the book Blue Zones are:

• Sardinia, Italy.
• The islands of Okinawa, Japan.
• Loma Linda, California.
• Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.
• Ikaria, Greece.

Residents of the first three places produce a high rate of centenarians, suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill people in other parts of the developed world, and enjoy more healthy years of life.

Referring specifically to Ikaria, an April 2009 study on the island uncovered the location with the highest percentage of 90 year-olds on the planet - nearly 1 out of 3 people make it to their 90s. Furthermore, according to the study, Ikarians "have about 20 percent lower rates of cancer, 50 percent lower rates of heart disease and almost no dementia".

View across Kampos valley to St. Irene (Agia Irini) church

I can personally vouch for the above statement. On this and on previous visits to Ikaria, I have spoken to a 98 year old man who helped carry my brother (then 18 months old), to the ship my mother was preparing to board for her journey to Australia―just before the outbreak of war in 1939.

The people inhabiting Blue Zones share common lifestyle characteristics that contribute to their longevity. These characteristics include:

• Family – put ahead of other concerns
• Less smoking
• Semi-vegetarianism (except for the Sardinian diet, the majority of food consumed is derived from plants)
• Constant moderate physical activity – an inseparable part of life
• Social engagement – people of all ages are socially active and integrated into their communities
• Legumes – commonly consumed
• Geographical Area: All these "blue zones" are located near volcanoes which apparently increase the mineral content of the local water supplies.

There has been some speculation and claims that drinking water high in mineral content, along with the consumption of fruits, vegetables and vegetation irrigated with water rich in minerals may play a part in increased health and life span. However, an ongoing debate as to whether or not the mineral water component is a major reason for health and longevity in these "blue areas" is yet to come up with a definitive decision.

A closer look at St. Irene (Agia Irini) church

With regard to these shared characteristics, I can again vouch for the presence of some of these on Ikaria. Family ties remain strong, as do ties to the land with most families maintaining and producing a good supply of their own fresh fruits and vegetables. Almost every family on the island has their own grove or two of olive trees from which they source their own oil and a good supply of olives for the table. Many have their own vineyards from which they produce their own table wines, and many, like my sister Irene, have several goats which provide milk for general use or which is turned into homemade yoghurt or cheese. Of course, by producing their own fruits and vegetables, wines, olive oil and olives, and milk products, the Ikarians are by necessity, engaging in quite strenuous regular activity.

General view across the island

Time will tell whether Ikaria will maintain its position in the Blue Zone ranks. Unfortunately, many younger Ikarians are spurning the hours of physical work required to maintain extensive gardens, olive groves and vineyards, and the care of animals, in favour of a quick trip to local supermarkets to buy their groceries and daily necessities.

Here is Dan Buettner speaking about Blue Zones at a TED conference some years ago:

More Information

Blue Zones… 

Blue Zones Wikipedia… 

TED… 

Holiday Reading

After an absence of some three and a half years I have again returned to the land of my parents birth―the Blue Zone island, Ikaria, in the Aegean Sea, where I plan to spend the bulk of my four month extended vacation from my normal place of residence in Adelaide, Australia.

One thing that surely occupies the mind of most travellers on extended trips is how to fill their time in between all the fun bits associated with travel (eating, partying, visiting attractions and landmarks and other such diversions), not forgetting the not so fun bits―like the hours spent in transit or in actual travel between distant destinations. The best way to fill what can often turn out to be hours of down time is of course, reading.

Quite frankly, I’m a sucker for books. I can never walk past a bookshop without at least pausing to look in at the windows to see what new titles have been released, or if passing a second hand bookshop, stopping to see what books the owner has chosen to feature in the window display. It is a rare event to see me walk by a bookshop without walking inside to at least browse the crowded shelves and books on offer.

At the end of my last visit to Ikaria, early in February 2011, I left behind* a small carry-on cabin-sized case filled with surplus clothing and a collection of books I had bought during my visit to New York City during August 2010. Now that I am back on the island, I am reacquainting myself with the contents of the suitcase, having forgotten most of what was in it over the ensuing three or so years.

The image illustrating this post shows all eleven books that have waited patiently in that case for my return. Thankfully, I did read a couple of them on my previous trip, but the rest await their turn to be read during my leisure hours. Eight of the books have a direct focus on New York City, and since I won’t be returning there until next year, I am looking forward to reading them as a way to keep the fire burning in my heart for that great metropolis.

I’m particularly looking forward to reading A Freewheelin’ Time by Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan’s muse during the early years of his career. That’s Suze Rotolo walking arm in arm with Dylan down a New York City street on the cover of his 1963 album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. I am also champing at the bit to begin Joseph Mitchell’s classic collection of New York stories, Up In The Old Hotel. Mitchell (July 27, 1908 - May 24, 1996) was best known for the work he published in The New Yorker. Many of his wonderfully written portraits of eccentrics and people on the fringes of New York City life are reprinted in this book.

But enough of this writing and anticipating―it’s way past the time that I pulled a comfortable chair out onto the sun deck, and cracked open the covers of A Freewheelin’ Time, and started reading.

*”I left behind…” One of the advantages of having family far from home is the ability to leave some items of clothing or other excess baggage with them when you return home. The obvious disadvantage of course, is that you may not get access to these items (as in my case), for several years.