Zavitsa, an old shepherds' settlement in Arkadia
Although only locals know about the settlement of Zavitsa it is worth mentioning it to see how difficult life was in the old days in some parts of Greece. It is a mountain settlement of livestock breeders that expands on the top of the homonymous mountain at an altitude of about 700 meters on the borders of the prefectures of Argolida and Arcadia. My aunt's husband came from there so I have some knowledge of the place.
The ascend starts from Xiropigado village in Arkadia through a narrow and winding but cemented road. The route takes about 25 minutes. The landscape is mountainous, with steep slopes and scattered old houses at great distances from each other. The houses are simple but fully equipped with the necessities for survival: they have a wood-fired oven, a chicken coop, a pen and a pasture. The vegetation is wild with maples and a few plane trees standing out in the landscape.
Life there is simple and harsh something that seems distant and incomprehensible to us who live in abundance. They used to live in the wilderness simply to make ends meet, nothing more, without any entertainment or even neighbours to talk to. Even today the landscape is the same as then with nothing having changed.
The inhabitants were livestock breeders, like my uncle, and they led a difficult life because the herd needed daily feeding, watering, grazing and milking, tasks that had to be carried out and could not be postponed. My uncle and aunt lived most of their lives there together with the herd.
The center of the settlement is a plateau with the church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, the old tavern and an old building that used to be a school. On the eve of the Savior on August 5, a large feast with live music is held. It attracts a lot of people because the residents of the surrounding villages love their place and feasts are a way of entertainment and meeting with relatives and immigrants from abroad.
At the church
The wilderness is broken by the last remaining family who are distant relatives of ours. They live by raising goats and have turned the old tavern into a house. They live as in the old days, in complete isolation, close to nature and away from the rhythms of modern life with company apart from the goats and puppies, rabbits, chickens and cats.
Afterwards we went to the village spring which is vital for the family because it provides water for watering the animals. I was impressed that it was June and the water was flowing abundantly.
As boring as all this sounds my children had a great time after meeting the family's children and coming into contact with the animals. They had the opportunity to see things they had never seen before, such as "trokania" (goat bells), crooks and to tour an old shepherd's house that stores milk and cheese.
It was the third time I went to Zavitsa, the first was in 1993 at the Savios feast, the second in 2009 at my cousin's wedding and now in 2025, the reason we went was for my aunt to clean the house and we followed her. That is once every 16 years! I hope to visit Zavitsa again after another 16 years!
