At last a passenger
enjoying the view I shouted 'Stop!' as we drove past the school at
Antimachia. Once a teacher always teacher as my Radar honed in on
three boys having a sneaky fag at the back of the bike sheds. Always
on the alert for the naughties, years of working in a pupil referral
unit had taken its toll and It turned out to be a day of now you see
me now you don't
First stop, the Springs
at Antimachia so near to the road yet hidden from view. As we
descended down the rough hewn steps , dodging trailing stems of
prickly plants the pervading smell of wild mint abounded and the
roots entangled all the undergrowth about. The nearer to the source the
soggier underfoot and even now wellies would have been better. This
quiet watery glade looked like something from a film set long since
abandoned yet ready to spring to life the moment out backs were
turned. The sign long since covered by the plants taking back their
space. As we returned to the car and looked back you couldn't help feel
things were heaving a sigh of relief.
On to Antimachia Castle
where the stage had been set centuries before and the end of the
tourist season meant fewer and fewer people retraced the steps of the
ancients. Another stage set background of silence yet heralding back
to the sounds of Masons working on the stones, farmers tending their
crops and rearing their animals. Knights Templars practicing their
art of warfare, forever on the look out to defend their Island, just
as the lizards today were forever hovering underfoot and darting away
at the last moment. Abandoned stone buildings, crumbling rocks and
dried , dying vegetation with hints of new growth peering through,
nourished by the Autumn dew.
Lunch of course in
Mastichari where the end of the season was evident as waiters vied
for fewer and fewer tourists and the three of us dined alone before
setting off for the Garden of Hippocrates.
The back route running
parrallel with the sea, clear of cars all but the garbage truck soon
had us bouncing along the dirt road flattened by tyres with deep tread
and with teeth juddering we made it to the carpark. A remarkable
place of silence, serene in its portrayal of days gone by and still
the lizards watched and warmed themselves on rocks and stone steps
before running ahead. The school room awaits the children after the
tourists have gone. Time to learn about Hippoctratis, ancient medicines from herbs and flowers and chance to act and play on the
stage and read poems and recite prose.
