On Saturday 25 May 2024 we had the pleasure to welcome 42 Freewalkers in Kleisoura, Messinia. At 10 am we started the hike around our village, a route of about 8 km. We climbed to an altitude of 300m, where we admired the view of the Messinian Gulf and then stopped for water and snack at the church of St. George.





The passage through the small forest with cypresses and holly trees left an excellent impression. After 3 hours of walking we arrived at Elettra Farm, where we all enjoyed local food prepared with love and care.It was a wonderful experience that we will most likely repeat soon!






Primary school of Kleisoura, school year 1954-1955.
Teacher Maria Stathopoulou, Total students: 19

Students: Tasia Tsalta, Eleni Kotsafti, Akrivi Mantis, Magdalene Kotsafti, Nionios Gallos, Dinios Bouzalas, Andreas Kotsafti, Kostas (Kostantakis) Tsaltas, Nikos Kotsaftis, Tasos Bouzalas, Kostas Bouzalas, Panagiotis Chaltas, George Kotsaftis, Dimitris Bouzalas, Eugenia Vassilopoulou, Katina Chalta, Thanasis Gardiakos, Panagiotis Sardelis. Dimitra Mantis was absent on the day of the photo shoot.

Mention was made of the Kleisoura Primary School, which began to be built with the care and financial contribution of the villagers in 1931 and was completed in 1933. The school was built by stone craftsmen from Lagadia Arcadias, while in order to secure the materials and basically the lime they built a lime kiln with personal labor that everyone offered. The project was successful and the kiln yielded 40 cantars of lime at 44 okades per cantar, a total of 1760 lime which was allocated exclusively for the school. (One oka = 1282 grams).
In 1977 the Kleisoura primary school ceased to function due to lack of children.
Our goal today is to repair the damage it has suffered so that in the future it can house a small folklore museum.






A few words about the Freewalkes

The Freewalkers is an international group of people who share their love of hiking.
Main activity is the organization of one or two weekly walks which are open to everyone.
Every Saturday and often also on Wednesday (except in the hot summer months), a circular walk is organized and takes place somewhere between Gialova and Petalidi.
People from Greece and many other European countries meet up for some physical exercise, to enjoy the wonderful countryside and some lively conversation.

More about the Freewalkers see here