When people ask me where I grew up and I answer “Camara on Andros,” most are surprised, and to the spontaneous follow-up question “And what was it like?” there can be only one answer: “a life steeped in the sea.”
“It all began on the island of Andros in the Cyclades—the island, the magnificent one, the queen of the Aegean… the most beautiful in the whole world, the island of my birth, where my childhood and early teenage years were shaped, nurtured, and blossomed” (A. Embeirikos, The Great Eastern).
By rephrasing the possessive pronoun as a personal one, the lines above perfectly capture the setting of my childhood. Growing up in the magnificent mansion of my great-grandfather, Kaptas-Mathios Koutsoukos, I felt as if the house were haunted by his presence and that he would suddenly appear, imposing and stern, just as the photographs allowed me to imagine him. I never had the good fortune to meet him. I was fortunate, however, to grow up with stories of the sea—stories that were incredible, almost magical, both pleasant and unpleasant—about epic voyages, shipwrecks, heroic battles with the waves, about farewells and welcomes to “harbors seen for the first time… “pearls and corals, amber and ebony,” in the words of our Alexandrian poet.
And of course, all these stories came to life in the imagination, as the house itself was like a ship at the mercy of the waves, perched on the steepest cliff of the peninsula. No matter where you turned your gaze, the sea stretched out around you, sometimes serene and sometimes wild. It was always there in the most incredible shades, in all its intensities, arousing curiosity, sparking the imagination, shaping a contemplative consciousness. “With reason and with dreams,” as our National Poet put it.
Winter and Summer on the Island
Growing up in a place like that isn’t always easy. There were difficulties stemming from a lack of infrastructure, opportunities, and cultural amenities, which made Athens seem like a dream to us. Nevertheless, the island offered you priceless experiences that, given today’s lifestyle in big cities, seem like forbidden fruits. The feeling of freedom, wandering through the picturesque alleys, the endless play, swimming in the sea two or three times a day, the acrobatics on the rocks, the summer cinema—these are some of the experiences that defined my childhood.
The initiative taken by Camara Suites is being followed by other local businesspeople with similar efforts to develop the mansions for tourism
I still remember the saltiness in my hair from the sea breeze as I walked up the Agora to get to school during those harsh days of February. The tension at home when my father—Captain Nikos—would leave for the boat and I would run after him, begging him to take me with him. And of course, I’ll never forget that room with a view of the Lighthouse and the Castle—now the Kito Suite—where I spent endless hours locked away preparing for the Panhellenic exams. A titanic struggle that required courage to meet the demands in the absence of teachers and tutoring classes.
I often tell prospective students that on this island we succeeded without help because, quite simply, we dared to swim in the deep end. It takes courage to do something like that. Today, we expect knowledge to be served up to us on a platter, without having to work for it or process it further. And I naturally wonder, thinking back on the past, “How was it possible that with such a contemplative mood—one inspired by the sea, by the mere sight of it—you wouldn’t be filled with boundless courage? Our grandmother used to say that the sea gives strength and courage.”
The architecture, nautical elements, period furniture, and artifacts from distant voyages all contribute to its character
The Mansion in the Interwar Period
In 1926, the house passed into the possession of Captain Matthaios Koutsoukos from its then-owner, Kleanthis Bistis. The area of Chora and Kato Kastro, known as “Camara,” had begun to be settled even before the revolution, with neoclassical mansions being built. However, as early as the Venetian period, this particular mansion served as a fortified tower, as its location at the highest point of the rock allowed for the detection of enemy ships.
Louiza Diapouli Andros / Photo: Shutterstock
From Victorian England, Helen—Eleni, the “Englishwoman” or “foreigner,” as they called her—had to quickly adapt to the social context of this place, which was rightly called Little England. The captains’ wives bore no resemblance to the women of the time. Raised in the tradition of seafaring, steeped in the bitter taste left by deprivation and the absence of a husband, hardened by loneliness, they became captains of the shore and ran their households at all costs.
Eleni will settle in very quickly and become the heart and soul of the household. Even today, people remember her as a refined woman, always wearing her signature hats and always gracious. Her famous Five o’clock teas are well-known, as she brought her English flair to a well-established urban culture. But even during the Occupation, she rose to the occasion, keeping the house open to the residents and offering every kind of assistance. During the bombings of 1943, when the house was hit on the south side, thanks to her initiative, the residents of Camara were saved in the basement due to its sturdy construction.
In 2019, we managed to restore the mansion and repurpose it by creating the Camara Suites
We introduce our guests to the local culture through its flavors. Breakfasts stay true to local flavors, such as the famous fourtalia and fine cheeses from small family-run dairies, the figs and rusks that accompanied the traditional Andros woman’s breakfast.
In recent years, Andros has been on a creative journey. It is not only the trails and the shift toward the interior that undeniably contribute to its outward-looking nature. It is also the effort of visionary people to forge a meaningful connection with its roots.
The initiative of Camara Suites is beginning to be followed by local entrepreneurs with similar efforts to develop the island’s mansions for tourism. The first steps have been taken, and they have already charted a very promising path for the island’s future.
The idea of utilizing more and more mansions, large and small, to tell their own maritime stories could mark a new direction for the tourism product, offering higher-quality features and values, as it will guarantee the authenticity of the island’s intellectual tradition and culture.
The pandemic era, after all, favors a reorientation at all levels, and last winter the island showed a different side. Beyond being a summer vacation resort, it naturally emerged as a pleasant winter retreat for those seeking to avoid the crowds of urban centers. Hic Andros, hic salta.
Πηγή: travel.gr
