Sikinos: A Landscape Woven with Trails and Stories

Looking down on Sikinos from above, it appears as a beautifully uniform canvas, where human activity has, here and there, embroidered white patches. The island may be small, but its countless folds make it seem much larger than one might imagine. Much has been said about these folds.

These are folds that conceal trees from the wind's fury, folds that hide marble foundations of ancient structures, iconic stairs made of stone or marble slabs. They are folds that shelter dry-stone walls following the curve of a stream, folds that conceal the Vorino spring or the well just outside Chora, where wild pigeons, gulls, and crows perch, gazing out at the village. But perhaps, here, these folds are like the drapery of a Hellenistic statue, hinting at movement and a vibrant past.

Every morning in Sikinos, a melody awakens me with the first light, urging me to explore. It's the voice of the landscape itself, calling out, "Come see me!" And this melody unfolds into a hundred distinct voices: one is the trees, another the glorious memories of the past, another the sea, another the chapels. The one we focus on tonight, however, is the trails.

The Trails: The Memory of Footsteps and the Politics of Landscape

The trails are nothing less than the memory of footsteps, of people who have walked and continue to walk this landscape. As vice-president of the European Ramblers' Association, I can tell you that trails have a voice.

This voice, which forms the core of landscape policy, reminds us that the Mayor of Sikinos is not only the mayor of its people but also of all living and non-living elements that constitute the landscape, and ultimately, Sikinos itself.

What is the politics of the landscape? It is the understanding that the landscape serves as humanity's grand balance sheet, a ledger of additions and subtractions. We add buildings, but we subtract resources, vegetation, water. The trails, however, are not subject to this rule of addition-subtraction. They are eternal. Trails are there for us and for those who follow, provided we maintain them wisely.

Through the opportunity presented by the trails, and from the great open book of the landscape, we can write and highlight many aspects or themes: cultural, historical, environmental, and so on. The trails connect and expand like a spider's web, anchored to all sides of the island.

Unfortunately, some off-network trails have, in parts, become overgrown or closed. This leads to the conclusion that in the future, it would be beneficial to extend the care and maintenance efforts to the wider trail network, to prevent these remaining paths from being lost.

 

Ivy Adamakopoulou