On Friday a neighbour of Julie's kindly gave me a lift to the Post Office in the village of Vamos. She is an animal lover and supports the local Red Cross and had errands to run on both counts. So after our business in the village, off we went - to one of the most curious places I have ever come across in Greece.
It's called The Ark and is a now defunct zoo owned by the Greek Orthodox church. Against a stunning backdrop of the White Mountains, the animals are still in their cages, but the zoo is no longer open and hardly anyone ever comes here.
"A few years ago, it was really nice, with children enjoying the animals and a big cafe where you could have lunch", explained my companion as her little boy stood fascinated by a gaggle of geese around a dirty pond.
But now the Church says that, with the economic crisis, it can no longer afford to keep the zoo open. In the monkey cage the food container was full of bread and water. It was untouched. Perhaps most bizarrely, in a large compound was a whole flock of black African ostriches, enormous creatures that run like lightning. Unsurprisingly, they looked mean and unhappy.
We gave hay to some shetland ponies and two of the thinnest horses I have ever seen and then delivered clothes and supplies to the people living on site. First, a Bulgarian family whose home is, well, a large timber shed almost without windows. You can see part of it on the left behind the horses.
Second, to a young Afghan refugee, who is in Greece as an illegal immigrant. How does he survive? By working for the local priest, toiling all day in the hot sun doing quality stonework. To build new accommodation? No, for the construction of a brand new church, just over the hill from the zoo. For this he is paid 150 euros a month.
It's called The Ark and is a now defunct zoo owned by the Greek Orthodox church. Against a stunning backdrop of the White Mountains, the animals are still in their cages, but the zoo is no longer open and hardly anyone ever comes here.
"A few years ago, it was really nice, with children enjoying the animals and a big cafe where you could have lunch", explained my companion as her little boy stood fascinated by a gaggle of geese around a dirty pond.
But now the Church says that, with the economic crisis, it can no longer afford to keep the zoo open. In the monkey cage the food container was full of bread and water. It was untouched. Perhaps most bizarrely, in a large compound was a whole flock of black African ostriches, enormous creatures that run like lightning. Unsurprisingly, they looked mean and unhappy.
We gave hay to some shetland ponies and two of the thinnest horses I have ever seen and then delivered clothes and supplies to the people living on site. First, a Bulgarian family whose home is, well, a large timber shed almost without windows. You can see part of it on the left behind the horses. Second, to a young Afghan refugee, who is in Greece as an illegal immigrant. How does he survive? By working for the local priest, toiling all day in the hot sun doing quality stonework. To build new accommodation? No, for the construction of a brand new church, just over the hill from the zoo. For this he is paid 150 euros a month.
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