Volunteering in Agras – Vritta – Nisi Wetland

So…………after 4 months of my EVS being spent in Gialova I am now here in Vrita, a place of many contrasts but of equal beauty! The Gialova project was an amazing experience which gave me many great memories that i will never forget.  4 months spent camping near the beach, a sea to swim in whenever we wanted, the sun shining all the time, lots of other volunteers and places to drink whenever we wanted.  We had alot of good ti,es in Gialova; group nights out in Kalamata, the Spanish party, the birthday of Santiago, trips to the waterfalls, dangerous climbs on Sphachteria island and of course all the hard work we put in to protect the animals of the area.

Then came the time to leave, something we hadnt exactly been looking forward to, two of us leaving all our friends and coming to a new project, a project so different from our own.  Our first impressions were not the best, thoughts of boredom and isolation, 2 months stuck in a village of 400 people, with no shops, no real bar and limited transport to escape to civilization!  However, these fears proved to be wrong.  Of course this place is vastly different from life in the south but these changes have proven to be a breath of fresh air.  Here in Vrita we are away from the hustle and bustle of normal life and much closer to the nature in which we are here to work with.  In the first few days I was here I managed to see such a variety of birds, dalmatian pelicans, pygmy and greater cormorants, buzzards, marsh harriers and alot of coots, just to name a few.

General life up here in the north has also turned out to be much better than we had imagined.  The house we stay in is huge and has so much space for the 5 of us to do whatever we want in, be it play table tennis, watch movies or just find a quite corner to sleep in!  There is the cafe neo, which provides a welcome break from the stress of pursuing girls in the average nightclub!  We can go there and drink cheap beers, watch football, play darts and hear each other talk without the usual blare of loud music! We also have much more oppertunity to travel here, already in our first weekend we travelled to Thessaloniki to sample the nightlife with our new american friends and this weekend we will travel to Arcturos to see the bears and wolves!  So for sure Vrita is vastly different from Gialova, differences we first feared would be to our dislike, but with an open mind have realised are elements that will create a completely new experience.

Finally, I will write a little about myself.  My name is Craig, i am 23 and im a proud Scotsman! I am a zoology graduate and have come to Greece to pursue my love of nature and to experience life in another country.  My main passion other than wildlife is Dundee United, the best team in the world! Ok maybe not, but in Dundee at least.

Craig