Jesse Blackwood on Sustainable Tourism in Greece

good morning everybody and welcome to day two of our programming on Greece this week we are being joined Again by my friend uh Jesse Blackwood good morning Jesse good morning and Jesse today is going to host a discussion on sustainable tourism and the way a village in Greece has decided to tackle the problem of sustainable tourism so I'm going to go ahead and and uh hand it over to you Jesse for the introduction well uh good morning everyone I am absolutely delighted to be here again uh with you Sarah thank you so much and with uh Antonis uh or Antoine uh who is joining us from mesalunga we talked a little bit about mesolungi yesterday and actually if you look at my background this is a background of the mesolungi Lagoon taken uh by this wonderful organization mesolungi by locals and I thought kind of by way of introduction Antoine to discussing what you do we could talk just a little bit about before we give a full introduction of your your beautiful organization we could talk a little bit about what sustainable tourism is and why it's important to think about as we begin to travel because we're all thinking about different ways of being sustainable but it doesn't we don't necessarily realize that that tourism is you know equally important that we we travel sustainably so what what do we think what is sustainable tourism thank you well hello from Mr Logan Sarah thank you for having us Jesse it's always a pleasure talking with you well have you as you said yesterday on your great introduction about methodology Metrology um is a small town which is located in the middle of the largest Lagoon in Greece that means that um people and tourists who lives in masologic or visit methodology should firstly realize the place that that surround the city so sustainable tourism means that we need to act without forgetting the surroundings the the center of the Lagoon landscape in the center of the Lagoon landscape are a Fishermans who whose life ways create and maintain a unique landscape which embodies both local Transitions and the story of adoption through time which means that if we don't understand um the importance of the Lagoon and its biodiversity then we can't move into the future so when we say tourism as methodology by locals we mean friendly activities around the Lagoon or in the lagoon that respects the biodiversity of the environment well you know I really I'm just I'm so excited to to hear to have you talk a little bit more about that and and one reason for this uh Antonio says that now in in traveling around uh both Sarah and I uh visiting you know major cities across Europe uh what we've experienced and witnessed over and over again our big group tour companies that uh have kind of control over the booking industry and they have priority everywhere they go um and and actually it's it's tourism that's consumerism right that it's it's actually it's kind of consuming what's there and that does two things to culture it can it can get a wise culture so that it then becomes dependent on the people that come to visit uh but it can also destroy the what what exists locally and naturally in the places that we go to visit whereas what you guys are doing I think just so so remarkably really it just it's something that touched my heart is is quite the opposite so you're you're creating a space where where inside this Lagoon it where it's possible to visit uh in in eco-tourism uh pay attention to the biodiversity of the place but also also within the traditions of the people who work there already so when I visited with you guys this last year we we went out on the Pilates uh which is one of these uh fishing huts with with a fisherman and anyway I won't I'll let you explain what you do but I just wanted to jump in and and highlight why in my opinion that style of travel is is so important so uh and I know that I suspect right now you're you're in the mesolungi by locals Hub uh which is uh the home and actually I I think you're you're uh your your account here says alexandros which is uh your your colleague and the founder of mesolungi and I believe that the Hub is actually his family home now just take a minute to tell us a little bit more about the the kind of activities you guys do and the the Community Partners that you have well um beside the the tourist activities that we do which I will explain you in a couple of minutes um as an organization is a non-profit organization and the the aim of the organization is to strengthen the collectivity within the local community of Metrology um through a participatory mapping scene of the city's cultural identity but also through the creation and promotion of cultural activities uh the work of the organization concerns the study the promotion and the preservation of the local cultural heritage and of course the the environment as well as the organization of cultural tourism and ecotourism experiences for locals and visitors of the city um the experience that we call people to to to to to live are based on this cultural heritage of Mythology you talked about the the wooden Huts in the lagoon this is this is a very important part of the tradition of Mythology because mythology was founded as a city by fishermen and Pirates who used the city um they used the Lagoon to feed the families and themselves and this is how methodology was created back in the 15th century so um what we're trying to do here is to introduce a original experiences to Travelers so they can they can live they can live like a local if if you understand what I'm trying to explain here excuse my English I'm trying my best no no your English is is is really really wonderful and okay if anyone who has ever learned taking the time to learn Greek uh can appreciate the importance of of you speaking to us in English instead of us trying to speak to you in Greek so okay first of all thank you and no and what you're saying uh makes makes perfect sense uh you know to to visit to travel uh like a local is I think at the very heart of the kind of activities that Sarah and I love to share so so tell us a little bit more about about what those activities if somebody comes to to messalungi and we have uh two or three days maybe you know maybe one day two days three days uh to spend there what what would you recommend we we do when we come to to visit well we would definitely recommend to take a a tour with the traditional boat in the lagoon while um while a guide explains about the the ecosystem and the creation of the Lagoon and the importance and the importance so this is one of them of the first experience that I would suggest people enjoy when they visit Metrology of course they can visit the traditional Pilates which is the fisherman houses as you said they can fish and they can cook the cuts of the day that's also a great experience they can have historical tours we have the garden of Heroes in mesology as you might know Lord Byron dedicated uh his life in methodology he died here so so there is a monument for Lord Byron um you can have outdoor activities like Mountain hiking bicycle you can do the round of the Lagoon by foot you can have a photographic Safari of course and now speaking of a photographic Safari uh you are uh I think messalonia is the first place I've ever traveled uh where you actually have uh flamingos flamingos are indigenous to the Lagoon of mesalungi which you know I I thought we had to travel uh much further afoot uh in order to to encounter them and as you say uh Lord Byron uh he died there he said gave his life that was that was actually fighting for uh in the Greek war of independence uh if if I'm not mistaken no another um Sarah you'll know that that the the the the poetic Resonance of that is uh is not lost uh as another reason to uh to come and visit as as for the flamingos we have almost 300 different species of birds in the lagoon yes wow we have pelicans we have all kinds of birds actually during the year so if you are interested for bed watching this is definitely the place to visit now you mentioned you mentioned uh catching fishing and then cooking the fish of the day with the fisherman on a traditional wooden Hut built on the Lagoon I just want to slow down so that we can capture all of those elements because that was something that was an experience you you shared uh with me uh this last fall and actually that was the best fish I ever had in my entire life uh which was cooked uh by the fishermen uh in a in the traditional recipe of the place um now how how did you guys how did this organization get started well Metrology by locals as I told you is a non-profit organization and the idea started from young people like alexandros and Kira who decided to remain in methodology and take action do something at a time when the social and economic crisis in Greece back in 2012. if you remember 15 14 etc etc has increased the number of young people that they were living Metrology for Athens or bigger cities and these young people wanted to create a vision for the younger generation that we have to stay here we have to to maintain our cultural identity do something about it and we can we can create instead of instead of going somewhere else we can actually create here and this is how methodology by locals started 2018 sorry no no not not at all and I I think that's it's such a beautiful Endeavor yesterday we were talking about the way that when when we travel but specifically when we were visiting Greece the way that our experience was uh elevating that it was um characterized by a kind of an aspiration uh towards a sense of or a spirit of of human dignity and I think that um often when when we come and visit Greece if we just if we just visit Athens uh and you know you drive around the suburbs then and because I think about half the Greek population is in Athens if I'm not not mistaken almost half yeah it is actually yeah and and and so uh and and you know in Greece it's Athens is not an enormously wealthy City uh I think it's it's fair to fair to say uh and so you go there and and you don't you don't actually have that experience of that that ancient very very uh rich and enduring culture uh because because so many people have moved from small towns and of course you know I I have friends who live in Athens that go you know go back uh home and you know they're they're always bringing olives and other you know Fresh Products uh into the City and that's kind of the way that they're supporting their life it's it's a there's a mutuality uh but but it's beautiful that that's what you're trying to avoid is that you know that if it's wonderful if folks want to go and move to the city but uh it's another thing if if you feel that you have to leave in order to support your family uh and so from that perspective that kind of Grassroots Endeavor is just just such a such a beautiful and encouraging one and I think an example to to us all right now go ahead yeah you said about life in nothings I mean larger cities well the the quality of life that you have in National login in other cities not in Athens uh of you saw it firsthand you understand that it's totally different and everything is different here and also the amount of money that you need in order to maintain this quality of life is totally different so it has to do uh if I may say with a state of mind what do you ask for yourself or from yourself what do I want to do in life and um you said something about olive oil and products that everybody brings from The Villages back to Athens I would like to mention that Mr Lobby has three three except the fish of course three very important products which is olives and and Olive products it's well known about these products salt I think you've tasted salt and of course botargro tell us I remember tell us tell us what that is this is um is a egg fish the eggs from the fish that the fishermen cuts and they do it they present preserve it on the natural way with wax raw raw fish egg fish they put it on wax so it can be preserved for a long period of time and it's also known as the golden treasure of of the Lagoon that's that's uh you know it's not what one would immediately think of as the the golden treasure uh but um but it's essentially it's it's caviar right uh it's and it's considered some of the best caviar uh in in the world if I'm not mistaken you're not mistaken thank you for helping me out here thank you no no no I was just I was just you know I mean that's the French name for it and and you know I was more familiar with that than the Greek one which I even hesitate to try and pronounce at the moment it is not that salty like a caviar is different it's a yellowish you know it's like a gold and um we love it now tell us a little bit in in a moment I know you have a video uh and maybe some photos that you'd like us to you'd like to share with us uh but just give us we we spoke about the the fishermen and uh the well the three products that you have uh that mesolungi is is famous for but what tell us how you see the you know this last four years of your work how you see that beginning to to pay off because I Love Actually and I follow you on Instagram I love watching your or seeing your your Instagram posts although although you know I can I can hardly uh phoneticize Greek right I mean my my Greek is essentially non-existent I can barely make out the letters um and you but yours is a channel quite remarkably it's it's for the locals right I I imagine I think most of your followers are are there in in mesolungi but I love watching the the activities that you're you're doing so it's not just it's not just tourism for for folks abroad but but really um it's a way of uh preserving uh the culture and sharing that with with folks that are there so could you tell us a little bit about um how just about those activities and the the results of of that work and how you're you're seeing that begin to bear fruit well after three years and three very successful festivals we believe that we have activated the locals so they can be part a part of what we do because as our name says we are mesology by locals so without the locals we are nothing and we are also locals so what we would like to do is to um to activate people in everyday living so they can do things to to getting no to to getting to to get to know methology better to appreciate the Lagoon and the biodiversity as I said before and to have a vision so every week we call people we call the locals to participate in a few activities with us it can be a photographic Safari as I said before or maybe a cultural route in the city uh we have a team that works on architectural mapping so we talk about building an architecture we talk about history we create Maps that people can take for for free maps of the city maps of the Lagoon so this is very important and if I may say our followers I'm not sure if they are most of them locals I mean I'm not sure if they're living with a lot because as you know we have an amazing surrounding amazing you can you can see so many beautiful landscapes here that so people from around Europe are loving us uh if I may share my screen I would like to to show to our viewers uh a short video about local hub and methodology by locals so they can get a better idea about what they do I will ask our viewers to excuse my English but this is the local way you live the local the experience with the locals and if I may share my screen we can watch the first video is that okay with you yeah go ahead yeah it's all set up you should be fine and your English by the way is excellent so oh thank you let me just say your English is much better than my Greek so we're fine I'm sorry I was I I am still very nervous I'm not doing this every day so I'm trying my best thank you so very much so do you see my screen now yeah yes yeah perfect um [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] index foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] interpolitan social Festival is foreign [Music] [Music] demonstrated by locals [Music] well that is that's just a a beautiful beautiful video and uh it shows uh some of the really wonderful uh shares some of the really wonderful imagery not only of the activities you do but of the the place itself and there's that I'm just as you scroll through the the website here um you know I'm looking at I'm watching looking at people dancing uh at an ancient theater uh people doing cooking lessons people attending concerts and really just people being together uh in in very ordinary ways and extraordinarily I think we could say that that the ordinary is really what people are hungry for now when when we come to to travel when we want to experience uh culture it has to be at the level of the ordinary otherwise it's it's it's not real right it has to be it has to be authentic it has to be shared in that Spirit of friendship so exactly as I told you I could make a local community make them part of the dream and make them dream of themselves within the community that's all about nostrology by locals activate the community are you still seeing the website yeah still seeing the website and you're here right now on this theater now I didn't I actually haven't haven't uh had a chance to to visit that yet but you said earlier that that Mrs Lungi was founded in the 15th century I think uh when when Folks by fishermen uh escaping Pirates perhaps a little bit like Venice and uh but I I know that there's an acropolis at the top of the city as well so there there has to be and as we're looking here there's a much more ancient city as well can you tell us a little bit about that this is the ancient city of lebrona lebrona and we see here the theater uh it's located a few kilometers away from masolongi and it used to be a very important ancient city uh or Homer says that lebrona sent ships to the Trojan War so it was it was a very important Harbor in the ancient years wow yes and this is also part of the experience you can have a you can have a tour with a guide so that's all about the the website well thank you uh Antonis and it's really it's such a a beautiful initiative that you guys have and uh it's I I I can't highly recommend it enough uh to to come and to cook uh to sing or to dance uh to get out on the Lagoon to to spend time uh in a Pilates in a traditional boat these are the question I have a question for you Jesse and and uh also for our guest uh so this is just a really interesting way to go and visit a place and I think it seems like now that the pandemic is sort of winding down this is exactly what we've all been talking about like how do we transform tourism from sort of a um parasitic thing to a symbiotic uh sort of situation I'm just curious uh if people are trout if you guys know other organizations elsewhere in Greece or elsewhere in Europe that have a similar mission [Music] she said well that's I'm just I'm just thinking I don't um I actually that's it's not it's not fair to say that I don't uh I have to I was just I was thinking immediately of Greece and um what what I found in Greece is that where this doesn't exist that locals are often willing to Simply share their lives with you so that's something that we're trying to incorporate uh in the in the trip that we have uh but actually I remember actually I shared there there is a really wonderful organization uh very similar to Mr Olympia by locals in um oh in Puglia um near it's where where they have the uh the goodie phone name uh it's just gonna take I have to maybe I have to run and ask somebody I can't remember the the name of this wonderful town uh just it will come back to me it's it's the town like the the name of a of of a fine bottle of wine anyway um there there's a wonderful Museum there uh which has a beautiful collection from uh ancient I guess in that area they're not Etruscan uh and they're not Greek uh I can't I apologize uh because I can't even remember the the name of the engine people so I'm and for our guest actually for Antonio do you happen to know of any other organizations that do something similar to what you're doing well not as an organization I know that there are there there are few uh teams that they do similar with us but not the same young people are activated Sarah they are activating in order to um you know to make something better to to make a quality of life it's not about money it's not about a business thing it's about cultural heritage and living a better life yeah and you know I think this is a very interesting topic because I've seen this elsewhere I've seen this in Sicily and a few other places in Italy and in different ways maybe not as organized as yours I think what you're doing is really interesting because it's sort of a package and you've got all the different experiences but you know so many of these young people that maybe 10 years ago would have moved to London or something to get a better paying job they're staying or they're going abroad and then coming home and they're trying to figure out ways to promote their destination in a new and unique way I mean I think we've seen the explosion of Food Tours we've seen the explosion of websites like localers that do these little experiences or Airbnb experiences it's just it's a cool thing but I love what you guys are doing in particular because you know Airbnb experiences that's a big conglomerate you know and this is really something that's driven by the local population and what they want right correct but this is a total diff totally different experience because you live like like a local uh you know um just say yesterday said that when he visited mythology and we were invited him in our houses or tweet something he felt like he was meeting his family members of his family and this is part of our identity you said about the Greeks and the Italians so this is what we said but don't forget that Greeks used to have the god of hospitality Jews so it's very important for us to make you feel like home and I had the problem with my external disc but it looks like it's okay now if I may share some images of the Lagoon and the experiences that someone might have here may I yeah please do okay so I'm sharing my screen again that's a short clip of the traditional boat in the lagoon we see the historical church of Aya triava it's it's not playing yet um Antonis pardon it's not not playing yet no sorry I didn't get that sorry Jesse I was just saying that it hasn't it hasn't started playing yet I thought I thought now uh not yet not yet um okay it looks like it says my screen how about now oh yeah we're on yeah all right okay so I was saying this is the traditional code taking the tour in the eclipse of a lagoon I will also show you the previous video so you can have a different point of view is it on yeah yes okay so I will pause to show you a couple of things the city of mesolongi is on the left we can't see right now what we see here is zeros Mountain on the other side of the horse we can find the Acropolis of the pleurona the ancient city and on the right size the side is Patra so this is the traditional boat taking the tour in the lagoon approaching the the little the very small island of the historical church and this tool it can be from one hour to you know one hour and 10 minutes depends on the on the weather depending on the weather my God I forgot my English what happened to me I'm so nervous and I was just we're looking at that video I was I mean two things one one of the lovely things is that I think because the Lagoon is it's quite shallow that you can even if it's fairly windy uh you could get out on the Lagoon almost every day uh because you know Greece is a country of a fairly regular wins but it's just such a peaceful experience to have and you really capture that with that video this is the ionian sea and here you can see the traditional houses the the fisherman houses the the video uh is there is not playing yet at the moment it's not playing yeah I I posed it okay so so I can show you oh it's not I'm just looking at a uh a folder with uh that contains oh why what am I doing wrong I'll try one more time sorry about this no no no sorry guys I'm sorry no that's okay we'll with the the they they may be uh simply uh images that we have to wait to see until we we come to visit ourselves uh but you definitely beautiful a beautiful Taste of the of of of what what waits for us well actually alexandros is here with me and he is willing to help us because he is more of the technology guy so let's say hello to alexandros you have to share screen again Alex he's a little bit shy okay my preview Sarah has left the building okay am I sharing my screen just said no it's uh it's still you're sharing your agreement it's not going to the video it's just keeping us within the folder uh with all of the images Nicole but they can't say he sees the folder but not the image but if you what if you uh minimize the folders if that works here minimize the folder yeah just on the the top there because it may it may be uh in Zoom behind the folder the the video yes but now I can't see it okay no stop share Alex said yes sir scream again yes okay Alexander from the rescue how about now oh now we we see it here oh good okay thank you Alex stay with me please in case of emergency okay so this is the traditional boat okay so here we can see the traditional fisherman houses on the left and on the right so as we're as we're looking at this Antoine just tell us how how because I think this gives us an idea of how the fishing works there and it's quite unique to mesolungi but maybe you could talk about the the process of the waters coming in and out and um because we're not actually going out with fishing rods typically are they it's a it's a fishing Farm what we see here it's a fishing Farm they they let the fish come in from the ionian pelagos they closed the gates at the entrance of the Lagoon and they and the fishes are staying here that's right it's so it's you say fishing Farm but it's actually they're not uh farm-raised fish they're they're wild fish they come into the Lagoon and then the you have the the Lagoon is kind of structured we can sort of see it here a little bit like a massive Lobster Pot uh so that depending on the shifting of the tide uh the fish come in and they'll make their way into this little corner of the the so-called Lobster Pot uh and then it's there uh that the fisherman catches them uh in you know just very small Nets well not with uh with Nets actually it's a natural fish traps they create fish traps so they catch the fishes they don't fit them they feed themselves from from the Lagoon that's that's the reason why they taste so good because we don't use um you know we don't feed them with artificial products it's all natural and it's all happening within these borders foreign like this one for example right in this uh this uh quite large body of water the Lagoon it's it's on average it's only about uh two or three feet deep if I'm not mistaken well if two or three feet is one and a half meters my okay one and a half yeah right yeah yep exactly well Anton I can't thank you enough for for sharing those uh images with us and for for sharing your your vision of of elevating tourism in mesolung I can't wait to to come and visit you uh at um what will be the very beginning of May and I look forward to getting out on that Lagoon in one of those boats and eating some of that delicious fisherman cooked fish I would love to do the same actually and I think that what you're doing is really interesting uh and let's really cross our fingers and hope that this is a really interesting way for for people to go forward with tourism because I think we all agree that something needs to change and we want to change it for the better and I think you've got that Vision uh and it's really helpful I mean I hope other places can kind of take your leave we hope that we have already made the change yeah we are the chains so all I can say is uh thank you for having us and uh I can't wait for you to come to Metrology so I can start teaching you quick exactly the next time that we talk we will speak in Greek yeah yes yeah very good well thank you so much for joining us today and thank you uh Jesse for uh this wonderful idea I think this has been a topic I've been wanting to explore for quite a while uh not just sustainable tourism but what does tourism look like now that the pandemic is over because I think a lot of us are especially in our industry Jesse and I very much agree that we need to be the change and figure out a way to make tourism something that's beneficial to the communities that it affects so we really appreciate uh your your dream here it's a great idea um so Jesse do you want to tell our audience what tomorrow is going to bring us oh uh yeah tomorrow uh Maria and I will be cooking a couple of simple uh Greek recipes that we learned while while living uh in the Philippines thank you all right so as a little bit of Greek cooking here on Cucina quarantina tomorrow on Wednesday uh so we'll see you guys again uh tomorrow so thanks for joining us thank you guys thank you everybody bye-bye bye-bye

2022-10-14 10:28

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