Where did the mules go?
Routes that needed bodies to usher goods.
Before the modern era of easy travel on paved roads, goods were moved over high dangerous mountain passes, lonely routes and rough trails by men and mules or large donkeys of extraordinary courage and character. They carried not only goods of course, but also spread news and knowledge of other lands and peoples who were a world away. Commodities would make their way upon the backs of these humble animals; from the damp and mystical valleys, entire arteries of pathways and routes ferried the merchandise to distant landscapes.
Hence, basic commodities in the mountain villages of Greece had never been taken for granted due to the long journeys required to carry them and mules were a favored mode of transportation in some far flung villages of North Greece, for instance in Kalarites (Tzoumerka).
Mr Kotas (one of the last surviving muleteers in our country and one of the last standard bearers of an age that is rapidly disappearing), a languid hard man of Vlach genes, who on a daily basis takes the same paths tourists are now hiking, while his mules are typically loaded with an array of everyday goods to transport. How strange it must be for him to see all of his sacrifices and the horse routes themselves to disappear as paved roads replace the need for brave men and sturdy mules?
Different hooves, same pathways though.
Many of the best trails for mountain hiking in Greece were stomped in by centuries of donkey and mule shoes - often the most imperative to trade and travel -, nowadays, these sections tend to be the most meticulously cut and better maintained.
If you happen to be visiting Greece nowadays, you will see little traffic of the occasional local traveling by donkeys, or shepherds herding sheep and goats on the surrounding hillsides. However, while journeying through the villages, you‘ll get to experience locals watching you curiously from their doorways, greeting you with a sole “geia sas”. And each time you ‘ll wave and echo their greetings, exchanging kindness for kindness - the best you can.
So, please do celebrate the days of these little discoveries, nomadic routes, ancient horse roads and miles of mule-cut trails, and all these precious little remains of any legendary pathways – by raising a toast in gratitude to their long-last hooves!
There is a thread of melancholy, saddness, tenderness and pride at a life well lived that comes through this retired mule.