As many of you by now are aware, the fruits of spring did not arrive in a way we were expecting this year. It felt like everything that we were working to avoid came together at once and happened, with some devastating results.

We made the decision not to open this year and had the horrible task of having to break this news to our amazing customers, who had put their faith in us to make their holiday. We would love to take this opportunity to thank you all again for supporting and believing in our vision and our project, but more than that, for your support, kindness and encouragement that you have given us during this process. You cannot believe how wonderful it has been to have the kind of support we have received!

It has taken some time to recover from the shellshock and come to terms with the new reality that we are faced with. During this time we have done our best to come together as a family, take stock of where we are, and re-evaluate what we are working towards and how we want to achieve it.

Spring also brought surprising and wonderful news of a new family member: Alexi and Madeleine found out that they will be having a baby! This news has helped soften the blow of everything that has happened and given us new strength to make a success of all that we are working towards.

With so many things happening all at once, we brought work on site to a standstill as we sorted through our complications. However, with the coming of the beautiful summer weather, work has now resumed. Not at the same pace as before, however it all moves forward. It is more hands-on, we have time to make the right decisions and to be at the focus point of all the work and the decisions that are made.

We are very excited about this!! We love being hands-on and making sure that the project is going to have the finishing that we can manage and that we want for our project.

So as we have been putting things back together and in the right place, preparing and setting up our lives, our business and for a new child, we have been making sure that everything is overlooked and overseen by us, if not done completely by us, slowly and with love.

We have all become a jack of all trades, from carpentry to plumbing to gardening and accounting. Every day we do it all. We still do however take the time to explore the island and find all its hidden secrets and joys.

Our biggest success has been opening our beach – Karavopana beach! It’s peaceful, quiet and comfortable and you can often find me having a short afternoon nap or a swim in the heat of the day at this idyllic spot.

We welcome anyone on the island to come and say hi, and to join us for a swim and a suntan 🙂

Alexi spends much of his day slowly erecting the tents, 5 of which are now up and standing on site! He is pleased with his hard work, the skills he is learning and the way in which they shape the landscape.

Madeleine spends her time in the garden with the trees and vegetables, watering,weeding and growing our now endless supply of summer veggies.

We have also had many friends and family come to visit and to help us around the property, building us chicken huts, cooking us dinners, and doing gruling heavy labour.

Although things have not gone to plan, we remain positive and look forward to spending the next few months bringing life into the world and into our campsite, and enjoying life to the fullest as we go.