Aftonbladet-Söndag, 7-8 Sept 2008 (Sweden)
Här lever Maria som i filmen "Mamma Mia" (Maria lives the "Mamma Mia" - life.)
by Robert Andersson (text)
and Nikos Vardakastanis (photo)

" [...] Dionysis had his own family property with olive groves on Zakynthos island but grew up in Athens. He came back to stay on the island in the beginning of the 1980´s and he made a living on picking olives and other jobs here and there. When Maria decided to stay they needed to increase their income.
–I left my studies in philosophy and literature at Stockholm University but was thinking to continue studying “on distance” later on. But then we built our first summerhouse to rent, says Maria.
To say they were pioneers is no exaggeration.
–When we started there was only one telephone in our village. It was 1985 and tourism had just started to develop here on the island. There was no community water system or waste management and we had no car then, says Maria and reminds us that it is different now with phone, fax and internet.
But their marketing concept, to put classified ads in newspapers and magazines in Sweden, Germany and England, worked well, and slowly they started to build more houses. Today they can host 40 guests and in one of the buildings you will find the reception and a library.
–We have no plans to build more houses. This is just the right size for us and our guests. [...] "

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