The “Milia Mountain Retreat”, near Vlatos south of Kissamos, is billed as an ecological resort, a refuge where those who find that West Crete is not quiet enough for them can retire to meditate, practise yoga and commune with nature. Nestled in a fold in the hills above Topolia it is a restored 16th century village consisting of half a dozen stone cottages, a reception area and a restaurant. It is fairly difficult of access, partly because the most direct route from the main road is currently impassable owing to the much delayed and extended roadworks for the Topolia bypass. An alternative route, fortunately well signed, takes one off the main road at Vlatos, up past Vlatos Jazz and along a series of winding and finally untarmacked roads to a somewhat limited parking area, from where a track descends among the trees to the village.

The retreat
The retreat was established 30 years ago by two Vlatos landowners, Iakovos Tsounarakis and Giorgos Makrakis, who had the idea of bringing the abandoned village back to life as a resort built on ecological principles and affording visitors a sustainable and environmentally friendly way of life. The project, carried out amid much headscratching by their fellow villagers who were convinced that they had taken leave of their senses, took 12 years to complete. The original layout of the village and the buildings were retained, materials were reused or obtained locally as far as possible, and when the resort opened in 1993 it was intended to be supplied solely with food grown or raised on the property itself or nearby.

A few years later the project acquired a partner from Athens who brought some new ideas and since then there have been many improvements to the amenities, including the installation of solar panels for electricity and the construction of a new, larger restaurant in the year 2000. As listed on the resort’s website it is run on the following principles:
– Self-sufficiency in energy through solar panels for electricity and wood for heating and hot water.
– Production of organic foods and animal products from Milia’s agricultural holding, to cover the major part of its needs.
– Systemic natural composting of organic materials, including the fallen leaves from the trees which surround the area.
– Biological waste management.
– Water supply from natural springs to the rooms, the restaurant and the farm.
– Minimal electricity consumption and lighting in the rooms, no electrical appliances/air conditioning.
– Minimal food waste in the Milia food chain.
– Natural reafforestation of the area with minimisation of uncontrolled grazing.

The restaurant
If some of the above sounds a little austere to travellers who are fond of their creature comforts, in the restaurant they will find a large and welcoming space with a predominance of stone and old wood, which offers a sophisticated update on traditional Cretan dishes, albeit at a price somewhat above the average. Unusually it also offers some luxurious desserts, including ice-cream made with fresh milk from the resort’s goats. At our visit on Boxing Day it was crowded with diners who had clearly found the longish drive from the VOAK and the unsurfaced roads worth the effort. Although it was full the service was reasonably swift and efficient. Opening hours are: autumn and winter 13:00-20:00 , summer 13:00-21:00.

Arbutus jam
The restaurant also contains a small shop which sells locally produced items including olive oil, wine and jams from fruit grown on the estate. In the past we have bought prickly pear jam there; an unusual item this time was jam made from the fruits of the arbutus or strawberry trees which line the track down from the car park to the village. The freshly fallen fruit littering the ground confirmed that they were in season.

The arbutus is a tree with a long history which is found all around the Mediterranean basin. Growing usually 4 to 7 metres tall, it develops multiple non-straight trunks with red flaking bark, has glossy evergreen leaves and clusters of scented, bell-like white or yellow flowers and edible red berries – characteristics which make it a popular ornamental plant. Fruit development is delayed, so that flowers appear while the previous year’s fruit are ripening. The wood is quite hard and well suited for a various uses such as firewood and making pipes; since it does not usually grow straight, it is not suited for construction or similar uses. The tree is also salt-resistant, enabling it to grow in areas close to the sea, and fire-resistant, regrowing readily after a fire.

Arbutus distribution
The most common species, arbutus unedo, occurs naturally in eastern, central and western Mediterranean countries, and parts of North Africa. It was introduced into northern Europe in the 16^th century and became a feature of English gardens in the 18th century. It also occurs naturally in isolated parts of western Ireland – a prehistoric relic from the Atlantic Period, when the Earth was warmer and sea levels reached 3 metres above their present ones. Arbutus unedo was one of the many species described by Carl Linnaeus – the “father of modern taxonomy”- in his landmark work Species Plantarum, giving it the name it still bears today.

Its habitat and dramatic appearance made it notable in Antiquity, when it was was known as andrachne – the Ancient Greek name for the wild strawberry. There are various references by classical authors: the philosopher Theophrastus mentioned that its hard wood was used for making spinning spindles, while it appeared in the De Materia Medica of Dioscorides. The name unedo is attributed to Pliny the Elder, who is claimed to have said “unum tantum edo“, meaning “I eat only one”. History does not relate whether this was because the fruit was so sweet that he could only eat one or that it was so uninteresting that he felt disinclined to try another.

Cultural uses
The arbutus has been adopted as a symbol in a number of different contexts. During the unification of Italy in the 19^th century it came to be considered one of the country’s national symbols since its colours (green for the leaves, white for the flowers and red for the berries) are reminiscent of the Italian flag.

In Spain, where it is called the madroño, it appears on the coat of arms of the Spanish capital Madrid, which depicts a bear climbing an arbutus tree. While the bear is an obvious reference to an animal which used to be found in large numbers near the city, the presence of the arbutus remains unexplained and it is possible that it was confused with another tree, also with red fruits, which was endemic to the area. There is no link with the city’s name, which in one interpretation is said to come from the Arabic word ma^yra or water channel, a reference to the city’s abundant underground streams. However, the arms have existed in various forms since the 13th century, and the city council has recently reinforced the notion that the tree is a madroño by planting arbutus trees in several public parks.

A related species, the arbutus menziesii, or Pacific madrone, commonly called madrona, is a bigger North American tree of similar characteristics growing from 10 to 30 metres high. It is found along the Pacific coast, from California up to southern British Columbia. “Arbutus” and “Madrona” are commonly found as names of streets and businesses, to our knowledge, in the communities of southern Vancouver Island. The wood has a warm reddish colour which has made it fashionable for flooring, while it is also used as firewood, as it burns hotter and longer than oak. The native Americans used the fruit and the bark for various medical and decorative purposes. However, the Saanich tribe of southern Vancouver Island have a prohibition against burning arbutus: in their creation myths an arbutus saved the tribe by anchoring their canoes to the world during the great deluge, in a story which bears many points of resemblance with that of Noah’s Ark.

The arbutus fruit
Both the fruit and leaves of the arbutus are rich in anti-oxidants, and the leaves have been used in the past for a variety of medicinal purposes, being held to have astringent, antiseptic and tonic properties. The fruit of arbutus unedo is a red berry up to 20 mm in diameter with a rough surface said to resemble a strawberry, hence the tree’s name. It contains a high proportion of sugars and anti-oxidant vitamins, and while it can be be eaten raw it spoils quickly and is more commonly used for making jams, yogurts and distilled spirits such as the Portuguese medronho and Albanian raki kocimarje. The fruit of the related arbutus andrachne or Greek strawberry tree are said to cause intoxication if consumed in large quantities.

The fruit in the jam sold at Milia is undoubtedly that of the arbutus unedo, called koumaro in Greek (the tree is a koumaria). The jam is bright orange in colour and very sweet, with a mild, indeterminate flavour – the taste of arbutus has been likened to a cross between a guava and a nectarine, or perhaps a lychee. It also has a gritty consistency because of the seeds it contains.