From Pines of Xylokastro

Dark pines crowd the Xylokastro shoreline, their branches parting just enough to reveal a narrow band of pale gulf and distant lavender hills.

Out past the deep shade of the pines, the light feels heavy and warm. The dark green gives way to sun-baked earth and low stone walls, then opens to a pale sea and distant, lavender hills. Look at the way the needles catch the light—just quick, broken touches of paint. But the stone and the distant roofs are calmer, laid down in smoother strokes, with little ridges of thick paint where the sun hits brightest. The light is so clear. It leaves these cool, slate-colored shadows pooling beneath the trees. Beyond them, the gulf opens wide, and the warmth of the afternoon settles slowly into the ground.