2020-03-01_Wanderlust

wanderlust.co.uk March 2020 33

INTERVIEW EXPLORE

themtoishoutplasticdebris,

whichthenthengets[upcycled].

I’malsotryingtopromote

advancementintheaviation

industry,whichnowaccounts

for2%ofcarbonemissions.It’s

aboutputtingpressureonthe

airlinestoreducetheirsingle-

useplastic,touseadierent

fuel–there’sanewfuelwhich

reducescarbonemissionsby

60%–andIthinkpeoplewould

behappytofactorthatinifthey

knewthegooditwasdoing.

Whatwerethehighlightsof

theGreekislands?

Thebeautyofitiscompletely

surprising.Ifocusedontrees,

especiallytheolivegrove,with

thesetwoamazingboyswho

hadtakenovertheirfamily

businessandturneditfrom

beingamassproducerofolive

beeninvadedmanytimesover

theyears,bytheItaliansandthe

Turkish.Iwassurprisedbythe

impactoftheItaliansbecauseit

waslikebeinginVenice.The

beachesofCretearebeautiful

andtheinteriorhasthese

enormousvalleyswherethey

groweverything.

Andthenyougosomewhere

likeSantoriniwhere,inthelate

1960s,therewasnoelectricity,

andithasnowbecomethis

luxurydestination.Wedon’t

wantanywheretosuerfrom

overtourismandalotofthe

Greekislandsarelooking

towardsSantoriniandthinking,

“Wedon’twantthat.Howcanwe

makethismoresustainable?”

Issustainabilityimportant?

Yes.Iplanttreesforcarbon

osetting.Ialsotryinallofmy

storiestocovergreenissuesand

raiseawarenesslikeIdidin

Santorini,wheretourismhas

aknock-oneectonplastic

pollution.Imetthismanwho

runsthischaritycalledEnaleia.

TheishingindustryinGreece

hasbeendecimatedby

overishingandalotofthe

ishermanaren’tawareofthe

plasticproblemsothey’re

pickinguptheplasticintheir

netsandthenjustchuckingit

backoverboard.Hischaritypays

JULIA

BRADBURY

TheperipateticTVpresenter’snewseries,TheGreekIslandswithJuliaBradbury,seesher

returningtoherroots–shetalksolivetrees,plasticpollutionandoff-the-beatentrailwalks

Gotowww.wanderlust.co.uk/204

Readthefullinterviewonline

Tapin into Gece heritage with...

How did The Greek Islands

series come about?

It came about with me sitting at

my kitchen counter thinking

about my Greek roots and the

more than 40,000 words in the

English language whose

etymology is Greek. I wanted to

do a series that explored it a bit,

and I thought it was time that

my mum had a bit of the action

on TV because my Dad’s got all

the glory for the walks.

What was it like returning to

your Greek roots?

Me and my mum end up on the

isle of Chios, which is where my

grandparents are from originally,

although they emigrated to

Wales. Chios is the world’s

exporter of Mastiha, which

derives from the mastic tree. The

people of Chios harvest the resin

and they turn it into just about

everything... coee, biscuits

or you can just lick it from

a spoon. Everyone is somehow

involved in the trade, even the

old yayas (grandmothers) who

sit around these little wooden

tables, sifting through the irst

harvest, talking and singing. It

was a really magical experience.

Did anything surprise you?

Well, irst of all, the contrast of all

the dierent islands. Corfu has

oiltoabespokespecialist

producerofthiswonderfulolive

oilthatyoudrink–ratherthan

drizzleonyourtomatoes.

Iinterviewedthemup

a1,500-year-oldolivetree.

Whatwasthewalkinglike?

Creteisamazingfor

walking.Theyhaveahike

throughoneofthelongest

gorgesinEurope,whereyou’re

walkinginthefootstepsofthe

Minoans.AndIdidsome

walkinginCorfuinalittlevillage

calledOldPerithia.Ifanyone

wantstodohikinginSantorini,

there’saguideontheisland

calledNikowho’sincredible,

andthereareamazingtrails

withigandfenneltrees.

Ifyouhadtochooseone

placetogobacktowhich

woulditbe?

Thereareover6,000Greek

islandsandIwanttogoand

exploresomeofthelittle

unspoiltones,butifIhadtopick

one,itwouldbebackupthe

treewithmyoliveoilboys.

Not Venice

Julia was

surprised

by Corfu

The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury

is available on ITV Player now.

Julia Bradbury