The beautiful Karapanou House is a large three story house, nestled away on private grounds near the port of Aegina and only minutes walk from the sea. For those of you like myself who love to see the sea, there is a sea view from almost every room in the house.

Inside Karapanou House there is a feeling of peacefulness and serenity with its white walls, high ceilings, wooden floors and wooden staircases with angel pictures. On the ground floor are the kitchen, sitting room and some of the bedrooms. The sitting room has a beautiful balcony which overlooks the gardens and the sea, and has a piano for the musically inclined. The bedrooms are simple and rustic with crisp white sheets. All the bedrooms on the ground and first floor have sea views and a number of them have balconies. The rest of the bedrooms are situated just off the garden area. The emphasis in Karapanou House is on living simply for the week. Bedrooms and bathrooms are shared (there are two single bedrooms).

The dining area is outside - a long wooden table shaded by a leafy tree and again overlooking the sea. This is where breakfast and lunch are served and it is a time to relax and eat delicious food in like minded company. There are two yoga areas, one inside the house and one outside. The yoga room is situated at the top of the house, a beautiful white walled, wooden floored room with sea views and balconies. The outdoor yoga area is a circular area at the top of the hill, two minutes walk from the house, again overlooking the sea.

Finally there are beautiful shaded gardens where you can take your book and read, or sit and chat with new found friends. The beach is a few minutes walk from the house and has loungers, sun umbrellas and a beach bar. If, however, you want a quieter spot, there are many little unspoilt inlets where you can swim in clear blue water.

Karapanou House is situated just outside Aegina town. It is a 25 minute walk and a five minute bus/taxi journey from the town. There is also the option of renting bicycles, motorbikes and cars in the town.

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In the 19th century, when Greece was under Turkish occupation, George Voulganis was shipwrecked off the coast of Aegina island. He immediately fell in love with the island and bought the land on which Karapanou House now stands. He built a house and a mill and took up residence on the island. Karapanou House itself was built by his son, Dimitris, who was later to become Prime Minister of Greece.

The Karapanou House has been in Christina Horafa's family for seven generations. Christina's great grandmother died in the 1960s and the house was left unoccupied for 30 years, until Christina inherited it. She and her family spent three years carefully restoring the house and it finally opened as a Centre in 1995. It was the first Centre of its kind in Greece and many of the therapies and workshops popular in Greece, got their first airing in Karapanou House.