Leigh Fermor describes the unexpected hospitality and kindness encountered in the Mani after having been warned that his throat would more likely be slit.

I found this description of meals appearing quite magical, as if ravens were waiting on you. I was also surprised to find a photo that almost captured it.  Having heard many intriguing tales of corvine complexity and intelligence, this somehow is more believable.

‘Meals appear as though laid at one’s elbow by ravens.’

Source: Patrick Leigh Fermor, Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese, introduction by Michael Gorra, New York: New York Review of Books, 2006 (1958), p. 33

Photo credit: Oldiefan at pixabay.com