A day with Ekaterina Rybolovleva
Spent by:
Argyri Katopodi – Grapsa
Vivianna Vardi – Karagianni
A day with Ekaterina Rybolovleva. A day with the new “Muse of Scorpio”, as the Paris Match magazine wrote, and here we would add, the new “Legend of Scorpios”.
The plan was for her, first to visit the KDAP MEA (Center for creative activity for children with special needs). She wanted to be informed about the actions of the center as she had asked her guests instead giving her gifts to offer donations for causes that primarily focus on children. We arrived early at the Centre as we were anxious of how we should deal with a woman who is in the centre of attention of media around the world.
There she was, she arrived on time, discreetly, without anyone escorting her, without any preparation. Simple and friendly, without a trace of makeup and with a beautiful smile. She didn’t speak a lot but she was so gentle with everyone. Our anxiety on how to manage such a meeting disappeared straight away. Ekaterina has become a friend of us already. The main interest she had at that moment was to meet the children at the centre and get informed about its activities.
Ekaterina wants the money that will be raised from her guests to be donated to specific causes that relate to the children and of course to her new place, Lefkada. She was informed about the serious work done by the center that takes care about 35 people aged from 5-50 years old and suffer immense deficiencies. She wanted to see this in person. She was taken to a room where a 10-minute presentation was made for the activities of KDAP-MEA, from Angelos Vonitsanos and the deputy mayor, Zoi Skiadas. She learned about their join various activities with the help of the centre’s specialists. Clearly troubled, immediately after the presentation, she said how moved she was by all she had seen. She emphasized that she has decided to donate the money from her birthday gifts and appointed her associates so as to be in contact with the people at the center.
But the most touching moment was when she was given a gift for her birthday from the children of the center. A gift that they had made by themselves. It was a painting that was made just for her. The painting was mainly made by Christos.K. She asked to meet him and deeply touched, she thanked him for his efforts, while he showed her with his own unique way how beautiful she is.
“Not everyone is as lucky as I am and it is very important to me to remember those who are less fortunate”, – says Ekaterina.
Than she adds: “I was so impressed today. With this boy Christos, who offered me a fantastic painting. I was highly impressed. It is an organisation that is local to the island and in whose mission I very strongly believe. My studies in Psychology at Harvard help me to theoretically understand the difficulties but in reality I can only imagine the true challenges. That is why I want to do something with children’s psychology.”
The meeting at KDAP MEA finished and we begun our short trip to Skorpios island, the island – myth where we were honored to be hosted. And Ekaterina proved to be an excellent hostess. Our presence there wasn’t random and it wasn’t by chance that she accepted to speak and spend few hours with us. She wanted this meeting in order to mark her respect for the region and its residents, so as the rest of Greece would meet Ekaterina Rybolovleva through a local newspaper.
It was the first time we were in this earthly paradise, the island that has been a symbol for decades now, and is a point of reference for every visitor to the region. The island that continues to mold myths, the island that has revived. And this time the star is a slender girl, with whom the more you know her you can understand why this myth really can create unique stories. We arrived at the main port of the island. Being a polite host she stepped forward to lead us, to the garden in front of the legendary pink villa whose resident used to be Jackie Kennedy. Simply but stylishly dressed, she wanted from the first moment to make us feel comfortable. We were looking around in order to see the new buildings we have heard about had been constructed and we could not see anything except for the care of the gardens and the renovation of the houses. She soon realized our thoughts and said: “The beauty of this island is its Nature. I want to maintain it this way. I understand the deep connection between the island and the Onassis family. The family history and that of this island will always be intertwined and whatever we do will fully respect and appreciate that legacy”.
We walked around the buildings. She was feeling very comfortable moving around showing us her favorite paths of the island. She was very happy to listen our comments of admiration of an island that its new owners have respected so much. Throughout our visit there are many people were involved working around. Ekaterina was very friendly and smiling to every worker and associates, providing the necessary instructions for things that had to be done. She was holding during all this period of time the painting that Christos from the KDAP center painted for her, showing it proudly to everyone and being anxious to find the proper place whe would place it. She decided to hang it on the wall of the pink villa. We want to learn as much as possible about the girl who very fast without any effort has gained our hearts. “More time I spend in Scorpios, more I come to fall deeply in love with the island, the surrounding area, and amazing people of Lefkas. I said already that I believe that Scorpios and the entire Lefkada are among the most beautiful places I have visited in the world. I so much enjoy and treasure every day that I am fortunate enough to be able to spend here. And that’s very important to say – from day one, the people in Lefkada have made us feel like home here. They are very hospitable and warm, confirming the reputation of Greeks all over the world as fun loving and friendly sunny people “, – she said in fluent English.
All those hours we were together, we managed to visit every corner of Skorpios. We tried to visualize all those images that we had from various magazines and descriptions from people of the island of Onassis. Everything around us was in order. Two gardeners were taking care of the areas around the locked church where are the tombs of the Onassis family. A little further more workers were involved to restore various places that were degraded over time. The view of Meganissi and the Ionian is unique. The Scorpios small beaches are clean and looked after very well.
We thanked her for this unique hospitality. We wished all the best for her birthday and we made her feel like being one of us. She smiled and she told us how important for her was visiting KDAP-MEA and her meeting with young Christos. We discretely left from Skorpios and returned to Lefkada.
Following our visit we believe that still this island is a myth and it will continue to preserve it.
