| | Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 | |
| |
Author | Message |
---|
delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Mon Jul 07, 2014 7:28 am | |
| Thomson have started to do their E tickets via email, that one now have to print off, also you can now check in online to do just a bag drop on the morning, not much advantage to us, as we always arrive early at Gatwick anyway and don't normally have to queue but interested to see how it worked in Greece coming home lol so Sunday Day 1, With little sleep (I think an hour) we departed at 2.30 for Gatwick ready for the 4.00am check in / bag drop. To us, the bag drop counter looked the same as the old check in but now had bag drop over the counter, those that didn't book in on line were directed elsewhere but clearly there weren't many passengers that hadn't adoped the new system. We didn't have to wait long but as far as I could see, not much benefit for using my printer ink as opposed to theirs lol, as we still had to show the passport, e-tickets scanned and weigh the bags. After a bacon roll and a coffee at 4.30am for £4.95 cheapest, the gate was called at 5.00am and the long walk around Gatwick. At the gate, I couldn't see the Thomson plane but soon they started calling seat numbers from the back of the plane, and people queued for what seemed ages, and as it was finally our turn, it became clear why. Passports had to be shown again, printed boarding passes printed off by people scanned and with no perforation on it, they had to be ripped in half and they kept half of it. This made the plane late by 25 minutes However, the pilot told us the flight time was 2 hours 45 minutes, so it wasn't too bad and we were underway after coffee and tea at £2.60 and £2.50 and a little kip, we were flying over Sofia at just a quarter to nine, the same position I had tracked the plane the week before at 9.05 we could see Kavala and the plane positioned itself to land And after landing the plane taxied very near the building and we just walked in for passport checks The carousel hadn't started but Mrs Db joined a queue for the WC and by the time she was out, I had to queue in the men's lol, however, on my exit I saw Mrs Db struggling to get our cases off the carousel as our cases came out first , so now outside the rep holding a Thomson banner, Mrs and Mrs Delboy, coach D said the rep, just across the road. with our bags taken from us by the driver we were first on the coach at 9.36am lol However, we had to wait for the other passengers and at 10.01am we were underway to the Keramoti harbour anyway the rep did her talk, as to what to expect, "you can leave you luggage on the coach but take anything valuable with you on the ferry", "when we get there", she said,"wait on the coach and I will check which ferry we are on" At just 10.18 am we had our first glimpse of the ferry and the rep got off the coach after a minute she was back on board the coach, "today we are on the red ferry, just board the ferry and go up the side stairs on deck, your luggage is locked on he coach which goes on the ferry with you, you are in coach D and watch out for the coach on the left hand side" Now didn't I tell you this holiday would be different, last year it was the blue and white ferry lol I talked Mrs Db into going outside for the Dolphin watch, whilst I had a look around the boat There was a higher deck but she wasn't going to go up there, not really the crows nest is it lol Anyway, whilst the ferry was loading I decided to get a beer, Mrs Db only wanted water to keep a sharp eye out for Dolphins (not seen by us last year), so I queued up in the air conditioned lounge for the beer, a place Mrs Db would have preferred before I got my beer and Mrs Db's water, the engines of the boat vibrated and we were underway 2.50€'s for the beer and a litre of water is not robbery on a ferry is it The sun was shining and this year the seagulls were feeding, was that his finger the seagull got "I'd like a go at that", said the dog a ferry passes us going back and a passenger shows two bread sticks to the boat lol got it this time lol "Welcome back to Thassos Delboy, follow me, I'll show you the way", is what he my have said, but looking more closely, he does look a bit grumpy and could be thinking, "back again just like the rest of you " lol in all this excitement, Thassos was fast approaching and Mrs Db hadn't spotted any dolphins for us, you just can't get the staff these days lol and the view of Thassos town fast approached us Ferry ramp coming down and at 11.14am UK time, we had docked but remember Greek time is two hours on, but for the process of this journey, I'll stick to Uk time one of the harbours there so everybody off our coach D was the first to get off fairly simple procedure really Then it's back on the same coach but this is where we find out that coach D is really for Thassos Town with and an overspill from coach C which was going to Golden beach direct so here we are at the Thesis hotel the Eden and around the town again as the roads are blocked with traffic to the Hotel Lido Then around the town again for the third time to a village place lol before we could set off for Golden Beach and the Korina making it 30 minutes longer for us than coach C So here we are at our hotel the Anastasia ############################################################## I'll do a seperate review for the hotel and will link it in later ############################################################## So after a bit of unpacking, it was down to the Cava Doro resto for a bit of lunch, the owner greeted us back and gave us two beers on the house The menu had changed a bit and we couldn't get gyros's at lunchtime anymore so now in Greek time we got a lunch at 3.30pm a burger and chips 5€'s and a greek salad 6 €'s to share between the two of us and then just had a wanderer down to the end of the beach to see how thing were Then after a cup of tea on the balcony, it was time to get ready for the evening We were both very tired, so the thought was somewhere local and not too far, so we chose to go to Playa Doro but they had an electrical cut and it would be another 30 minutes or more before they could start cooking, so we walked along to Finikas Someone suggest that I should try the fish in Thassos, as it was so nice and making this holiday different I chose sea bass Mrs Db chose Baltimore Chicken but the waitress said the fish would take a little long but wasn's sure how it would come or whether they would have to go out to catch it or defrost it, no it would be lovely, oh it's still got a head and tail but also had a side dish of potatos and carrots and other things, it was very nice but I do like my steaks, but fish is much healthier Mrs Db's Baltimore Chicken was in a mushroom sauce and she said it was very nice a litre of their house red was 6.50€'s Afterwards these people are so generous they give you a free pudding to share, oh I nearly started eating that chocolate cake before photographing it, well it was a long day lol Then they give you a free shot of ouzo each, so i have to drink Mrs Db's as well lol, the evening was nice a cool and air conditioning wasn't needed but another busy day tomorrow More to come just saving photos (the photos are chopped off at the right Daryn).............?
Last edited by delboy on Fri Aug 01, 2014 8:30 am; edited 1 time in total |
| | | 4thforum
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:52 pm | |
| Looks lovely. My kind of place, chilled out. How long was the ferry ride? ( Repped) |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:36 pm | |
| Monday Day 2 I awoke early to find the sun just coming up around 6am (4am uk time), so just snapped a picture but the sun is behind the tree from our balcony but I think i got up for breakfast at a more reasonable hour but the balcony was hot lol The hotel owners would cook a breakfast for you for 6€'s but we just made our own, we couldn't do with a fry up as well as the other stuff. At 9am there was a knock on the door, the owner's father had brought Mrs Db a cucumber from his garden so after breakfast it was down to the beach now Mrs Db was going to read her Kindle, whilst I was eyeing up to whether I could climb the mountain from it's lower end I only had beach sandals on but was going to have a sortie up the mountainside to see if it were possible lol Having gone last year to Blue Bay Hotel which is near the end of the resort, I needed to get above that hotel so picked the higher road to Blue Bay Hotel, the hotel in the distance but found another road going up before it to cut a long story a bit shorter lol, I came to a dead end with me looking at a pathway going up that a goat might use, well I took a chance in sandals and ended up scrambling to the top of another road that a car was on lol so looking down, we will discard that route next time and find the road lol so following the road up a bit with the harbour down below I find a pathway going up even higher, now we are in business but I haven't documented it as it was a route I wouldn't recommend to the goats at this time however, i trudged up the pathway for a long spell, reserving some water and just having small sips A the top the pathway divided and i took the pathway to the left towards Golden beach which continued to rise I was begining to get stunning views of Golden beach The further i climbed but the top of the mountain was always just out of my reach I only had sandals on and water was now limited but I have the whole holiday to discover these places and it was time to go down as I got down to the road at the bottom, I met a guy who had come off a quad bike, he told me, the road dipped and something went wrong with the braking, he thought he was going over the side of the mountain and leaped off, grazing both of his legs, the bike obviously went into the side of the mountain rather than going over the end. His friend took over the quad with the owners towing it down whilst the injured guy rode the other bike down. He was ok but a bit shocked and very lucky I followed the road down to find the better route for next time lol back to Mrs Db, I was quite excited of my find and looking forward for a better crack at it tomorrow so lunchtime was just above the beach, which had provided free sunbeds provided we ate there we went for the offers, I had a club sandwich with 118 chips and a large beer for 7€'s Mrs Db went for the burger and chips with a large beer for 6€'s the afternoon was spent on the beach followed by a cool drink on the balcony this evening we would try the Enavlion our favourite restaurant, slightly dearer than the other restaurants but has the works, napkins, tableclothes and quality The bread and dips comes as a small cover charge of 2.60 we start with pancakes between us The house red is 9.80 a litre and i got the blame of Mrs Db's red face for forcing her up on deck without suntan lotion Mrs Db had the chicken mastic 11.30€'s I had the beef stamna then it was a free creamy pudding each on the house a nice evening with a coffee on the balcony to finish off the day |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:34 pm | |
| roughly 35/40 mins Dermot |
| | | Daryn Admin
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:52 pm | |
| nice start to your review Del bet all them memories are flooding back repped _________________ |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:25 pm | |
| Tuesday Day 3 Another nice morning and I was still keen to get to the top of the mountain, i noticed a pathway going right above the route I took yesterday and was using the camera to try and locate it This time I was more prepared, I had my trainers, a bumbag with my phone, wipes, money for a taxi/or drink, camera and a larger ltr bottle of water. But first of all I went down to the beach with Mrs Db and had a cold frappe before the climb lol so off i go passed the Vigli's restaurant this time, i'm taking the proper road which runs around the coast to start with passed these group of hotels and on passed another hotel with an elevated swimming pool staying on the higher road here this is the road around the island and at this point it has become a dirt track lol, buses would have to go over the mountains at Panagia to get to Thassos town but "hi Delboy, is this the way to marble beach" ?, well looking at your map your going in the right direction anyway, they roared off and I continued my walk passed this castle looking building just beyond it was the road that takes me up the mountain Just checking Mrs Db is ok before I go higher lol so we have now found the pathway up which any walker could do and not the goat path I scrabbled up yesterday lol so we need to get to the top of this pathway and this time take the path on the right which continues to go up soon i was climbing high and down below was the coastal road in the distance along here was probably my best chance of reaching the top but annoyingly gorse bushes were in the way so I continued along the pathway, eventually going around the headland, where a peninsular jutted out with what could be a goat farm on it and beyond a nice looking cove with a secluded beach difficult to get depth of field with the camera picking up plant life as the focus but trying hard lol now could I make Marble Beach, much talked about on forums lol at this point I met a couple called Mike and Sue who were as surprised to see me, as I was them, "how far is Marble Beach and can I get to it from here", I asked. Well Mike showed me his map and said there use to be a way down further along but had been blocked off with marble. We said our goodbyes and I carried on passing the said block so i continued along the path which I think are really fire breaks should a forest fire start eventually I came to the marble quarry, where they cut out the marble from the mountain, it does leave a bit of a scar once cut but money rules everything I did look for a way down but would actually go into the quarry if I followed it down which is not allowed, 'health and safety' lol The views beyond were nice but I was coming to halfway with my water / and energy and it was a long walk back, no taxi's up here lol but Delboy was thinking about that pathway blocked with a stone, perhaps it's just to stop quad bikes I can squeeze though that lol so down I go and just around the bend They are cutting the walkway away with a crane, oh my bit that I'm standing on might be next, better move back up lol so it was the long walk back to Mrs Db, oh there's a big ship in the harbour at Potamia something else to find out about back at Mrs Db's I had reached my limits today and a cold bottle of water went down well Just healthy salads today plus a large beer of course 2 hours 50 minutes that's walk not bad for someone who had only walked to the barber's for exercise a week before so an afternoon on the beach, now who owns that boat, it even has parasols and chairs floating in the water at the back soon it was evening and England were playing their last World Cup match, we had a flat screen tele in our room which picked up only BBC world news and Football with Greek commentary, something to watch whilst we were getting changed but after 18 minutes the satelite moved and we ended up with a pretty picture and saved us getting involved with a 0-0 draw plenty of bars / restos showing it outside and in the bar downstairs tonight we picked Vigli's for our meal a dip of crushed olives with the bread I had the chateaubriand for one, very nice it was too lol Mrs Db had the rib steak but quite a lot of bone but the meat was nice I don't have the price of the house red but it wasn't expensive around 8€'s per litre I would guess but no resto charged us more than 9.90€'s and the cheapest was only 6€'s another lovely evening and you get a small liqueor to finish |
| | | Mark Majorca Mad
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:09 pm | |
| Great stuff Del, you never disappoint |
| | | theboss Girl Power Member
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:33 am | |
| Yes . . great to read . . How do you remember what you did and what you ate every single day . . do you keep a diary or type it on a laptop? |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:53 am | |
| Wednesday Day 4 It was going to be an easy day today, as I dont want to over do the walking and get an injury lol but quite important as new ideas come to light after walking to Potamia to find out who owns the yacht. So firstly it was down to the beach before setting off to Potamia harbour passing the Alexandra Golden which is next door to our place, apparently a large beer is 6€'s in there, only 3€'s in ours lol I always go over the stepping stones when Mrs Db is not here look Mrs Db there are no crocs lol Then down this road which really connects Skala Potamia to Golden Beach (which is also called Skala Panagia) we always take a torch with us in the evenings as there isn't much lighting, there isn't any danger but you can see what your treading in or on lol, it's not far about 4 mins walk the supermaket is just passed those two trees here's the supermarket there seems to be 3 roads running parallel along Potamia, the one at the beach with the restos, the middle one (which I am on) with lots of accommodation and the main one which the buses use anyway I'll get to the coast for the boat lol So here I am at the sea front and you can see the boat through the resto so now down to the harbour Last year's dodgem cars have gone lol so here I was trying to get photographs of the boat to pick up it's name and I spotted some faces I had seen before, "Do you know who owns the boat", I asked. "Glad you made it yesterday, did you get to Marble Bay?", came the reply, "No, time ran out" I replied, it was Mike and Sue that I had met on the ridge yesterday. "We thought you look like death when we saw you lol", well Mrs Db always thinks I look like that. "The Boat is owned by the Minister of Qatar, the rumour is Prince Charles and Camilla are aboard", said Mike, "Oh", I said, moving closer to the boat Well Camilla isn't sunbathing yet lol I said, "I might walk to Panagia tomorrow", "have you seen the Dragon's cave",said Mike,"we tried to look but only had our phones as lights, it's too dark unless you have a torch", "Oh I have a torch, I might try that", I bravely replied We said our goodbyes again and I headed back to Mrs Db with a new adventure for tomorrow oh, sex on the beach is cheap this year nice touch to his/her sunbeds, I wonder if Rodney has watered my flowers back home yet lol just loads of resto's down here, prices seem cheaper at this end, beers 2.5€'s are common, cocktail 5€'s too Then we have all the Shirley Valentine chairs again but I said I would repeat it all again but here I am doing it lol so I'll stop and get back to Mrs Db So at the Cava Doro resto, Mrs Db picks a tuna salad and I go for an omelete just the sort of food for us walkers but some omelete Over lunch I tell Mrs Db that the boat is owned by the Minister of Qatar and the rumour is Prince Charles and Camilla are on board. "I don't know how these rumours start", said Mrs Db, "nor do I", I replied. I'll ask the waiter, "Do you know who owns the boat" but he didn't know. One of the Customers then comes up, "I heard you asking about the boat, it's owned by the Minister of Qatar", "Oh that's what I have heard and I have heard from a very reliable source that Prince Charles and Camilla are aboard" lol the rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach, every beach masseur asked me if i wanted a massage "It had to be the walk from yesterday" The evening we are going to the Green Sea, quite well thought of resto on TA but gone is the English Bar the Aegean Sea owned by the Lancaster couple, as they have returned home and now just apartments we shared a starter of cheese balls which were really nice I had the Lamb Souvlaki but for me lacked some sort of sauce and not the best chips. Mrs Db had the chicken in a gipsy sauce and said hers was fine, so just a poor choice by me really a nice evening, now did I spot Charles and Camilla in that launch coming in for dinner lol
Last edited by delboy on Tue Jul 08, 2014 8:20 am; edited 5 times in total |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:54 am | |
| I have a photographic memory Boss but it's all on camera and not in my brain lol |
| | | beeech Lil 'ol wine drinker
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:03 am | |
| Db- I keep trying to follow this thread on my laptop- ( pics not the same looking on phone ) .. But it keeps just turning off randomly Looks fab - the bits I have seen ! |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:45 am | |
| Thursday Day 5 a strange mist rolled down the mountain as I prepared to head to Panagia to seek out this Dragon's Cave that nobody had talked about on the train trip. The Greeks always have myths and legends to their past, why is the cave beneath the bowels of Panagia not talked about?. Could it be that the dragon demanded a virgin sacrifice every month to leave the villager's in peace. Perhaps the Panagia myth of drinking the water from the Kissing fountain had something to do with the dragons death, as all the virgins had become pregnant. Now I'm not starting any rumours lol As Delboy packs his torch, water, camera and money in his bag and then sets off, the mist had now cleared. I found this pathway near the Marina Hotel to avoid walking on part of the main road This will be a testing walk for me, up hill all the way I met a couple part way along and asked if they new any paths to Panagia that would keep me away from the main road, "Well you do have to walk the main road for quite a way but listen out for running water and look out for a bright yellow bungalow and there is a path on the left to take to Panagia at this point, unfortunately I now had to join the main road but just turned back to recognise the entrance of that pathway back, ah down the side of the Aneton, i must remember that So now on the main road and every bungalow was some shade of yellow Listen for 'the sound of running water' to find the path was the first clue and sounding like a line from Indiana Jones looking for the Holy Grail lol Then I came to this corner, could this be the sound of running water ? I stopped and rested but couldn't see a bright yellow bungalow I carried on and could see Panagia high in the mountainside and further up the road and then suddenly on the left I could hear water rushing by my feet and then the bright yellow bungalow I had found the pathway to the dragon's cave, well that could have put neon lights on it lol follow the path of running water and ye shall get there lol after going up hill for an age, I finally reached a sign of decisions, do I go to Panagia first or the cave ? "are you going to the cave" a voice came from behind, It was a Germaan guy, "yes", I replied bravely "do you have a torch?",said the German "Yes I have a torch, up here torches are precious, do you want to join me " I replied So we journeyed on to the Dragon's Cave together and sounding more like another adventure by J J R Tolkien I didn't know my new companion's name, so I will call him Hans, as it's a short German name lol Finally we reach the entrance, no guides here to show the way lol This must be the entrance, it's not very big for the dragon is it Hans As i'm holding the torch I suppose I have to go in first............. well it's a £3 Tesco torch not a light sabre and there could be a dragon in there lol Well I had a bright torch but honestly the light just defracted, which mean't we could see very little but any dragon could see us suddenly there was a crack as my shoe trod on something, was it the bones of some unfortunate virgin?, phew shining the torch down it was just old sticks lol there are stalactites and mites in here and there was a small crevice in the rocks that I had to go through to check it out, I had rock against my back and rock on my stomach not the place to eat lunch on the other side, as I might not fit through coming back lol however it was a dead end we searched every avenue of the cave Then Hans declared some knowledge, there is supposed to be what you call flying mice, "Oh, bats you mean", as the torch went up on the ceiling, oh crikey, YES Hans said, he once lead a party in a cave but took the wrong route out, thanks for that Hans lol but I can see the way out but you can see the floor levels in this pic so you definitely need a torch to attempt this finally we made our way out I thanked Hans for his support and said I would buy him a pint, I have a car, he said, thinking we would drive up into Panagia but he drove me all the way down to Golden beach without seeing Panagia after walking 50 minutes up hill to see it But we had our pint before going back to Mrs Db Just to clarify a few points that I checked up afterwards, apparently the cave gets it's name from a dragon's face which appears in the rocks, the cave has never been fully explored and bits of pottery have been found in there from the bronze age. did we miss something, we going to need a bigger torch lol Today Mrs Db had decided to stay on the beach near our hotel, which are like sand dunes, it's just 5€'s for the parasol and sunbeds on this stretch as no restaurants run them nice white sand and only single rows of sunbeds, so not crowded we went to the Escape for lunch near the Marina hotel, one of the few doing 2.5€ large beers The beers with the menu came quickly but they didnt bother to come back to us So I took the menu to her lol toasted sandwiches with shared chips were fine so a nice afternoon relaxing on the beach This particular evening, we ate in the Playa D' Oro opposite the campsite I had the peppered steak, very nice Mrs Db had the chicken madeira So another end to a fun day |
| | | NannyJen Girl Power Member
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:23 pm | |
| A brilliant review, as usual, DB. I'm enjoying every minute of it - it just looks so relaxing there. Rep from me. |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:09 pm | |
| Friday Day 6 It was a cloudy morning but Mrs Db was happy on the beach, as I made the effort to walk to Panagia but this time I was bearing right and not to the dragon's cave lol The pathway is steep and goes on forever and up lol eventually one gets to the top so as a start, I thought I would walk up to the Kissing Fountain The water cascades down through the village of buildings with narrow pathways between a lot of the houses have nice views over the valley but seem to be able to keep the view private to them The myth is that if you drink the water from the fountain the women become pregnant or the get out clause is, you return to Thassos This bit I believe is the Kissing Fountain, but i'm sure the outlet pipes would work just as well lol This person goes the extra mile with the flowers and is a tourist attraction This picture has some significance to me, why, well 9.57 secs ago (lucky Usain it wasn't officially timed lol), I was 100 metres down the road, just walking by an opening in the trees, there I espied 4 large beehives grouped together in a circle around the edges. Well not being an expert of bees, I thought these look quite different, so I just moved in to the edge with the camera to focus it and the most vicious dog lunged out of this hive stretching it's lead as far as it would go, it had snaring teeth, these were obviously dog kennels lol, as I backed away, a second one came lunging out snarling and I ended up in the spot in this picture below, wondering whether the dogs would be after me trailing their kennels behind them. PS I wasn't going back for a better picture lol This place a street away, was making 90% raki and was said to have a guard dog, I think I may have found it, with it's mates lol anyway, shaken but not stirred I continued lol I have many pics of the place but it was time for me to go back for lunch I took the main road down which did seem longer than going up, it was a further 7 kilometres to Thassos Town but not walking that As I went down the road the whole mountainside was ringing with a thousand bells If I closed my eyes with some imagination, I could have been going down the Olympic Slalom course, COME ON DELBOY you can do it lol and not like the husky event I experienced 30mins earlier then it was back to Mrs Db sitting on the beach Lunchtime we went to Playa D' Oro We shared a hot cheese pie (4.50€'s) and a Greek salad, and the pie was to die for lol oh and a band turned up and played for a few cents Loads of butterflies on the dunes but few seem to land the rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach The evening was spent at the Krambousa in Potamia on a recommendatrion we had the potato, cheese and ham as a starter, oh Mrs Db I hadn't go a photo of that yet I had the burger with cheese inside Mrs Db had the Dionysus finishing with a free shared pudding as we walk back the places were buzzing another lovely day ending lol more to come saving photos |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 3:50 pm | |
| Saturday Day 7 Well Saturday was an easy day the waves got higher but not windy so it was just take the odd boat going by lol lunchtime was at Finikas, where Mrs Db had an omelette I had a jacket potato filled with different cheeses, good choice Gromit lol Then it was free watermelon to share, oh Mrs Db, how many times do I have to say, photo first, eat after Then the afternoon on the beach, do you think Delboy could get nearer that island ? lol tonight we are eating at the Flisvos, last night they had entertainment and it was packed as a starter, we shared stuffed mushrooms Mrs Db chose chicken sovoulaki, two screwers for 5.50€'s where as, I had all this mixed grill for 7.50€'s all very nice, the house wine was the dearest at 9.90€'s a litre, so a bit of swings and roundabouts and free watermelon to finish a nice atmosphere down here and a little walk through the Alexander Golden boutique on the way back another day gone |
| | | Daryn Admin
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:53 pm | |
| Brilliant mate I laughed at the name Hans hahahaha PMSL Seeing some great scenery shots on your photos thanks for sharing and repped. That boat/ship is amazing god knows how much that would be to buy, _________________ |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 8:56 pm | |
| Thanks for the reps everybody, I'll try and get a few more days done tomorrow
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2256170/Battle-mega-yachts-Roman-Abramovich-takes-Qatari-royal-billionaire-moor-enormous-private-ships-Caribbean-island-St-Barts.html |
| | | Mark Majorca Mad
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:57 pm | |
| Brilliant stuff Del a thoroughly enjoyable read, it's really like sharing your adventure with you. Plenty of reps from me |
| | | Mark Majorca Mad
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:06 pm | |
| Great link that Del. It had what the boat cost Daryn... but I forget what it was now... you'll have to read it yourself |
| | | chelseaboy
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:11 pm | |
| Excellent review can't wait for tommorows pictures it is like being there |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:09 am | |
| Sunday Day 8 Where did that week go ? Having spoken to Mike and Sue earlier in the week, they did tell me it was possible to walk to Marble Beach on the lower road, I mentioned that the mountain was wider at the bottom and would probably take longer, they said it would take around 1 hr 45 mins both ways to do it. They had such fantastic pictures of it, I had to do it lol So with a litre of water, money, phone and camera I was all set, Mrs Db made here way to the beach as it was another lovely day. As I passed Vigli's, as it was changeover day I noticed the bike shop had a full stock in no wasn't going to use one, I think it's an age thing but earlier in the weeks mishap has put me off lol At Vigli's being Sunday the fishmonger van had less fish on offer, earlier in the week it was full of all sorts anyway, I took the same route passed the castle looking place, as before so same views to begin with But at this point, instead of going up on the right I was going to continue on this lower road Buses don't come this way but the odd car can, also those quad bikes etc, to me it would be like travelling x miles down the worst driveway lol so here we are approaching Blue Bay, a cove beyond Golden beach which you could get to and did on last year's report but I continued along the road always having a peek over the edge at the scenery Last year I scambled around that bungalow at the bottom of the picture below lol Golden Beach now in the distance The road onwards was curving around to the next bay still quite high up and not a great road, now can I get around that with getting a bootie lol I was going to have to walk right around that peninsular with what I thought was a goat farm on it below the sea is nice blue colour ah, here's the goat farm and going down the side I get my first glimpse of that secluded bay but I kid you not a long long way down but at last I was getting there, I had to come off the main pathway to get down here, so would not be seen easily there is a small car park but here comes the bay just seems to be local people on the beach It has taken me 80 minutes to walk to it there are absolutely no facitities here, only what you carry with you a nice little bay at the back seemed to be an unfinished hotel or house. A later conversation with a local told me it was the dream of the lady multimillionaire and co owner of Swissair who at the age of 60, married a 23 year old Greek. The lady has since died and the Greek husband who is a millionaire has since remarried and has a family, the house remains unfinished for four years now but it's now time for me to move on a lot further down the road, I was approaching the quarry that stopped me getting down to Marble Beach The place was strange, as Micheal Barriemore would have said, "It's a white" This is apparently one of the most desired snow white marble and there were blocks of it lol At this time I wasn't sure if it was shipped out from here but found out later It was so bright, I couldn't even see what I was taking in the view box of the camera I walked on and came to a beach which had sand and a covering of marble dust, it had a few people on it, it couldn't be the marble beach could it? I spoke to a person on the beach, who turned out to be a Russian but we could understand one another, so I assumed it wasn't the well known Marble Beach that had been talked about, so I walked on but it was now appearing in view the sea looked nice a blue and the beach looked white It was packed with people It'a apparently very popular amongst the Eastern Europeans above it looked very attractive but the car park was packed with cars too so lets have a closer look, the back part is quite marbley and stoney The end of it is like mini rounded bits of marble obviously shaped by the sea The middle bit turns to white sand I can't say that it over excites me, there are no facilities here and I was hoping to change the rest of my warm water for a bottle of cold, no chance lol so it was now time to head back to Mrs Db with the best view of it above from a distance, it had taken me 1 hr 55 minutes to walk to it and I had the same journey to walk back Higher above, I recognised the blocks cut in the cliff face that I had photograph before, I had been that close to Marble Beach lol The Russians were having fun, cutting a ridge to let the puddle out but it was getting wider quick lol This guy had covered himself in white marble dust for a photo shoot lol Then it was the long walk back to Mrs Db and rationing my warm water to last lol It had taken me 3.31 minutes to do the walk with the small stops, so Mike and Sue were spot on, I drink the last bit of water and drank an ice cold bottle at the firat kiosk in Golden beach. Lunchtime, we when to Playa D' Doro and had another of their cheese pies with honey and sesame seeds and a salad, yummy and of course cold large beers The afternoon was on the beach, "massage sir?, you look like death" lol This evening we were going to The Captains We had eggplant stuffed with cheese, more like drowned, good choice Gromit lol I had chicken with bacon and cheese, good choice Gromit Mrs Db had Port fillet with bacon and cheese, it looks like mine lol They do do fish dishes as well lol oh there is no cheese cake for pudding lol, is Mrs Db looking a bit cheesed off ? Another nice day finishes and time for a coffee on the balcony |
| | | 4thforum
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Wed Jul 09, 2014 11:36 am | |
| Where did the water come from to make the puddles on the road and at the car park? Was there a mountain stream running down? |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:03 pm | |
| Monday Day 9 As Golden Beach doesn't have a sunset, I thought I would get up early and get a sunrise which was 6am Greek time (4am in the UK) George from the Anastasia was already there raking his piece of beach lol The place looks different this time of the morning everything is quiet and not a towel on the beach even the mountains glow orange oh another one of those butterflies on the dunes then after breakfast, a simple day on the the beach really followed by a pint in Finikas followed by a omelette for Mrs Db and as I have been starved of my cheese this holiday, had a jacket potato with a little cheese on top lol with free melon to finish, got this before Mrs Db dived in tomorrow we are going into Thasso Town, which is a bus ride and costs 2€'s each way, you have to buy your tickets at the supermarkets and both the big two sold them in Golden Beach, you buy two more tickets which act as returns as well I also booked the Enavlion resto for this evening as it was very popular then it was back to the beach Now evening at the Enavlion after the dips, we picked a shared starter of stuffed advocato Then hoping for a small meal, I went for the mountainous rib steak The marmalade and chutney sauce was delicious along with the steak Mrs Db had the chicken Souvlaki and you get given a free pudding each to finish with which seems to change nightly another lovely evening at our favorite resto another day gone
Last edited by delboy on Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:10 pm; edited 2 times in total |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:04 pm | |
| We had rain in the night but I think it may be from the mountain and works Dermo |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 Wed Jul 09, 2014 1:11 pm | |
| Tuesday Day 10 Today we are going to get the bus into Thassos Town, mainly to go to the Roman Amphitheatre. As said before you need to buy your tickets in the supermarket although some of the drivers may be kind and take your money. Tickets are 2€'s each and you buy a second ticket as a return, so 4 tickets for two of us We were going to the designated bus stop opposite the supermarket next to the Enavlion Resto which is here but were reassured by friends that the bus also stopped at the supermarket opposite the campsite, so that is where we got on, but wave the bus down, as there doesn't appear to be a marked bus stop there but it worked lol There are also various bus stops along the way to Skala Potamia including one at the Korina, once it reaches the end of Skala Potamia the bus heads for the village of Potamia itself in the mountainside in this photo The village is small with narrow streets not built for traffic and it takes a skilled driver to avoid scrapping the rooves but all in a days work for him but vans in the way have to move lol at the top of Potamia, there is a tourist sign for the mountain walk to ysapi, now I need to be fitter for that, so perhaps next year lol Then the bus goes on to Panagria before dropping down into Thassos town Most people get off the bus at the taxi rank, which is local to the town centre and old habour, where we alighted, the bus then goes on to the bus station which is at the other end of town where the ferry boats come in near the end of the harbour we had choices but our choice was to bear right to the theatre Then up the steeper road lol and finally the stairs leading to the theatre It was hot and stairs cunning went it waves and disappearing around a corner making you think that you are nearing the top but you weren't lol I think I have every stair photograghed but I think you can get the drift lol I could imagine Anthony saying to Cleopatra we are putting on the production of the Lion King tonight dear and her saying I'll wait till it comes to town lol finally at the top is a steep gravel path to climb at the top they are clearly rebuilding it and fitting new pieces of marble in It is said to be complete in December 2014 it's a strange feeling as surely the theatre wouldn't be completely Roman I can see the tourist attraction though, of concerts if they run an escalator up to the top lol It's a bit like our National Heritage, saying Stone Henge needs rebuilding anyway I have the shots as it was and will be intrigued as to how it will look finished for the next Olympics lol so lets have a look at the town from here we were jolly lucky at this point as the project manager said, will you please take your final photos please as we are going to start laser cutting so we had more luck than those just arriving climbing those stairs. How many steps are there, well Delboy started the count going down 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 It's awfully hot Delboy, "what did you say dear?" it's awfully hot, "yes it is Dear", now was that eleven steps I was up to, or nine lol and avoiding dementia moments like that I counted 134 lol so there is the date of finish So it was now around passed the harbour to the headland and Thassos beach more of a grit sand with lots of restos providing sunbeds but quite compact so for us it was pick any resto for a cool beer and a menu, we picked a pizza and tomato salad to shared and ate them in these cool surroundings Then we had a walk to the end of the peninsular until we could walk no further and it was a walk back passed the town beach, the otherside of the penisular may have a beach, as we saw a village resort with one on the drop off coach but can't comment on it so it was around the harbour and back to the Town passed a nice looking resto we must have picked the hottest day, as we walked though these bazaar shops we weren't actually buying anything but just getting a feel of the place and we eventually got back to the taxi rank and where the bus dropped us off Thassos Town is being redeveloped to bring the area up to date with walkways and roads being improved right down at the ferry port end, at this point Mrs Db had a cool drink and a rest whilst i had a look at the back of the town two Atm's together here, one where i'm standing and the other across the road Then it was a swift half for me lol must be autumn already here lol we then decided to walk to the ferry port, where we were far too early for the 4.30pm bus, so Mrs Db watched the ferries come in and that is how some of the marble gets taken across meanwhile delboy spots some more beaches at the far end all narrow beaches but grass banks behind one had a yachting club resto another I think had some accommodation behind it well that's a very brief visit to Thasso Town to really sum up the place now those hills are hiding something behind them and will need to go back to investigate that but for us this year it's the 4.30pm bus back to Golden Beach, you actually wait in a bus station or the resto next to it and the bus comes across from a garage area by the docks tonight we eat in Vigli's we had cheese pies shared as starter I had rib steak and Mrs Db had stifado their wine list another day over
Last edited by delboy on Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
| | | Sponsored content
| Subject: Re: Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 | |
| |
| | | | Greece, Island of Thassos, 2014 Part 1 | |
|
Page 1 of 2 | Go to page : 1, 2 | |
| Permissions in this forum: | You cannot reply to topics in this forum
| |
| |
| |