Why do those who love the sea live in the mountains or where far from the sea? Why do those who love mountains live at sea? I'm wondering why?
Everything that is at hand, everything that can be easily acquired, everything that is always with us. All this ends up becoming dull, becoming a habit. Everything that is far away, that is hard to acquire, hard to have becomes a desire and an obsession.
My obsession is the sea and life on an island. The idea of being surrounded by water, isolated, to live on an island not too big but big enough to sometimes not see the sea. It seems to me the supreme arrogance in life. An arrogance I can't afford!
All I can afford is to spend a week a year on an island. The island of Thassos in the Aegean Sea. A Greek island!
Thasos or Tasos (Greek: Θάσος) is an island in Greece located in the northern basin of the Aegean Sea (Thracian Sea), 8 km away from the southern coast of Thrace. Its area is 398 km2, being the twelfth largest in Greece and the northernmost of the islands of the Greek archipelago.
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Aegean Sea! What a wonderful name, it seems from the beginning of time. From the time of ancient Greece, this cradle of civilization that offered so much to our world. The Aegean Sea seen by the Greeks, by an absolutely fabulous rock band called Aphrodite's Child...
Aegean Sea! What a wonderful name, it seems from the beginning of time. From the time of ancient Greece, this cradle of civilization that offered so much to our world. The Aegean Sea seen by the Greeks, by an absolutely fabulous rock band called Aphrodite's Child.
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Yes, this is where two huge musicians left and conquered the world, Vangelis Papathanassiou and Demis Roussos!
After this brief introduction to my island (of course, it's not mine but I like to call it that) I have to tell you what I love, why I love and what this land offers between the waters. Thassos Island!
The end of summer means the beginning of the adventure for me. The adventure in Thassos. I don't go early because in the middle of summer the heat is deadly and the crowds leave you breathless. I found that September is the best month to go to Thassos.
I drive from home to the gate to the island almost 800 km by car. I am crossing Bulgaria and I still have almost 150 km to travel through Greece.
I live in Bucharest, Romania. Fortunately, only 60 km from the border with Bulgaria. I like Bulgaria, it is a beautiful country that I have disregarded for a long time, due to the poor information and education from the communist period that tried to inoculate us with the idea that our country is the most wonderful in the area. I apologize to my Bulgarian neighbors! I will write about my trips to Bulgaria on another occasion, now I have to focus on Greece and Thassos.
I consider the gateway to Thassos the small port of Keramoti, from where I board the ferry. The place where I leave mainland Greece and head to island Greece. To Thassos, the so-called emerald island.
Looking back at the continent I just left.
Looking forward to the long-awaited island.
Thassos is a mountainous island. Mountain in the middle and dozens of small and large beaches along the coast.
Emerald Island. On the road between Limenas, where the ferry landed and Limenaria, our destination, I saw the sea water and I understood why it is called that. Emerald Island!
There are two cities on the island. Limenas, the largest and capital of the island, and Limenaria, the place we go every year. In half an hour by car we reach Limenaria.
Limenaria, the second city on the island, has nothing spectacular. Small hotels, old houses, narrow streets. It is not a rich city and no resort sought by tourists. It is an ordinary seaside town. That's what I like the most. I like to integrate into the normal life of the inhabitants, even if I know only a few Greek words. I want to live a few days as the Greeks have lived here for hundreds of years.
Limenaria is more of a village. A larger village that has more facilities for tourists. A locality that rises in May and dies at the end of October. The fate of most tourist cities that live only with the help of tourists. This is Limenaria!...
Of course, it is eaten very well in Limenaria. Only those who are not very pretentious and do not want a four-star service. Because in taverns they eat the same food that every Greek eats in his house.
The freshest food, food made from seafood. Food and taste that you can't find elsewhere. Fresh out of the Aegean waters. Octopus ...
Everything cooked almost under our eyes by the women of the tavern owner's family. Mediterranean food, considered one of the healthiest foods in the world. Vegetables, cheeses, olive oil and seafood. Very fresh and tasty. Of course red wine too!
Other posts will follow about the food, because there is a lot to tell.
Beyond the food, here is the paradise of those who love the sea and sailing, boating and looking for small and hidden beaches in small bays often inaccessible from land. Lots of boats can be rented for these activities.
The sea, the beach are the great attractions. Even if for me they are not in the first place, they are wonderful and you can't find them anywhere else. Complete kilometers of beach where you can sit in the sun or take a bath. Free from any constraints.
This is my island! It still has a thousand parts and places not shown here. I am forced to make more posts to show as many of these places where I feel so good. Where I feel that I am approaching well-being and contentment. Almost happiness! This is my island.
David Gilmour also has an island of his own. He celebrates it differently. His immense talent allows him to sing it. Let's just listen to the beauty ...
September has not yet come but it is approaching. I still don't know if this year we will be able to go, as usual, to Thassos. The evolution of the covid-19 pandemic is unpredictable and will probably prevent me from enjoying the sea once again. Probably a lost year. This series of blogs about the island of Thassos in Greece will be the little joy I can afford now.
