For a land-dweller, the sea is a permanent desire. I mean, for me, I forget that I have to talk about myself to make sure I'm not wrong. The desire to go to the sea, to see the sea is permanently in my heart and the harder it is to get near a sea, the more ardent the desire.
When the sea surrounds an island, that's the most I can hope for. I have had the good fortune and joy of spending quite a few days of my life on an island in Greece. Whenever I end up on the island of Thassos, I stay in Limenaria, the second largest town. Some call it a village but compared to what a village means in Romania, Limenaria is a small town. A town with the sea in front and the mountain behind.
I have written many times about Thassos and Limenaria. Most of the time describing the beauty of the sea and the countless beaches, smaller or bigger. Now I want to ignore the sea and what most tourists do and tell about the town, take a walk around the town and the non-touristic places.
The first thing we saw, which is not a tourist attraction, on the contrary, is a ruined house located next to the small hotel where we always stay.
For me, however, this dilapidated building is an attraction, I am attracted by houses that are deteriorating, old houses, abandoned or not, which, beyond their state of decay, show something of their former beauty. It's about old age and death, it's not something that attracts but it's something that can still show that they meant something in the past.
It was an imposing building and I wonder why it was abandoned. I should have asked our hosts, I can't imagine why I didn't.
We decided to leave the sea to the others and went for a walk around the city. Our hotel is on the edge of town, right next to the pine forest and quite far from the sea.
Usually, our walks started in the forest but this time we bypassed the abandoned building and headed towards the city. The first object that caught our attention was something that I think was once a fountain or spring. Now it's gone, but I like the contrast of colors and the head from which the water probably flowed.
Not only do I live in a city, Bucharest, far from any big sea, but this one is on the plain, there are no bumps and that's why I long for cities that have sloping streets. Limenaria is such a town.
I so love the vegetation growing everywhere. The Mediterranean climate means that too, lush vegetation growing and taking up even the smallest space, like cracks in paving stones or walls.
These stairs are for me a big attraction and it is something specific to Greece, I think. The lack of space makes these places included in people's homes, they seem to be commonplace and life happens in plain sight, among passers-by. A table where they can have their morning coffee and sit and talk.
It is not only a place of passage that connects neighbors but it is also a place embellished with everything accessible, i.e. plants and colors.
This was a street with steps. A wider one.
I've seen some narrower ones.
I think about how much I would have enjoyed playing if I had grown up here. Now just the walk has taken me further into the non-touristic part. I'm interested in what the town looks like behind the main streets full of shops and restaurants...
But the sea cannot be ignored in such a city. Because all the streets going down lead to the sea.
In recent years, holidays at the sea have meant only walks, because I gave up going to the beach for health and medical reasons. Beach no, but walking yes. Now it's been a walk down memory lane, in anticipation of this year's trips. If we are lucky!
For #WednesdayWalk by 