Heading Northwards to Thessaloniki.

On the 11th August, we woke early to make the long 92 NM journey up to Platamonos, mid way to Thessaloniki. You might not think that is long but at an average of 5.5 knots an hour, it is long! We left our little peaceful but smoke filled bay of Ayia Kiraki at 6:45 am, and ended up motoring most of the way, there being little wind to propel us forward, and finally arrived at 8pm.!

We had deliberated saving 50 euros being the cost of the mooring by anchoring off, but after such a long day and not being inclined to cook on board or pump up the dingy and go ashore we bit the bullet, and OMG are we glad we did. As within 30 minutes, the skies darkened and a 50 knot squall hit us square on, had we been on anchor we might well have ended up on the reef, so all in all it was the best 50 euros we have spent all holiday!

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When there was a break in the rain we dashed into the tiny popular resort to grab a healthy meal… hahaha! It was also the cheapest meal we had out since arriving in Greece.

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After a surprisingly peaceful night we woke to blue skies for the first time in days, and went exploring!

Platamonos

According to Wikipedia, Platamonas is one of the most famous summer destinations in the area with many hotels, taverns, restaurants and beach bars. The tourists mainly come from nearby cities and towns or from other countries, mainly from Eastern Europe. They weren’t wrong, you could certainly tell who the occupants of the cars were just by the cars themselves, smart range rovers etc were either Bulgarians or Romanians, knackered old fiats, Greek! All in all, it was a bit quirky and a far cry from the white washed, blue shuttered towns normally associated with Greece!

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After our wander, we set off again the 55NM to Thessaloniki, and actually had some wind to sail at least part of it. We arrived at 5:30 in the afternoon and then motored around the 3 “marinas” that lay next to each to see a) which took our fancy for the next few days and b) had any life, such as a marinello to tell us where to moor! HAHAHA, absolutely no one around in person or on the VHF, so we headed into what looked the best option, Aretsou, found a spot and slowly backed Seaclusion up to the quay, close enough for David to step off the boat onto the quay and secure our stern lines, thankfully there was little wind at this stage!

Introducing our “lovely”, deserted marina, Arestou! Still it was safe and secure provided water and power, and enabled us to leave the boat overnight whilst we hired a car to explore inland a bit! That night we ate on board and during our meal, a Greek came up to us gesticulating in his limited English, problem, problem, and telling us to move to a different mooring, it seemed that of all the empty spaces, we had picked the wrong one! well that is what we think he was saying, fortunately there was a couple walking past who spoke English and advised us that he worked for the marina and our mooring had only one bow line, so we had to move to one with two, so we politely but firmly told him we were fine and that we would move in the morning, we then continued our relaxing dinner!

And watch a beautiful sunset, in clear skies.

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Aretsou!

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The following morning, we did however awake to a fright…

Please God, don’t let this fire get out of control. However with a large town one side, the airport the other, thankfully it was soon put out!

We then spent the day giving Seaclusion a much needed clean and searching for a reasonably priced hire car, not really appreciating that we were at the start of the Greek 2 week summer break and hire cars were like rocking horse sh1t! With quotes of 150 euros a day coming in, we were beginning to think it might not happen, until finally we had some luck and managed to book a choice Fiat Panda for a couple days without it breaking the bank!

So that evening, we set off into Thessaloniki city to tour around. Thessaloniki, or Salonika as it is still known to many, is the 2nd largest city in Greece, founded in 315BC. For 400 years it was ruled over by the Ottomans. In 1917 there was a great fire which changed the face of the city, destroying mosques, synagogues and churches amongst many other buildings, home and businesses!. Nowadays it is a lively cultural hub, bustling and likable with parts of the Acropolis walls dating from the 2nd century in very much a part of the old quarter.

So off we headed, to the old quarter, to soak up the atmosphere, take some piccies of course and have a bite to eat!

Thessaloniki Old Quarter

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To soak up the evening bustle of people, we hadn’t been to a large city in what feels like years, we stopped for a cocktail…

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when a food craving hit us both, and guess what….

With full bellies, we then made our way back to our deserted marina and Seaclusion, for a good nights sleep, ready for our next chapter, the Monasteries of Meteora!

14th August 2021