The Island of Thassos

Once again we find ourselves having to apologise for the delay in posting this, time just ran away, and we are actually back home!

So back to the 5th September, it was now time to explore the island of Thassos, we have to say that this round lump of marble has been one of the most enchanting, beautiful and enjoyable chapter of our trip!

The island is separated from the mainland by a shallow sea, that can really kick up with northerly winds, as we saw, safely from land! Its prosperity in ancient times was from Thasian gold mines, other minerals, marble and black wine. Now it is based on its natural beauty, sandy beaches, pine-clad hills, and running streams that attract the tourists!

Our first stop, on our way back from our ferry trip was the seaside town of Skala Prinos, where the ferry docked, not much to write home about except the peaceful little beach, (once the ferry had departed!), then up into the hills and the town of Kastro.

Skala Prinos

• 

• 

Kastro

Kastro is the oldest village on the island, named after the ruins of an existing castle, whose wall was constructed in 1403. During the last few years, its houses are being renovated by owners and used as cottages. In the village there is the church of Saint Athanasios which was built in 1804, in 40 days by the respective permission of the Sultan. For its construction the whole village had provided assistance and they used stones from the wall of the castle.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After our wander around we stopped at the only taverna for a spot of “lamb in the oven” and carafa of vino, lovely, before heading back to Seaclusion for the evening.

• 

• 

• 

The following morning, with the Meltimi winds now in full swing, we jumped into our little Nissan Micra again and headed east, inland and up the hill to another ancient village, Theologos. In the distant past, the mountain villages of Thassos were established, developed and existed independently of one another since communication between them was almost impossible. Due to the lack of any organised road network or any other infrastructure, it took days to travel from one village to another, either by mule or on foot along footpaths, mountain trails and often goat tracks.

Theologos

At an altitude of 220m sits this country-style hilly village with its population of 800 people whose main vocation is tourism in the summer and agriculture and kettle-breeding in the winter. It dates back to 1287, evident from its narrow alleys paved with slabs and wonky buildings, perfect for a coffee stop!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We then headed back down the road, being the only way to go, to the southern coast, in search for a place called Giola, a natural rocky pool, the height of the rocks reaching up to 8m from where the swimmers can dive into the clear waters. These aerial photos do it better justice than ours!

Giola

• 

• 

After a bit of a hike down down to this pool of water, we found it really was a popular attraction, even on a day when the winds were causing the surf to roll in! It was inundated with people either brave enough to stand on the edge and be washed in by the waves, or jump 8m’s into the water. Not for us, hahaha!!!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The views across the coastline were however fantastic!

• 

• 

A few miles on was the Archangel Michael Monastery, built in 1287 on a cliff above the sea surface with a view of the Aegean Sea and Athos (Agio Oros) and is actually a nunnery!

Archangel Michael Monastery

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

From there we headed to the bay of Alikes, its wonderful double headed beach and tiny archaeological site for lunch, and to check it out as one of the few places along this coast to stop the night on anchor.

Alikes

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After wonderfully fresh calamari and salad, we jumped back into our Micra and headed along the east coast, taking in the views along the coast, and the surf that was piling into the beaches, red flags for no swimming were a certainty today! we were glad we were on land!

• 

• 

We then headed inland again to the tiny picturesque mountainous village of Panagia, which was the capital of the island during the Greek Revolution in 1821 after the residents were forced to evacuate the coast and to hide from the pirates.

Panagia is densely populated with narrow stone alleys and quirky homes, which we happily wandered through, making our way up to the church and its beautifully cared for graveyard.

Panagia

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Next stop, while we circumvented the island was the capital and administration centre of the whole island, Thassos Town, otherwise known as Limenas, which flourished in ancient time and is now an architectural pot pouri of old and new, including 2 harbours, one old, one new. With a population of 3000, relying on tourism, agriculture, fishing and marble extraction for nearby quarries. It also has the ruins of the agora, with an ancient theatre and acropolis that overlook the town.

Thassos Town (Limenas)

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We didn’t stop there long, just enough to be blown around the town by the northerlies that were hitting the town full on, and have a beer in the old harbour before heading back south. We would have liked to walk up the very steep path to the Agora, but weren’t sure we would have made it in those winds! seriously blustery winds that were hitting the town full on!

We finally headed back to Seaclusion just in time to watch the shenanigans happening in the harbour as boats seeking a safe haven for the night tried to moor in the blustery winds, in particular one yacht whose skipper couldn’t have known what he was doing, or should I say his anchorman.. who after they had tied their stern to the quay, was meant to take up the slack on the anchor chain, but kept pulling it up until the anchor was back in its sailing position, on the bow, not helped by the fact that the anchor clearly hadn’t held when they dropped it. In a panic they dropped both their stern lines so had nothing they could motor against to keep them from broadsiding the quay, which they dutifully did, squashing a number of small day boats in the process and sticking their anchor into the side of another yacht, hmmm, me thinks their insurance company won’t be happy!

We then settled down to watch a beautiful sunset fall into night with Limenaria’s “Castle” lit up beautifully

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The following and final day with the car, we headed westward this time and back up into the hills, to the final mountain village of Kazaviti.

Kazaviti is perhaps the most beautiful and the quaintest mountainous village of the island, certainly the oldest having been established in 400BC It is divided into Mikro and Megalo Kazaviti (little & large!!), with narrow paved alleys and very little access for cars, except the old square with its traditional tavernas and coffee houses.

Mikro & Megalo Kazaviti

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

And that brought our journey around the island by car to a close. Having driven on every road there was to be driven on, we took the opportunity with the car to stock up on the heavy items like water that we needed for the boat, and headed back to chill out for the rest of the afternoon!

The next morning we woke to no wind, but very grey skies and rain that lasted 2 days, and so we stayed on board, doing some of the inside jobs we would have to do before putting Seaclusion to bed for the winter, until finally on the 10th September we woke to clear blue skies, and aimed to set sail once again that morning. But before leaving Limenaria, we did, without the wind and rain to stop us, have time to take a proper wander, camera in hand of course! Once upon a time a little fishing village with a tiny harbour, it is now a little more touristy with its new harbour, and wonderful beach.

Limenaria

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We then set sail, slowly heading for Seaclusion’s winter stop, Porto Lagos on the mainland, but not before spending 2 peaceful nights and one not so peaceful on anchor, in the small bay of Alikes on the south east corner of the island, then tucked inside the tiny island of Kinyra on the east coast, and in a turquoise cove called “Paradise Cove” off Skala Potamias, which would have been wonderful but for the swell rolling in, hey ho!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Before departing we however had to see if we could drop our anchor off the reputable white sands of “Marble beach”, only accessible by jeep, or boat! We did find it, and could quite see why people flocked there, with its white sands, and beach bar playing chilled out music, but hadn’t realised it was quite so close to where commercial boats obviously collected the powdered marble that was quarried close by, and so the water was rather rank, funnily enough we didn’t stay, but found a gorgeous bay a little further on with turquoise waters and next to no people. It wasn’t to be an overnight stop however because of the swell, well not one that would have provided a good night’s sleep, so we only stopped for an hour to so before setting sail again for the mainland, a day earlier than intended, and to our final chapter for this year!

• 

• 

• 

• 

13th September 2021