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See, Feel, Hear and Taste Halkidiki July 10, 2007

Contrary to heavily visited areas in Greece, Halkidiki is a calm, dreamy peninsula in northern Greece where art and nature become one. It is very close to Thessaloniki, the second largest Greek city. Mountain villages, fishing towns, archaeological sites and religious centers bear the traces of the country’s rich culture and heritage.

  One of Halkidiki’s three finger peninsulas, Mount Athos or Agion Oros in Greek, projecting into the sea is a religious center; the next is a natural wealth and the third a popular entertainment center with golf courses, nightclubs and casinos. The mountains’ green and the sea’s blue are enchanting.

But it’s time to visit Aristotle’s birthplace, in Halkidiki, Northern Greece. A week spent exploring small villages and Blue Flag beaches was enough to make me realize that Halkidiki’s beautiful peculiarity lies in it’s ability to offer everything a Greek island does while on the doorstep of Thessaloniki, if not more. Whatever your preference, Halkidiki will appeal to each of your senses.

My first stop was Aristotle’s monument in Stagira. It is a small village hidden about 50km from Mount Athos, the third of the peninsula’s ‘fingers’ and worth a visit. It remains unspoilt, it’s inhabitants mostly live off forestry and mining, and tourists who choose to wander off the beaten track find their way there. Although the Ministry of Culture has declared it a site of historical importance because of it’s chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary, most tourists don’t seem to have noticed. In it’s narrow streets woven through low stone houses you will find many traditional coffeehouses, with the locals recounting stories of the village’s rich history, and point you toward ruins from the Byzantine era.

The public transport network is good, and buses will take you to and from each of the peninsula’s fingers. Nevertheless, I chose the freedom of having my own car, I recommend this as there are many car rental services, and made my way down to Ouranoupolis, Mount Athos’ largest village, even though I knew my exploration of Athos would end there. Agion Oros, the Holy Mountain, is a short boat ride away, but its 20 monasteries have never allowed entrance to females. For men who would like to visit, information can be obtained from the Agion Oros offices in Thessaloniki tel 2310 252578.

I also got to tasting Mount Athos famous wine produced by the monks in the Tsantali Mount Athos vineyards. Of course, Ouranoupolis remains simply enchanting. Perhaps it is the tranquility of being a breath away from the center of Eastern Orthodox Monasticism. Or perhaps it is the dedication you will encounter in the pilgrims you will meet, or perhaps it is simply the stunning landscape that looks as though it has remained untouched by the rest of the world.

A must see is the quite imposing Prosforiou fortress which is the best preserved of its kind, even though it was destroyed in 1850. At the harbor I found small boats that took me to one of the five uninhabited Drenia islands where I swam in the clearest blue waters, and later in the day I took a boat to Ammouliani, a small island about five kilometers away, where tens of tourists and locals alike go snorkeling and diving. Alikes and Agios Georgios are only two of the many exquisite beaches, and although the island offers excellent hotels and camping for those who wish to stay overnight, I started making my way back to Ouranoupolis where accommodation caters for every taste and every budget, from the most luxurious Eagles Palace Hotel, http://www.eaglespalace.gr, to traditional bungalows near the harbor.

The following morning I drove to Sithonia, although boats from Ouranoupolis are frequent. Even for those that are not nature lovers, the quite literally breathtaking mountains in Agios Nikolaos will invite you to climb them. The locals will advise you to visit Vourvourou, only 10 kilometers away, and buy fresh fish from the fishermen’s settlement. In stark contrast, the evening sees everyone heading to Neos Marmaras, which bustles with life and has been dubbed the most cosmopolitan village in the area. Near by you will find the Porto Carras Resort, http://www.portocarras.com/english/home.htm, with an onsite theater, an 18-ball golf course and a Casino nearby.

The peninsula’s third finger, Kassandra, is by far the most developed, being Halkidiki’s administrative center. Its mountains make it ideal for both summer and winter. If you find yourself there in August you will encounter the festivals celebrating the Virgin Mary with traditional folk music and food.

A week is certainly not enough to soak up everything Halkidiki has to offer, and you might prefer to choose a peninsula according to your taste. In any case, driving back to Athens I was reminded of the following: “The more I travel, the more I realize fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” I urge you to visit this magnificent, yet often overlooked region.

What you will see > The underground Caves at Petralona, with a fossilized skull dating back 70,000 years; the tower of Apostle Paul in Nea Fokea; the windmills in Kassandria.

What you will hear > Traditional Greek folk music at the Virgin Mary Festival on August 15 in Afytos, and August 23 in Kalandra.

What you will taste > Thyme honey from every village in Kassandra, fish from fishermen settlements in Vourvourou and Nea Skioni, excellent wines from Mount Athos.

What you will feel > The sea breeze even as you climb the villages’ mountains, water from the Vrysitsa Springs in Afytos.

Related Links >
Halkidiki > http://www.halkidiki.com/
Mount Athos > http://www.inathos.gr/
Ouranoupolis > http://www.ouranoupoli.com/
Kassandra > http://www.greek-hotels.com/kassandra-info.php?area=Kassandra
Stagira > http://www.ierissos.gr/en/perioxh_stagira.htm
Petralona Caves > http://www.showcaves.com/english/gr/showcaves/Petralona.html

Southern Pelion > where the finest beaches are May 14, 2007

If you want fine beaches on the Greek mainland, southern Pelion is your best route away from the tourist trail

We had just arrived in paradise. It was the view from the terrace of the villa that swung it for all of us. It took in the blue expanse of the Pagasetic Gulf, framed by green and grey hills, its water ruffled by a slight evening breeze, with arrowheads of wake marking the return of fishermen to the harbour.

We had arrived at Pelion, one of the more unspoilt parts of mainland Greece. A peninsula that lies on the east coast, it is about halfway between Athens in the south and Thessaloniki to the north and overlooks, on its seaward side, the islands of Skiathos and Skopelos. Compared with much of coastal Greece, it’s quiet.

If not untouched by tourism, it has relatively modest visitor numbers. The countryside includes lush, forested, mountainous slopes near the northern end of the peninsula, and drier, rocky hills in the south that become green with olive groves. Here, the folds of coastline hide secluded sandy coves, the odd house, some fishing boats and a taverna.

Our villa was a two-storey, whitewashed affair, lived in by the owners for some of the year. It was simply furnished and decorated in pale colours with antique rugs lending an air of comfy, understated chic. And it was robust enough to cope for all of us.

Our nearest village, the charming but faded Horto, was a mile or so south. Milina, a mile or so farther along the coast, seemed to have grabbed what local glory was going. The street that ran along the seafront was lined with slightly garish cafés, tavernas and shops selling ice cream and espadrilles, but you could walk the length of it in a few minutes.

These villages were originally the ports for local hill hamlets and are still joined to them by paved paths known as kalderimi, great for walking. The routes from Horto to the market town of Argalasti were unclear, but Milina has two paths to Lafkos, a fine Pelion hill village with narrow streets and stone, slate-roofed houses. The main square is shaded by two huge, ancient plane trees and the high fronts of the surrounding cafés.

Not far from where the cafés is one of Lafkos’s main draws, a wood-fired bakery, now a rarity. The shop has a wrought-iron canopy to keep the sun off customers eating their pastries outside. It was a poorer day when we didn’t buy our lunch here; the spinach and feta pies were succulent, the bread was warm from the oven and the proprietor liked us. 

The walk home was along the paved track. Halfway down is a small church which, though closed for spiritual refreshment, had built into its back wall a shady bench, and beside that a spring. From this shady spot it was easy to imagine the generations of errand-runners who had charged up and down this path carrying shopping home or breathless messages down to the fishermen.

A similar walk can be made at the tip of the Pelion peninsula between the small hill village of Trikeri and the relatively unspoilt Ayia Kyriaki, a small fishing village with a working boatyard. Reward yourself on the way home with a swim in the bay.

On a two-week holiday somewhere new there is always a worry that one may have missed the most unspoilt beach or the best preserved monument, or that you may have inadvertently chomped through lunch in the local equivalent of the Athenian GB Corner’s. Anyone lucky enough to make friends with our next-door neighbour in Pelion would have no such anxieties.

John was a retired company executive and, over a drink, he spread out a map of Pelion and in under half an hour had guided us to all the places most worth a visit. The rather classic Mediterranean charms of southern Pelion are contrasted with the countryside farther north. The central spine of the Pelion peninsula increases in height as the peak of Mount Pelion is neared. Here the variation between the coast and the inland countryside and villages is even more marked than it is farther south.

In villages such as Kissos, there is a distinctive local architecture, the best examples of which are the tall merchants’ houses with their overhanging upper floors and elaborate wood carvings around the doors and windows. Here, we were often the only visitors. That was not the case in more famously pretty hill villages such as Milies, but it was as much fun to walk in busy squares as it was to potter in peace among the narrow cobbled lanes of Neohori and Argalasti.

The best way to visit Milies is to take the small-gauge train from its terminus on the coast. The railway was completed in 1903, and once ran between Volos and Milies, its narrow trucks carrying olives and other goods from hills and farmland to the markets and ports below. After the war, it began to fall into disrepair. Now the line has been restored from Ano Lehonia to Milies, and trains run twice a day. The belle époque station buildings reflect the Italian heritage of the engineers and era of its construction and the carriages are smart, varnished wood and the windows are without glass. At the hill-top terminus the locomotive is readied for the descent to a turntable, powered by nothing more than the shoulders of the driver and the fireman.

On the other side of the hill, down on the coast, are some of the Pelion’s best beaches. They face the Aegean and are wilder than those on that face the Pagasetic Gulf. Those towards the north of Pelion, such as Damouchari and Mylapotamos, are busier because they are nearer to Volos, and are backed by pretty villages.

Farther south the beaches are good, too, and as far as we could see, mostly empty. Even at Potistika beach, home to the good Climax restaurant, which looks bohemian but is surprisingly pricey, we shared the place with about four others.