We left the harbor shortly after arriving, not interested in browsing the shops yet, as we were to return later anyway. In less than ten minutes, we were on the other side of the island, after following the dusty road along the shore and then passing a salt plain. Although somehow crowded by the time we arrived there, it wasn’t that hard to find a parking space. A bit of backtracking on the same path and we were already on the white sandy beach admiring the wide gulf protected by tall cliffs and rocks on both sides. There were hardly any waves, which meant the water was not only clean but also crystal clear which made it that much better for snorkeling.
We enjoyed a couple of swimming sessions in between some cool drinks on the beach and even went on a short walk over to the cliff rising on the left side of the gulf. Besides the weathered vegetation which partially blocked the view, the place was just perfect for getting some great panoramic shots of the whole bay.

Watching far into the distance, you could see some interesting looking cliffs which made us curious. That’s basically why we decided to do some on the spot exploration. Equipped with our snorkeling gear, we set out following the shore hoping to get as close as we could to that point.

Needless to say the underwater experience was once again a treat: lots of fish swimming among the strange looking rocks covered with sea vegetation. Yet, the sometimes strong and cold currents made it harder than we had expected. Luckily we reached the nearby beach and were able to rest for several minutes before making our way back. For a few moments we even considered the option of choosing a longer, land route, but eventually decided against it as it was clearly less fun.

Eventually, we got back to our beach, grabbed a little snack, went for a farewell swimming session and then packed our bags. At that point it was way past lunch time, so we were all starving. Thankfully, Ammouliani has plenty of places where you can eat.
A quick browsing through the local souvenir shops revealed about the same items you get just about anywhere in Halkidiki. There are the omnipresent fridge magnets next to custom made Greek pottery followed by Asian clothing and Chinese toys and beachwear.

With not much left to do, we made our way onto the ferry to go back to the mainland. As we still had plenty of time we took a small detour, heading into Ouranopoli, hoping to visit the medieval tower and catch some photos of the sunset. Unfortunately, upon arriving there we discovered that’s pretty much impossible during the summer as it is open only at around 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
Next time, i’ll let you in about the best part of the whole trip: a day long boat ride around Ammouliani Island, with an afternoon rest on the nearby Pena Island.

For our second to last day before heading back to Romania, we planned a very nice trip to Ammouliani, a beautiful island just off the western coast of Athos. For this particular trip we decided to take the ferry from Tripiti, which meant we could take the car as well, which eventually saved us from an otherwise boring and tiresome walk from the harbor to the other side of the island.
Knowing the timetable from the previous days, we decided that 7:45 was too early for all of us, so we skipped it in favor of the next one at 9:45. There’s a relatively short distance from Nea Roda to Tripiti, something around 10 minutes. When we arrived at the dock there were hardly any tourists there, no more than one or two cars.

Still, as the arriving time drew nearer, and the ferry started it’s journey back to the mainland, the queue started to grow as well. Eventually it reached the shore and after unloading both the passengers and the vehicles, we were able to get aboard. The only tricky part was that the car had to be parked backwards, which meant that although we were the first ones in, at the destination we were going to be among the last ones out.

Unfortunately, the people at the counter had some problem understanding English, despite the fact that quite a few of the tourists there seemed to use it as their main travel language. Yet, when it comes to paying a fare a few hand gestures, some numbers plus the omnipresent Parakalo and Efharisto will do the trick.
Before starting the trip, we had to wait for a large truck transporting dry soil, to finally get on without damaging any of the surrounding cars. Still, as soon as that was done we were ready to go.
I wasn’t really expecting anything spectacular about the ride itself, still i must admit that i found it to be really enjoyable. Plus, at times, as you near the shores of the island, the view is really stunning and the dark blue sea doesn’t hurt either.

As soon as we reached the little harbor town, we got back in the car and went straight to the other part of the island. We finally ended up on what is known by the locals as the golden beach of Ammouliani, but more about it on the next post.

If you’re interested in the timetable of the ferry as it was valid from 29.06.2009 until 31.08.2009 (and probably will be the same next year) here it is:

• Monday to Saturday it leaves from Tripiti at the following hours: 7:15, 9:45, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15, 11:45, 12:15, 12:45, 13:15, 13:45, 14:15, 14:45, 15:15, 16:15, 16:45, 17:15, 17:45, 18:15, 18:45, 19:15, 19:45, 20:15;
• Sunday from Tripiti: 8:45, 9:45, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15, 11:45, 12:15, 12:45, 13:15, 13:45, 14:15, 14:45, 15:15, 15,45, 16:15, 16:45, 17:15, 17:45, 18:15, 18:45, 19:15, 19:45, 20:15;
• Monday to Saturday leaving from Ammouliani: 7:15, 9:15, 9:45, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15, 11:45, 12:15, 12:45, 13:15, 13:45, 14:15, 14:45, 15:45, 16:15, 16:45, 17:15, 17:45, 18:15, 18:45, 19:15, 19:45;
• Sunday from Ammouliani: 8:15, 9:15, 9:45, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15, 11:45, 12:15, 12:45, 13:15, 13:45, 14:15, 14:45, 15:15, 15,45, 16:15, 16:45, 17:15, 17:45, 18:15, 18:45, 19:15, 19:45.

As far as the prices go, you have to pay 1.5 euros per passenger, 9.5 euros per car or 14 euros if it’s a half-truck less than 5 meters, 3 or 4.50 euros for a motorcycle depending on whether it has less than 250 cc or not, 3 euros per meter for a tug or a tugboat, 4 euros per meter for any half-truck, truck or bus and 2 euros for a parcel of less than 50 kg.

The next morning we once again packed our bags and went downstairs for the usually nice, yet rather bland breakfast you get at most middle priced Greek hotels. Near the end, we made it a bit more entertaining by feeding a lovely black and white kitten with some dairy products and a bit of honey in exchange for some cheap tricks.

Soon afterward, we said goodbye to the blond Bulgarian host and went straight to our final destination, somewhere on Athos. It wasn’t long till we reached Ierassos on the western shores of the peninsula. Once again, the place looked strangely quiet for a mid season tourist destination, with just a handful of tourists strolling down the long streets or going to the beach. It might have had something to do with the fact that the sky was cloudy and there was a chilly wind coming from the sea. After waiting and searching for over half an hour, with just a couple of lousy choices for accommodation we decided to continue our road south willing to go as far as Ouranopoli.

Fortunately, we managed to find a couple of very nice  hotels along the way, and settled on a lovely apartment in Nea Roda complete with a kitchenette. As it was situated on a hill on the outskirts, it had a beautiful view of the whole bay area.

A few minutes later we were on our way to the beach, just as the sun was starting to come out of the clouds. While it certainly looked beautiful from a distance and the staff from the nearby bar was quite welcoming, this could not make up for the unpleasant swimming experience: the water was rather dirty, both from human waste and sea vegetation plus the waves were quite annoying.

Still, we knew from a map we had seen in our hotel, that there were a couple of stretches of sand nearby so we went in search of them. Situated at about 10 minutes from our hotel, we found a quiet place which somewhat reminded us of Goa Beach we had visited on Sithonia. Despite the occasionally dirty sand and shore, the water was warm and sheltered from the wind so we managed to swim for a couple of hours.

As the evening set in, we went back into town, looking for a place to eat and preparing for the next couple of days, which indeed were the most exciting of the whole trip.

The next morning, as our stay in Sarti was coming to an end, we woke up early, just in time to catch a final  sunrise over the gulf with Mount Athos near the horizon. A dozen shots later we were already packing our bags and heading for our next, yet unknown, destination. We were somewhat leaning towards Toroni or Porto Carras, while still keeping an open mind about where we would spend the next night: any good looking place with a couple of decent rooms.

Since we were hoping to spend another night on the beautiful peninsula of Sithonia, before jumping over to Athos, we continued our journey south, down what we hoped would be the road following the shore. However, the GPS played a trick on us and instead of seeing the southern most point, we ended up in no man’s land, on a dirt road crossing over to the western side between arid hills inhabited only by a few shepherds. At first we were thinking of going back to that crossroads and choose the other route, but after a few miles we surrendered to the landscape and started to enjoy the adventure.

Eventually, we reached the western shore and started to go north. After several failed attempts to find anything suitable at some isolated beach resorts , which to be honest looked pretty run down, we found ourselves in Porto Carras. Unfortunately, our happiness was short lived as we realized that the blue flag beach came with a price. With the Sani experience of 20 euros/sunchair still fresh in our minds and a cloudy sky just waiting to start pouring down, we decided to continue our journey.

Neither Neos Marmaras, Paradissos or any of the other places we’ve encountered along the way had anything special so there was no point in continuing our search for accomodation.

However, on a whim, decided to check out Mango Beach, a few miles away from Nikiti. It’s a somewhat secluded beach with just a regular hotel, restaurant and several private properties. You won’t find any stores or supermarkets so if you need anything while staying there, get them elsewhere.

The place itself is lovely, especially as the day comes to an end and people go back to their hotel rooms or their cars. While the beach is quite narrow, the green water is very clean and there are hardly any waves, making it a perfect spot for swimming. If you’ve got enough stamina, you can even make your way to the rock formation a couple of hundred meters out to the sea.

One huge downside, to an otherwise lovely holiday destination is the beach bar and more precisely their music. In plain English is sucked big time. It was everything you are trying to avoid while relaxing in the sun. I’m thinking it could only please some brainless party animals which normally sleep during the day, resting for another funky disco night. Just as with Goa Beach, your best bet is to just go out into the water and swim.

Around 6 o’clock we left for our apartment, ready to return just in time to catch the sunset. Luckily we realized our hotel had an open terrace which offered an open view of the whole bay area. To top it off, we managed to catch a great rainbow rising from the sea, which provided for a beautiful conclusion to an overall very nice  day in the sun.

This concludes our stay on Sithonia, as we prepare to make our way to the last (half) peninsula: Athos.

By the time we got back from the beach, around noon, the sun had already become too hot to handle and we were only thinking about the air conditioning in our rooms. With a supermarket just minutes away, it wasn’t long before we decided to see what we could find there, as we were quite hungry from the morning swimming sessions. Luckily, i was able to get pretty much everything i needed to have a lunch as close as possible to the ones at home while still experiencing some of the local stuff.

After enjoying our meal and then resting for a couple of hours we finally set out to find the distant beach we had been seeing since we arrived the previous day. Without any map, we just drove down the main road going south. No more than 10 minutes had passed when we saw a sign on our left pointing to a secluded beach, so we followed the narrow dirt road between hills covered with small pines, until we started to hear the deafening sounds of idiocy and shallowness.

Indeed, we had reached our destination, Goa Beach and the name says it all. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m not a big fan of this type of music and i definitely don’t find it appropriate for a relaxing summer location. As anyone in their right minds would have it, you usually look for remote and secluded places to get away from the madness and just enjoy the sounds of nature.

Still, the view was too good to pass so it was definitely worth the trouble. Also the noise was quite acceptable once you were on one of the nearby hills or simply swimming with your head under the water. As the sun was already starting to go down, i figured it was just about time to go in the water. Well, once you were past the few meters of rocks near the shore, things were really getting interesting. In fact it was a great location for snorkeling.

There were all sorts of sharp rocks, sea urchins, plenty of fish and again the water was clean and clear. Also, being a natural gulf meant we had less problems with the waves.
Once again, we were treated with a spectacular view of Mount Athos, from a slightly different angle than the one on Sarti beach.

The only drawback to the time spent there, besides the awfully uninspired goa noises, was that we arrived maybe a couple hours later than we should have. Thankfully we tend to remember the good things more than we do the bad ones so I’ll cherish this as one of the loveliest moments spent in Greece.

Next time, we’re heading on the other side of the Sithonia Peninsula into what is called Mango Beach, somewhere around Nikiti.

After the time spent in Nea Fokea and Sani, we were ready to move along to the second peninsula of Halkidiki, the lovely Sithonia. This one is a beautiful compromise between the other two: it’s average height is somewhere in the middle, there are plenty of beaches ready to satisfy the summer party animal as well as the traveler and the winding road along the cliff gives way to some truly astonishing landscapes.

Although we left the hotel pretty early, we still couldn’t manage to avoid the heat wave around noon. Once again we chose the eastern route which lead us to Vourvourou. Our previous research mentioned it as a very nice summer settlement and indeed from a distance it looked really inviting. However, after about and hour of walking and driving we still weren’t able to find any decent place to stay. Plus, we ran into several fellow Romanians who were just packing and didn’t seem content at all with the beach and the water. It might have been picture perfect but it wasn’t all that tourist friendly so we continued our journey along the coast. After passing through Zografu we finally ended up in Sarti, a slightly crowded but nice enough small town. In about 10 minutes we were able to find ourselves a very nice apartment no more than a hundred meters from the beach, all for a great price.

Again, since we were lucky to have an incredible view of the steep peaks of Mount Athos we managed to capture it at sunrise, sunset and at night.
As far as the whole beach experience goes, things were pretty much ok. The only issue we had was with the wind and the waves on our first afternoon there which made it a bit harder to swim than the usual. Fortunately, a couple of minutes along the shore, we found a small gulf just perfect for snorkeling.

The next day, we managed to catch a beautiful sunrise and then enjoyed a quiet, yet hot morning under the beach umbrellas. Thanks to the soft breeze, the water was just perfect for swimming, as warm and clean as on the previous days.

While taking in the view, we caught a glimpse of the distant beaches on the far right which sparked our curiosity. As a result we decided that we were going to find them and spend the afternoon there. More about what we found and how it was there, complete with photos, on the next post.

The next day we woke up quite early anxious to see what’s the real deal with the famous Greek sea, sand and sun. Once again our host helped us with a piece of advice and a tourist map, pointing us towards the Sani resort on the western side of the Kassandra peninsula. This is a somewhat curious location, part camping part posh beach complete with a luxury boats’ marina and situated no more than 10 minutes away by car from Nea Fokea.

After barely being able to find a parking spot, which curiously enough was free, we headed straight to the beach without scouting first for the best possible location. That’s why we decided to rest on the sun-chairs near the camping site. Although the water was clean and the beach was almost empty when we arrived around 9 o’clock in the morning, by noon it had already become really crowded and noisy. If you add to this the dumb and annoying dance music playing at the nearby bar, then you can imagine that the picture of a dreamy, serene holiday destination was rapidly fading away. As the sun was getting too hot to handle we decided to pack our bags, check out the area hoping to find a better place for our afternoon reprise and then head back to the hotel for a couple of hours.

Walking 5 minutes along the sea shore and we were already in a completely different setting. The circular shaped marina was crammed with luxury yachts, while the surrounding boutiques featured some of the trendiest and most expensive brands in the world. Eventually we reached the stone tower on top of the cliff we would see from the beach, which gave way to a spectacular vista of another superb sandy beach washed by crystal clear turquoise waters.

When we got back in the afternoon (which was more like an early evening) we were keen on checking it out and see what it was like from up close. The first impression wasn’t exactly a nice one, as part of it was reserved for the guests of the nearby hotel. On top of that, the people managing the area seemed rude and again the same idiotic dance music was screaming from the speakers. We were also surprised to find out that in this part of the resort, renting a sun-chair would set us back 20 euros. In some parts of the world you can actually buy one for that amount of money so we moved further along. As an added bonus, by the time we set camp the noise from the bar was barely audible.

Apart from the strong breeze which destroyed one of our umbrellas, things were finally starting to look like a true Greek holiday: the sand was just fine and the water clean and warm. So much so, that is was just perfect for a round of snorkeling before sunset. As compared to earlier in the day, the beach was way less crowded and the only things that could remotely bother you were the ski-jets and the boats in the distance. Eventually, the sun started to go down in the sky so we decided to head back to the same tower we had seen at noon hoping to catch our first beach sunset. Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing  as it went off faster than we had hoped. A few night shots down at the marina and that was it for the day.

Next time, we’re heading to Sithonia, the second peninsula in Halkidiki and frankly the most interesting and best looking of the three, so stay tuned for more photos.

It was about 4 p.m. when we finally left Thessaloniki heading to our first beach destination. The afternoon sun was literally burning and we still had about 100 km to go, although we weren’t quite aware of it at the time. Just as before, there’s little to be seen right until the moment you’ve reached the shores of The Aegean Sea.

We’ve first stumbled upon New Moudania, which technically is situated just above the Kassandra peninsula. Besides it felt a bit too much of a seaside resort to us so we went further down the road looking for something else. What really stroked us as strange was how quiet and deserted the small town looked like. There were barely any people walking around the narrow streets and from what we could peek over our car windows that was true for the beaches as well.
Next, we reached Nea Potidea, another beach resort with a typical Greek look and feel. Again, it seemed almost deserted, so we could barely find anyone to ask about accommodation for the night.
Still, if you’re heading this way, you might consider taking a few minutes to admire the lovely canal from the bridge which links the peninsula with the mainland. There’s a great mix between the clear turquoise water and the green vegetation. Plus, if you happen to catch a white boat passing through then you’ve got yourself a Kodak moment.

Just several miles down the road we’ve finally reached Nea Fokea which was to become our final destination for the day. This little fishing village/summer resort felt a bit crowded and wasn’t anything special, but as the evening was drawing near on that Saturday we decided to settle for what we could find there. Fortunately we found a little hotel called Alexandros with a very nice host. She understood our English and spoke in French so overall we had little to no problems talking to her.

It wasn’t long before we unloaded our bags and rushed on to the beach hoping to take a swim just before the sunset. Unfortunately, our hopes faded as soon as we realized that the seabed was mostly covered in small rocks which made it a bit nasty. Instead we went strolling around looking for some inspiring scenery to photograph. Your best bet is to go straight to St Paul’s Tower a couple of minutes from the main road and catch the small marina at sunset.

Next, we’re heading into Sani Beach Resort which had indeed some spectacular vistas and one of the best water for swimming.

A couple of years ago, after a very distasteful business collaboration with a Greek company, i was pretty turned off by the idea of ever visiting that country. Now this is a great example how you should never judge a whole nation by the few rotten apples that fell to the ground.

Starting on august 1st, along with some friends, have spent about a week driving around the three beautiful peninsulas of Halkidiki, looking for clean and not so crowded beaches, clear blue waters and amazing vistas. I’m happy to say that despite some shortcomings, it was a great escape and in many ways it was much better than expected.

We departed from Bucharest, Romania at around 3 a.m., crossed Bulgaria from north to south and reached our first main destination, Thessaloniki in Greece, almost twelve hours later. Unfortunately, the journey was a little dry, given the long time you have to spend in the car passing by some monotonous and uninspiring landscapes. Basically, all you’ll ever see following our route is some endless plains going for hundreds of miles and then turning into some forest covered hills when getting closer to the city of Sofia. We’ve actually went around the capital as we were not really looking forward to getting stuck in traffic. Also, the cityscape looked rather gray and communist with countless blocks of flats spread around the place. Still, we had to sit for about 30-40 minutes in a long line because of some road works.

Besides some distant mountains and several tunnels followed by tall bridges, there’s little diversity, so reading a good book might prove to be a good alternative. Also, try to avoid looking at the billboards on the side of the road for too long as the ads are mostly poorly done and they tend to become annoying after a short while. To bring insult to injury, the main roads are infested with speed limiting signs, which can turn quite confusing at times given their strange locations (such as 60km/h on open roads resembling highways).

Although the landscape changes quite a bit once you’ve gone south of the border into Greece, don’t expect any breathtaking scenery. After all, the sea and the shoreline are the stars here and their beauty surpasses that of the inland by a long margin.

While the midday heat made us rush to our final destination for the day, we did make a brief stop in Thessaloniki where we saw a small park and the very nice Aristotelous Square leading to the seafront. Nevertheless, the city felt a bit dirty, crowded and somewhat lacking a strong personality so we eventually saw ourselves heading towards Kassandra, the first peninsula of Halkidiki from west to east.

During the following days i’ll post about the most interesting places we’ve been to, along with some photos for each of the locations.

After writing on my last post about the detox book i used as a reference, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to document my 5 day juice fast and the positive effects it had on my general state of wellbeing. As a matter of fact, I was touting with the idea of cleansing my body for quite a few years now. As it felt a bit extreme the first time i heard about it, after a while i almost forgot about it.

Luckily, i rediscovered it probably at the right moment, so i had little to no hesitation to try it out. After all, my immune system was already in a fairly good condition so there wasn’t a lot to worry about. Plus, i was intending to follow it for less than a week, which meant even lower risks. The only problem, which i actually became aware of after starting the whole process, was that Easter weekend was just a couple of weeks away, so i somewhat had to rush it in a bit, as to avoid any problems arising from the generous meals that were about to follow.

I opted for a vitamin C rich juice diet consisting of drinking orange juice  every two hours during the day. On top of that i would often drink a mix of carrot, spinach and other leafy greens. For this, i used two types of juicers: an electric  citrics squeezer and a manual one for the vegetables. While the first was very easy to use, making it a 5 minute job, the second was a bit tricky. Although it was perfectly usable and it would result in far better taste and nutritional content than the electrical rotative juicers (which often oxidize the juice so you’re left with very little value), it also meant spending a lot more time.

Before doing this, i never fasted on liquids alone, not even for a single day. On top of that, i have a fairly big appetite so i had some minor concerns about getting hungry midway through. Fortunately, i never felt any cravings or hunger up until the very last day. Although discarding all the pulp, the juice  itself was enough to fulfill my energy needs for the day. Probably the worst part of it all was seeing all that savory fiber go to waste, instead of mixing it in or turn it into a lovely salad.

I was really impressed by how lighter and more energetic i was becoming after the first couple of days. The effect was that much more impressive as it also changed my sleeping patterns reducing my need for sleep from around to 8-10 hours each night to roughly 6 hours. I no longer had to use an  alarm clock to wake me up each morning and still lay in bed for another half an hour or so. I would easy wake up on my own with a lot more  energy and determination.

Probably the most controversial result i saw, which was quite predictable, was loosing a considerable amount of weight. In just five days, i lost around 16 pounds (8 kg), which in my case was clearly not a desirable outcome. Still, this could work out quite well for overweight people looking to shed some serious pounds in a very short amount of time, while also cleansing their system.

As i was already following a healthy vegetarian diet, i didn’t experience any so called healing  symptoms such as headaches, fever, nausea etc. The trickiest part of the whole thing, though, was readjusting to my normal eating habits. I had to gradually reintroduce different types of food, starting with some easy to digest fruits, continuing with some light salads and ending with dairy products to name just a few.

Shortly after finishing it, i had some doubts about whether it was the right thing to do or not, mainly due to the severe weight loss. Seeing all the wonderful changes that happened in my life after that, i’m glad i did it. However, if you are underweight it might be wise to drink the juice along with your regular diet or at least eat some fruits and vegetables every now and then. For those in doubt, there’s always the option of undertaking it for a shorter period of time such as two or three days, which is much easier for an individual having a fast paced life.