Memories, memories... As summer approaches, the desire to see the sea grows stronger every day. Memories of the most beautiful sea I've ever seen, the Aegean Sea.
The other day I saw @missdeli's post about Limenaria on the island of Thassos in... the Aegean Sea! I mean from the place I have visited three times and which is my favorite place in Thassos. This beautifully written travel blog, Heading out on a boat trip on the Island of Thassos, Greece has made me miss those places even more.
The only remedy I have in such cases when I am consumed by longing is to look for the photos that help me remember.
That's how I ended up choosing again for memories of the good and beautiful times when we were exploring Thassos, more precisely the town of Limenaria. What's nice and interesting is that there are three of us here who write a lot about Thassos and each presents the place differently, which I think is very interesting for a reader.
Our colleague, @missdeli, sees Thassos and Limenaria with the eyes and feelings of a modern young woman who loves life and all that is good, @lightcaptured is a perfect photographer and shows us something else, what only the photographer's eyes can choose, and me, the way an old man can still enjoy the sea.
Surely there are many more who have written about this island, but the three of us, I think, have written about it the most.
Blue
I will always remember the moment of crossed from the mainland to the island—a short trip, about 40 minutes, by ferry.
A pleasure mixed with curiosity, impatience, fear, and blue. When we arrive in Greece we are truly immersed in blue.
The ferry has always been accompanied by birds. Their flight so close to the tourists was a delight and helped, at least it helped me, to forget the stress caused by the fact that there was so much water under us.
I imagined the ferry is a plane flying through the blue sky and the seagulls are small hunting planes that accompany and protect it, making us feel like very important people.
These birds were also our pilots, guiding the ferry to the great mountainous island that is Thassos.
As we approached the island, the birds also appeared and welcomed us. A welcoming committee!
This period of sea travel is like a story, a story in which I have allowed myself to give the seabirds a different interest than it is in reality.
The reality is much more prosaic and means that the main reason why these birds accompany the ferries is that tourists offer them food.
Less touristy Limenaria
One of the great regrets of my life is that I couldn't live by the sea, in a smaller or larger town or village. This regret has changed my behavior as a tourist.
When I go on holiday to the sea I am less interested in the sea and more interested in the life of the local people. I like to think of myself as a local and I try to go where the locals go, eat where the locals eat, and choose the hotels that are in the neighborhoods of the city and less by the sea and near the beach. Not everywhere this is possible but in the towns and villages of the Greek islands, you can feel at home.
From the hotel, I was able to walk either to the pine forest or to the sea. To get to the sea I had to cross the city. Just as the inhabitants walked to work, the market, or the beach.
If it wasn't for the sea at the end of the street, I might have thought I was in a small town, as there are hundreds, even in Romania, the country where I live. Romania is about 700 km to the north and the vegetation is mostly similar to that of Limenaria.
But the differences also appear in the landscape. Mediterranean trees and vegetation, like this palm tree.
Both Greece and Romania are Orthodox Christian countries. So these churches, which are obligatory in every locality, are also a common element to take the similarity between these two countries further. However, church architecture differs and it is easy to see that.
If it wasn't for the sea, but the sea was there, all around, and that changes everything.
Where there is a sea there must be a harbor. Limenaria has two. Not too big.
The fishing and tourist harbor, where the fishing boats of the locals and the boats that make sea trips with tourists are hosted.
The harbor of yachts and boats belonging to the sailing tourists.
I have no navigational skills and I'm not even such a good swimmer that I don't drown if the water is deeper than my height. That's why I'm not interested in harbors. If you are interested in sailing and boating adventures, then please read @missdeli's post linked above.
Instead, I like stairs...
White
In Limenaria there are a lot of stairs. From a few steps to hundreds of steps...In Greece, especially in the islands, white stairs are everywhere and form one of the specific elements of this country. No matter how small, simple, or dilapidated, these stairs are always painted white...
I'm old and I don't like old people. Instead, I like old houses, even if some are even older and sicker than me.
There is an aesthetic of ugly that appeals to many. Here it is not ugly. Here it can be old, dilapidated, unkempt out of helplessness but with great beauty for those who can see it.
A street like a staircase, a street in steps. It's a street that brings neighbors together, I think. Greeks are open and friendly people!
When you go to a foreign place you can idealize life and relationships between people. I don't know what these people's lives are really like and I think I would have liked to live my childhood there, on those stairs, with the children of all those houses so close to each other.
These stairs seem to me a work of art, a sculpture in which both people and nature have collaborated. The white drawing, the white paint, the little green plants that managed to grow out of a crack in the wall, the black earth that was brought by the water after the rain...
Wherever there is a small space in the wall, with a little soil and a little water, a small plant will grow. Nature is an extraordinary force in Greece!
Green is always a blast. I'm surprised green didn't feature on the Greek flag.
The green is not on the flag because it didn't fit. Blue and white is enough. I like the Greek flag so much. It's a flag that expresses what Greece is.
I will never tire of recommending Greece as the best destination for holidays and travel. The whole Mediterranean Sea basin and all the countries bordering this sea are somehow similar.
You don't have to believe everything I say. Especially as I have only traveled to Greece and have seen the other countries that could compete with it, France, Italy, and Spain only in movies and photos.
I am firmly convinced that Greece is in the first place, as I am also convinced that every traveler has his favorite places. All opinions are subjective but I still believe that you can't go wrong when recommending a holiday and travel to Greece!
The second photo is so iconic for Thassos. I love it! The deep blue, the fairy, the birds and the mountains in the distance. It already makes imagine being on the ferry, enjoying the breeze....oh Greece, same as you, I am in love.
Thank you for the mention, its true I love Thassos and I think I still have at least ten more posts about it but somehow I cant manage to share those. I am so behind on this....😐
I also cant say I want to be on the beach, near the sea 100% when in vacation. I like to have a feeling of that place and see how they live...see more than just sit on a chair lounge and...do what? Spend one day on the beach? I would go crazy. Both me and my husband cant do this. Ofc there is relax time needed and that is maybe a good few hours spending on the beach, in the shadow 😄, not being on the rush. But I like to visit also their historycal places and monuments, read about it, eat locally if possible, do long walks.
Thassos have it all and I wouldnt mind going again, lets say this year. I wouldnt mind at all. I am sure I will discover more of it, with every visit.
I hope you know that it gives me great pleasure that you think so and enjoy Thassos this way. We feel and do the same. On the beach, only in the shade. Mostly we walk. We even found a place with good coffee... Fortunately, in Limenaria and its surroundings (Pefkari, Potos) we have places to walk.
I remember the sea in Romania in the 1980s when we used to sit on the beach all day. Beach and lunch at some kind of canteen. A bitter playground for children. We loved it, we had nothing to compare it to.
I hope you go to Thassos again this year. Not in the middle of summer! I hope we'll go too, although I don't want to with the same intensity. Let's see...
Thanks for the reply, I enjoyed it!
Love the photos, as always!!
Regarding the Greek Flag, the blue symbolizes the sea and the sky - while the white symbolizes the struggles & wars of the Greeks for freedom .. so it could not have the color green in the flag :)
But yes, you see green everywhere!
!BEER
I didn't know the significance of the white on the flag. I thought it was the majority color of the houses.
For the war, I think red would be better... I'm glad I learned the truth from you. The flag is beautiful, I like it very much, blue and white go very well together.
Thank you very much!
What I see in your pictures is pure beauty, I hope one day to go there. I love those streets and the views in that country. The pictures of the birds are great!❤️
Greece is so beautiful! Even for someone like me who was always in love with the mountains rather than the sea and beaches, I still find this such a must-visit by anyone out there! Can't wait to make it to Greece too, one day...
wow that's great 🤩🤩
Yes, one of my favorite places in Greece, as it is a beautiful island accessible by our own cars :)
Thanks for the beautiful reminder and good luck!
!DHEDGE
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@bluemoon Very interesting, because from everyone's perspective, they will agree that it is a wonderful paradise.
Interesting. I hope it is as you say.
When I went here to the northern areas of our country, I saw exactly the same view. There were birds and a beautiful sky and there was water below, so this view was very good.
Glad you have such a beautiful view!
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