I just came back from my trip to Greece and once again I'm left charmed with this country. It's my second time there, and definitely not the last one.
The first part of the trip was a teambuilding event at the Dimos Kassandras part of Chalkidiki, in a nice hotel at the beach. Only photo I grabbed therefrom is the sunrise:
The mountain you see in the center-right side of the photo is Mount Athos - a pretty interesting place that has been on the UNESCO heritage list for nearly 40 years now. A peculiar thing about it is the fact that it's governed by the monastic community of Mount Athos, which is basically a big monastery run by monks, where women are completely prohibited from entering. A local guide told me that the monastery offers retreats where you basically pay a small fee and you go live with the monks for some time, participating in chores and events, and living their life for a bit. I'm strongly considering doing this at some point, not because I'm drawn to the religious aspect of it, but because it will be a pretty cool experience to go through, not the least because of the digital detox that it will inherently offer.
After this, I went to the Thasos island where I spent the rest of my time in Greece, and it was amazing. A defining characteristic of this island is its world-renowned dolomite marble - it's everywhere. In fact, a significant chunk of the rock on this island is marble, and this is apparent by the countless marble mines you can see everywhere. As a result, buildings, streets and apartments are lavishly outfitted with the best marble money can buy, simply because there's so much of it locally, making it quite affordable.
I didn't make it to marble beach unfortunately, since the car I was with isn't outfitted for offroad, and the weather wasn't ideal for renting a boat, but I did get to see Alyki beach, as well as Golden beach. Everywhere I went, the water was amazing - crystal clear azure, with a very large number of small fish swimming around. If you stay in one place in the water for a bit too long, they start nibbling at your feet, eating the dead skin off of them. Quite fun if you expect it, but can be unpleasant when you don't, which is most of the time
I saw several museums, as well as a multitude of ancient Greek sites of worship and public affairs, including a lot of cool stuff in the city of Thasos on the island - the ancient marble theater, the medieval castle, the ancient agora, the gates of Zeus, Hera, and Silenus, the Odeon, and a bunch of cool spots. Here's a few photos:
I also managed to snag a photo of this cute little guy chilling on a mossy block of marble:
The major standouts for me in Greece are many, but among them the biggest one is the food. There are some tourist traps where you'll be served mediocre food, but if you do your research and speak to the locals, you can find some places that might look dingy and destitute, but will serve you the most amazing food you've ever eaten. I won't share any photos of the stuff I ate there because there's simply too many to pick from, but if you ever find your way to the Thasos island, do everything in your power to visit the Palude Taverna next to Golden Beach. I've never had better seafood in my entire life, but everything else is also amazing (except the pizza, stay away from that).
It was really cool to walk among these ancient remnants from the people that gave our world some of its brightest, most prescient philosophers. Being up there at the theater and imagining how the common folk gathered around to listen to the wisdom of some long-forgotten philosopher gave me chills...their lives were so different than mine, and yet despite all the differences, we share one thing - curiosity...They probably asked the same questions I've asked many times - why do we exist, why are we here, what is consciousness, where do we fit in the grand picture of the cosmos? Millennia separate us, yet the thirst for knowledge unites us across this gap.
Greece definitely has some problems, like any other country. But the people are so warm and kind, and most of the places there are quite cheap, especially compared to the standard of living. You can get an awesome meal for less than you can in my country, and the odds of the food being much better are significantly higher.
All in all, if you're a fan of awesome people, rich history, amazing beaches and views, and an overall good time, Greece is definitely a good place to go. I'm planning a visit to the Crete island next year.
To close this off, enjoy the view from atop the hill where the Medieval Castle of Thasos is located:
Cheers
The first part of the trip was a teambuilding event at the Dimos Kassandras part of Chalkidiki, in a nice hotel at the beach. Only photo I grabbed therefrom is the sunrise:
The mountain you see in the center-right side of the photo is Mount Athos - a pretty interesting place that has been on the UNESCO heritage list for nearly 40 years now. A peculiar thing about it is the fact that it's governed by the monastic community of Mount Athos, which is basically a big monastery run by monks, where women are completely prohibited from entering. A local guide told me that the monastery offers retreats where you basically pay a small fee and you go live with the monks for some time, participating in chores and events, and living their life for a bit. I'm strongly considering doing this at some point, not because I'm drawn to the religious aspect of it, but because it will be a pretty cool experience to go through, not the least because of the digital detox that it will inherently offer.
After this, I went to the Thasos island where I spent the rest of my time in Greece, and it was amazing. A defining characteristic of this island is its world-renowned dolomite marble - it's everywhere. In fact, a significant chunk of the rock on this island is marble, and this is apparent by the countless marble mines you can see everywhere. As a result, buildings, streets and apartments are lavishly outfitted with the best marble money can buy, simply because there's so much of it locally, making it quite affordable.
I didn't make it to marble beach unfortunately, since the car I was with isn't outfitted for offroad, and the weather wasn't ideal for renting a boat, but I did get to see Alyki beach, as well as Golden beach. Everywhere I went, the water was amazing - crystal clear azure, with a very large number of small fish swimming around. If you stay in one place in the water for a bit too long, they start nibbling at your feet, eating the dead skin off of them. Quite fun if you expect it, but can be unpleasant when you don't, which is most of the time
I saw several museums, as well as a multitude of ancient Greek sites of worship and public affairs, including a lot of cool stuff in the city of Thasos on the island - the ancient marble theater, the medieval castle, the ancient agora, the gates of Zeus, Hera, and Silenus, the Odeon, and a bunch of cool spots. Here's a few photos:
I also managed to snag a photo of this cute little guy chilling on a mossy block of marble:
The major standouts for me in Greece are many, but among them the biggest one is the food. There are some tourist traps where you'll be served mediocre food, but if you do your research and speak to the locals, you can find some places that might look dingy and destitute, but will serve you the most amazing food you've ever eaten. I won't share any photos of the stuff I ate there because there's simply too many to pick from, but if you ever find your way to the Thasos island, do everything in your power to visit the Palude Taverna next to Golden Beach. I've never had better seafood in my entire life, but everything else is also amazing (except the pizza, stay away from that).
It was really cool to walk among these ancient remnants from the people that gave our world some of its brightest, most prescient philosophers. Being up there at the theater and imagining how the common folk gathered around to listen to the wisdom of some long-forgotten philosopher gave me chills...their lives were so different than mine, and yet despite all the differences, we share one thing - curiosity...They probably asked the same questions I've asked many times - why do we exist, why are we here, what is consciousness, where do we fit in the grand picture of the cosmos? Millennia separate us, yet the thirst for knowledge unites us across this gap.
Greece definitely has some problems, like any other country. But the people are so warm and kind, and most of the places there are quite cheap, especially compared to the standard of living. You can get an awesome meal for less than you can in my country, and the odds of the food being much better are significantly higher.
All in all, if you're a fan of awesome people, rich history, amazing beaches and views, and an overall good time, Greece is definitely a good place to go. I'm planning a visit to the Crete island next year.
To close this off, enjoy the view from atop the hill where the Medieval Castle of Thasos is located:
Cheers
