Island hopping in the North Aegean

To sail from island to island is wonderful. To be able to see your next destination is comforting.  Travelling from Lesbos to Lemnos, Samothraki, Thassos and now Kavala in northern Greece is what sailing in the Med is about: day sailing in  perfect conditions. Over the last month we have mainly sailed. The engine has been used but not nearly as often as last season. So for us this means less money on fuel and more comfortable sailng.  Peace and quiet.

The personality of each island is apparent when you visit them in succession. We are lucky to be able to stay as long as we like this year in each place due to our year long visa for Greece.

Limnos or Lemnos had the visage of a place affected by war: the Gallipoli campaign. My grandfather William Burtenshaw walked the shore of Moudros Bay in 1915 before that fateful landing on 25 April on the Gallipoli Peninsula. As we visited the graves of the young men who had been left behind I felt a connection to the site through Will. I wish mum had talked more to him and then to me about what he remembered of this place.

Limnos is a comparatively low island. We had grown accustomed to high craggy cliffs, occasionally pine dotted. This island appears windswept. The harbour is extensive. You can imagine all the ships waiting in the bay, the hospitals set up on the land surrounding.  The Hellenic Airforce is based here. Jets were always flying over, practising manoeuvres. The military presence is palpable. It is particularly evident in the main town, Myrina.  The local café owner said that the Australian Ambassador to Greece visted the site and his restaurant where he heard about the plans for the 100 year anniversary of the landing. Australian warships plan to be there too. They hope people visit this site as well as Gallipoli.

Samothraki is a beautiful and peaceful island. It seems to be trying to attract tourists for eco tourism. It is certainly a place for hiking and bike riding. Samothraki is a comparatively small island with a population of about 2000 which doubles in summer. Only one ferry comes here from the mainland and it is not connected with the other islands. Seraphin, a café owner told us that this lack of connection has made it hard for tourists to get  there so this is hard for business. The small population, the lushness of the landscape, and the interesting archaeological evidence of past cultures make this site a worthwhile addition to any trip to the north Aegean.  Hiring a motor bike made the excursion inland possible as there are few buses.

Samothraki 

I think I can.......

Stylised Nike Figure at Chora Samothraki.  Original found in Great Sanctuary site, now in Louvre.

Thassos is certainly much more affected by tourism, manly Greek. The two ferries which service this island arrive and depart on the half hour and cost 3 Euro. Often they appear nearly empty.

Thassos beach

Thassos

Again we were able to moor side to the dock. A short walk into the main port on the island brought us into tourist land. We discovered a little beach about 500m away where we could escape the heat for a dip and use their wifi. Locating wifi has been vital. At last in Thassos we signed a contract with Vodaphone for 12 months which will give us 20 gig per month. This will not be enough however so we still will search out free wifi.

Thassos

Beautiful green blue bay Thassos

knarled olive tree

Thassos beach

Hiring motor scooters on Samothraki and Thrassos enabled us to see much of both islands. From waterfalls and deserted beaches to archaeological remains and small tavernas by the sea, both islands had their charm.

Thassos also introduced us to Gert and Ina in their Cat. Having set sail from the Netherlands they are now thinking about ending this part of their journey. We spent time with them singing and Steve and Gert jammed together. Steve has missed these sort of opportunities so really valued their company.

Now we are stern to the dock in Kavala. Town life for a change. Today we “Lidled”.  All boaties know the value of these excursions. We bought a fishing rod in town to troll with and hopefully enhance our chances of catching our dinner.  Shops provide opportunities to idle our time walking around the town.

Kavala dock looking to the castle

View back to dock from old town

Rocks are always available to view. I mean archaeological sites. Yesterday we caught the local bus to Philippi, named after Philip 11 of Macedon. There were artefacts from Greek to early Christian times. Roman and Byzantine ruins also exist here. The museum, air-conditioned, was a welcome respite from the heat of the day.

 

Phillipi

Phillipi

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Bronze figurine in museum Phillipi

Glass Phillipi Museum

Clearly EU money used to build the Museum.

Hoping to find the mud baths we walked into Lidia. Dusty and hot, no shops or a taverna so we turned back to Kavala. That night we listened to some blues, badly played Steve said, being played at the café opposite the boat. Hopefully we will hear some good blues at the “Bikes and Blues” festival being held this weekend. We will ride our bikes there as it is only a couple of kms away.

More on that latter.