The peninsula of Chalkidiki lies south-west of Thessaloniki - the second largest city in Greece - and covers an area of 2945 km. There are about 100,000 inhabitants permanently living in 5 cities and 69 villages. The gulf of Thermaikos lies at its western side while the rest of the peninsula is surrounded by the Aegean Sea. The capital of Chalkidiki is Poligiros situated in the centre of the peninsula and its most important towns are: Moudania, Arnea, Ierisos and Ouranopoulis. Chalkidiki looks like a hand with three fingers which the Greeks call "legs" : Kassandra, Sithonia and Athos. This summer, Alkis and I decided to spend a week at Ormos tis Panayias - Sithonia. Ormos tis Panayias ( The Bight of Virgin Mary) is a fishing shelter with a small port and a few tavernas and cafes. We stayed at Antigoni Beach Resort situated at about 2 km from Ormos tis Panayias and 3 km from the village of Ayios Nicolaos.
DAY 1 - FRIDAY JULY 5
I had already packed the previous day, so all we had to do on our departure day was have breakfast and take a taxi to the airport. At 9:45 am we were flying to Thessaloniki - the second largest city in Greece. One hour and forty-five minutes later, Cyprus Airways landed at Makedonia Airport in Northern Greece. As soon as we arrived we rented a car and drove south-east to the peninsula of Chalkidiki. After having a light lunch at Nea Moudania, we continued driving to Sithonia - the second peninsula. The rugged, exciting landscape of this middle prong appeals to nature lovers and holiday makers who seek peace and quiet far away from the "trappings" of modern civilization. There was no GPS in the car, but thanks to our map and the signposts on the highway, we easily reached Sithonia driving through evergreen mountain slopes covered with pine trees, splendid little beaches, fishermen's hamlets, picturesque villages which attractively compose the Sithonian landscape . It took us a while to find Antigoni Beach Resort because Alkis had completely forgotten all about the email sent by the hotel when we booked it explaining how to have access to the hotel. Luckily, he remebered it all of a sudden and, following directions, we reached the hotel at about 3:00 pm.
We were greeted by the owner herself at the reception who made us feel so welcome right from the start. Check-in only took a minute and soon afterwards we were shown to this lovely room in the photo below. Elegantly decorated in all shades of blue with a predominance of colour white, this spacious and functional room overlooked the hotel's luxuriant gardens and swimming pool with the blue sea in the background.
Alkis helped me unpack and then we put on our swimming suits and rushed to discover the unique beauty of Trani Ammoudia - one of Chalkidiki's finest beaches. I am short of words to describe those crystal clear waters in all shades of blue ranging from turquoise to azure and deep navy blue. Our first day ended with an aperitif at the bar just before sunset and a great dinner in the garden.
DAY 2 - SATURDAY JULY 6
We spent the whole day lying on the beach, swimming, reading books and relaxing. When I'm on holiday, I switch off all devices of modern technology like my Blackberry Smart Phone which I only carry in case of emergency. Just before lunch I enjoyed a divine mohito at the pool bar while Alkis had his usual beer.
DAY 3 - SUNDAY JULY 7
When on a summer holiday both Alkis and I need to relax on the beach, so that was another lazy day on the beach. We had lunch at Ormos tis Panayias (the Bight of Virgin Mary) which is an idyllic setting on the coastline of Sithonia at about 2km from our hotel. Lunch at Aristos Tavern was a unique experience! Our table was placed on the sand next to the sea and that is where I enjoyed the best calamari ever!
DAY 4 - MONDAY JULY 8
After enjoying a hearty breakfast at the hotel consisting of coffee, eggs and bacon, pancakes, a variety of cheeses, jam and croissants and fruit, we stayed on the beach all day. In the evening, we had dinner at the village of Ayios Nicolaos. After that we had a last drink at the balcony of our room listening to the silence, counting the stars and enjoying the magic of Chalkidiki.
DAY 5 - TUESDAY JULY 9
We had planned a cruise to Mount Athos but we slept in and missed the boat which sails from Ormos tis Panayias at 9:30 am every day. After swimming for about 3 hours, we explored the surrounding area and had a drink at Lagomandra Beach. We didn't stay there too long because of the loud music.
DAY 6 - WEDNESDAY JULY 10
That was a memorable day! We finally took the cruise to Mount Athos and Ouranoupolis on the third prong on board Menia Maria - a pirate ship. The voyage took 4 hours and we were escorted by seagulls. The ship sailed all the way down the second prong and then turned to Athos - the third prong. As the monks of the Holy Mount (Mount Athos) do not allow cruise ships to sail nearer, we could only see 18 out of 20 monasteries. We saw all 17 Greek monasteries and a Russian one from a distance of 500 metres. The ship dropped anchor at the picturesque harbor of Ouranoupolis at 1:30 pm and we had lunch there. The voyage back to Ormos tis Panayias only took an hour and a half and we were back to the hotel by 6:00 pm.
DAY 7 - THURSDAY JULY 11
On our last day in Chalkidiki .... I got sunburnt! I have a very white and sensitive skin which hardly ever tans, it only gets red or burns! This summer I was determined to get a ...decent tan, so I didn't use my usual 30 SPF sunscreen as I always do on a summer holiday and used a tanning oil instead with hardly any protection and kept swimming and basking in the sun hours on end. Silly me! Thank God there was a medical centre at Ayios Nicolaos. The doctor gave me Fenistil - a kind of gel and recommended using a soothing after-sun cream 3-4 times a day. So, on our last day, I was a good girl. On the beach, I lay in the shade and only used a high protection SPF sunscreen and didn't swim too long in the sea.
DAY 8 - FRIDAY JULY 12
Soon after breakfast we packed and lingered around for a while as neither of us wanted to leave this beautiful land. Our holiday in Sithonia - Chalkidiki was by far the best ever and we hope to come back soon. On our way to Thessaloniki we stopped for espressos somewhere near Ormylia where a very friendly dog accepted to pose for me!
We spent the weekend in Thessaloniki where we had the chance to meet friends and family. On Sunday evening we flew back home. There was nothing edible in the fridge, so we had souvlaki delivered which we ate on our veranda chatting about our unique experience in Chalkidiki.
Until the travel bug strikes again....