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Day nine

Wow what a good photographic sky



Going to breakfast and I said to Mrs Db I need to be up on that ridge in the distance today with that sky



so we had our breakfast I put figs in my strawberry yogurt to try them



Mrs Db stuck to her peach flavoured one



After breakfast, just look at that sky



so with two bottles of water packed and Mrs Db comfortable on the beach, I was off to the firebreak to get further along than before. I had both cameras and a tripod today, as the sky just does not get better than this

Just before the old Vigli's there is a new cake shop opened, a shop that TA member Sebastian was saying was lacking in Golden Beach



Also I did not notice these flowers on a tree last time



anyway, from the first half of my report one should know the way up onto the ridge, so won't repeat it



but will pick it up from where I left off last time





There is a sole house sitting just under the fire break



pathway above it



and the goat farmer's old fence to keep the goats in. I did see the farmer earlier on at the bottom of Panagia and he was no longer walking with his goats as before



View







I can see a few four poster sunbeds on the Skala Potamia side



Hotel area



Skala Potamia in the far distance



The whole bay



boats for hire near the campsite



banana boat



Island view hotel



on top of their roof is the webcam shown on the Go_Thassos website



Now I have my camera set on F22 to get everything in focus and put on a tripod to keep it steady



unfortunately I have to reduce the quality to store them on here so a bit self defeating really but I have the quality on laptop



I have dehaze this one in software



straight out of camera



The valley which is more obvious the further you head towards Panagia



Dimitris Hotel with swimming pool and the Nostos Hotel



The Princess Golden which somebody told me TUI have dropped but I don't know how true that is ?



The Alexandra



having plenty of water on this trip it was quite pleasant but still very hot, so now heading down



lunch was at Palude

Mama's salad again which has croutons



and feta and spinach pie to share





and free dessert



It was hot, so I think Mrs Db would prefer to sit on the balcony

so I photographed the meeting room downstairs



It has a book library down here



The hotel's restaurant and breakfast area



our favourite breakfast area





Evening was at Finikas



Mrs Db had Pork medallions



I had Chicken Baltimore



Plus a free dessert



and a free Ouzo



and coffee on our balcony

End of Day nine


Day ten

Down at breakfast the coffee tea and fresh orange is placed on our table



Having had the yogurt I thought I would try apple strudel for my mains lol



and whilst the toaster is toasting my bread there is nobody in the food hall

and I have a camera lol







so a morning on the beach the sea is wavy but there is no wind





but I can't sit still for long so often pop up on the dunes looking for butterflies



and perhaps colourful unbrellas



our set of them



Just a warning ' there could be a flood down here tonight in this river



Oh the hotel has brought us and others a free drink, that's nice of them





Lunchtime was in Palude



ham and cheese pastry



Mama's salad



walking back a kitten and it's mother were sheltering under a parked car.





an afternoon on the beach

we at the camera club have another theme competition which is 'D for' it could be for diver or anything starting with 'd'

Doughnut man



Evening came

Are we going to try that double bath Mrs Db we might not get another opportunity



If you like said Mrs Db

I'll have to go in first and turn on the tap, I said, otherwise if it is too hot I would not be able to reach the tap to turn it off





Well this is a nice surprise Mrs Db but I think you are sitting on the soap.

Do you think we will wash the river terrapins into the sea if I pulled this plug, I said

This evening I have booked the Enavlion again



Part menu



we picked stuffed mushrooms to share



mains part menu



I had the beef stifado



part menu



Mrs Db had stuffed chicken fillet



free type of creme brulee each



and a free liquor, house wine was the most expense here at 14 euros



Coffee was on our balcony

End of Day ten

Day eleven

after yogurt



I had mixed fruit as cooked breakfasts are not good for me



we still had toast and marmalade

the waves are still choppy but a breeze with it today



somebody is wind surfing



still looking out for butterflies especially a swallowtail one

also I am practising finding diagonal lines in images which are so often used in pictures to guide the eyes





lunchtime was in Finikas one of the local taverna's to us



Mrs Db's omelette



my tuna toasted bun



Mrs Db I have not got the photograph yet!



Mrs Db was going down to the beach whilst I take you on a walk into Skala Potamia

and showing you the way to the Atm then afterwards will do a walk down the beach



so following the road from the side of the hotel



and keeping on it





still continue on this road





finally you come to a sign saying Eric's pool at the side of a flood water drainage. It seems to have some association with the Manchester United football player Eric Cantona but I don't know the reasons why.



turn right at this point and go up the pathway with the flood drainage wall on your right



follow it for about 100m where there is a junction and a place for hotel bins



at this junction turn left and walk up passed an old caravan up to the main road ( you can see the caravan in this image as a speck on the left of the road in the distance)





and it is just down there on the right passed the red van



so here it is at the blue kiosk and remember, at this time it is 2.50 euros per withdrawal in addition to any other charges your card makes. And don't accept any exchange offered these are poor rates and a legal way of extracting money from you.



So with my money sorted, I am heading to the harbour and Skala Potamia beach



it is some way up the road



but one can't really miss it



so going onto their promenade

more of these amusements which seem to have grown from four years ago.





taverna's and shops are both sides of the promenade





It was good to come down here four years ago to have a meal using the fun train but not a place on the beach for us at this end during the day



not many people about on the promenade









Almost at the harbour where the fun train stopped



So here is there sign. I am told it leaves the Marina Hotel in Golden Beach at 7:45pm and come here. It use to return on a circuit to Golden Beach and then do the same run all evening. Now it just goes the once and then continues to do a small circuit of Skala Potamia before a last return to Golden Beach at 11 pm.

At present there is no four village tours running on the Saturday so I am baffled, as the journey's from the Marina Hotel are less useful and no village tour.



at the harbour





So a walk down the beach as far as the Alexandra



It's sandy here and beds are free with a drink so popular





The sandy beach runs up until the breaker in the distance



beyond is shinge for some way and not so popular

passed the breaker







I think he may be stoned



shingle still



Flisvos taverna



still shingle





taverna



Chairs and beds from the new hotel on perhaps a piece of beach not used much in the past but are clients using them or going to the sandy parts.



having gone passed the Korina hotel which is a 7 minute walk at the back of town, the beach is here is now changing back to sand





some raffia brollies







free spaces on the beach



some of those four poster beds that I photographed from the mountain



more free spaces



more shades



more free spaces



Then back to Mrs Db. I will do the walk from here to the Vigli's end tomorrow



This evening after Mrs Db going back to the traditional shower
we are heading to the Sotiris Taverna at the far end of the beach

The kitten was still there and I would expect a few would love to take it home with them.







wine here is 8 euros a litre



menu





inside the taverna



Mrs Db had the chicken souvlaki



I had moussaka



and toasted bread



a view of the pier at night



and walking back





we had a coffee on our balcony

End of Day eleven

Day Twelve

Fruit as my main again this morning



With Mrs Db on the beach, I am starting a walk along the beach to the old Vigli's end. I did realised later that 10 am would be a bit early to judge the number of people on the beach during the day.



The next beds closest to ours



The cost would be 6 euro's a day or buying drinks



more beds



Our old beds we used 4 years ago



free spaces



more beds







volley ball area



free spaces









coming to the end of the campsite



boats and other water sports are for hire



















end of the beach







The rocks



Walking back I found stripey again





and back with Mrs Db, I tried another shot of the doughnut man but not keen on the background as my lens won't fade it



A couple walking by, enjoying their walk but I was a fraction late taking the shot but reminds me of a famous picture by a French artist



Lunchtime was at Finikas

a shared Greek salad



shared stuffed tomatoes



free ice cream



and another rose coming out at the hotel



sea is beginning to calm





tonight we are eating in Nisi Island

The kitten is still about



menu





a litre of wine is 11 euro's



we shared prawn rolls as a starter



I had the sea bass



Mrs Db had moussaka



and a free dessert



End of Day twelve

Day thirteen

Searching through the cake displays at breakfast I have found some cheese pies and only two days to go and have missed them



Which sunbed do you want Mrs Db



I'm on my way to look Blue bay via the firebreak

another stripey butterfly is in the road not sure of the background which does not help the image



The kitten is still there



Sunbeds along the promenade





this restaurant seems to have two special chairs perhaps game of thrones and one throws doughnuts to the others



more sunbeds



having done this route to the fire break several times, one reaches this point where you can go left or right. This morning I am going right to Blue Bay but it is very hot.



I have plenty of water



more of a hill than what I can recall from last time





first view



down below is Blue Bay with the road leading off to Vathi and Marble Beach



The pathway continues up for some way and one can see how far it runs. I have decided it is far too hot and the effort of going much further is not worth it today



On the way down this was the nearest I could get to photographing a swallowtail butterfly that just don't want to land for a second



Lunchtime was at Finikas



Mrs Db's omelette



and my toasted tuna bun



and the free ice creams



and afternoon on the beach



and back to the apartment for a cup of tea and the standard shower



For the evening I have booked the Enavlion







Starter was feta cheese in a crispy dough with figs and walnuts



I had the beef fillet souvaliki



Mrs Db had Pork Mornay



a free dessert each



and a free liquor




back to the Alexandra







and coffee on our balcony



End of Day thirteen

Day fourteen

So our last day here



It was cloudy going down for breakfast



so the usual yogurt and cheese pies for me



So after breakfast it was still cloudy



and not looking like a beach day



It's good for a walk but not for photographs



So we waited to see if it would clear up and I looked around the hotel area

one of the jacuzzi's was working in our nearest pool



still trying to get an angle on this stripey horse to use



Two swallows flew out of the tunnel



so investigating this I found a nest of them on top of a light fitting



I sort of hid with my camera around the corner but the lighting was poor but managed to capture the mother feeding the young and I did not get another go



happy babies



It was still cloudy so Mrs Db and I decided to walk into Skala Potamia for lunch



fantastic thistles about





and of course the sun came out

we decided to eat in the Krambousa





lovely setting for lunch





we shared a tuna salad lots of lettuce but not much tuna in it for my taste



shared grilled gruyere cheese pies which were nice



and toasted bread



We then had a slow walk back whilst I pointed out some of the changes to Mrs Db



the other Euronet Atm seems to have been place here



Mrs Db put a few things in the cases whilst I had a last go with my camera





three chairs had faces in them



I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get the perfect picture of a painted lady and took about fifty pictures. I don't have a macro lens for fine detail but can use software to sharpen them up later





For our last meal it has to be the Enavlion





we shared the Manouri cheese dish as a starter



I ordered the Jack Daniels rib eye steak which would be massive but it came out as fillet and had not realised both were available



Mrs Db had Papardelle Strogonoff



and free chocolate dessert and liquor



So the final walk back to the apartment

End of Day fourteen

Day Fifteen

We are up early and we saw Samothraki Island for the first time on this holiday



Our taxi to Thassos Town was due at 8:15 am so we had no time for a breakfast as breakfast only starts at 8am. However, each of us were given a packed breakfast to take with us.

The taxi arrived early and we were asked if we would like to leave now. Ours cases went into the taxi's boot and the taxi driver knew where to take us.

The Thassos TUI team were waiting for us and took our cases from us. These are stored in the first coach.



We were told to go onto the ferry and on arrival in Keramoti look for the TUI rep with the Taxi sign

So on board we opened our breakfast package, water, orange juice, sandwich, cake, roll, butter marmalade wait a minute there are no cheese pies .







loading the ferry





seagulls feeding









Thassos in the distance



at Keramoti we met the rep with the taxi sign and we we put in a waiting taxi.

Arriving at the airport another rep ensured we got our cases quickly off the arriving coach and we joined the few waiting at the TUI desk.

So a big thank you to our rep Theodora who I spent some time chatting with her at the hotel and to the Thassos TUI team that made our trip work out so smoothly. All the hotel staff were brilliant and gave us a great holiday in Thassos.

Our plane was late arriving and we left about 30 minutes late



The Birmingham plane due to leave at the same time as us had boarded first but we took off first after they seem to have a technical problem underneath the plane. Mrs Db did look up to see they arrived home an hour late.



so goodbye to Thassos



Down below going over the mountains it was crystal clear







and eventually going over the UK coastline



Summing up Thassos it is changing and like everywhere not for the best. More hotels bring more people and things like fun fairs although small, start to give the place a different look. For those that preferred it to be the old Greece they may start to move on. IMO it still is good but we were in a provided bubble of all the things that we liked about the place with lost one of our favourite taverna's in Vigli's which was a blow. Skala Potamia would not be for us it looked too crowded to enjoy.

Hope you enjoyed the blog we have the memories, photos and a bottle of Ouzo left.

End of Holiday