Halkidiki - Busy Doing Nothing

Kalispera! As I mentioned in my previous post, several of the reviews I'd read during my pre-trip research was that there was absolutely nothing to see or do. There is a folk museum in Polychrono but it was closed when we were there, there's also some ancient Greek ruins, unearthed during some recent construction work which are currently screened off. There's Halkidiki's historical main city, Thessaloniki, but the buses, still running on the Winter, pre-tourist season schedules, were sporadic and the express service, reducing the two and a half hour journey to just 60 minutes, didn't start until next month.We debated hiring a car but, rather than splash the cash, we decided to explore the immediate area on foot instead.

On our first day we decided to hike to Mavrobara in the prefecture of Central Macedonia just over three miles from Polychrono. Designated as an area of natural beauty, it stands 300m above sea level and the lake at its peak is home to two endangered species of water turtle, Emys Orbicularis & Mauremys Caspica.

On the way we passed a defunct olive oil press...

And a couple of tiny Orthodox churches.

As we discovered on previous visits, Greece's spring flowers are absolutely glorious.

The lake blew our minds, we had no idea turtles could be so noisy. I've owned a tortoise for almost 50 years and he's seldom emitted more than the occasional hiss!

After spending all of Wednesday on the beach, on Thursday we walked to Hanioti, the next town along the coast. On the way we bumped into Ross and Helen, our Ammos neighbours. They've been visiting Polychrono for 30 years - they love it so much, they've booked to come back in three weeks time! Together we ambled along, admiring the residents houses & their immaculately kept gardens and feasted on kumquats we plucked from the trees overhanging the road (in Greece people are welcome to help themselves to produce as long as they only take enough to feed themselves). After a frappe in the town square we went our separate ways, Jon & I walked along the seafront and window-shopped the high-end boutiques before walking back to Polychrono for a late lunch which, after clocking up a total of 7.5 miles we were starving.

We loved this novel way of turning unrecyclable plastic bottle tops into art.

Although it was warm throughout our stay we had a few light showers and several overcast days explaining why Halkidiki is very green.

There's a lot of money in the area and there's some huge houses - not all built in the best possible taste. We rather liked this post-modern villa, it's got the look of a Bond villain's lair.

The world's best olives come from Halkidiki and if you eat as many as we do you'll already know that.

The following day we walked in the opposite direction, taking the beach road from Polychrono to the village of Kryopigi. 

After a restorative frappe we wandered around the old village square, chatting to some locals (and their cats) before descending to the beach, walking back along the sand and stopping for a swim along the way (the water here is a couple of degrees than Polychrono). After lunch in one of Polychrono's seafront tavernas we slept off our ten mile walk on the talcum powder sand, punctuated with a refreshing swim in the Aegean.

As always we fantasised over which house we'd live in. Forget those swanky modern villas, give me a crumbling three hundred year old village stone house with shutters and a grape vine.

We rather liked the look of this derelict cottage, too but ruled it out as the gates were too narrow for Gilbert. 

We spent all of Saturday lazing on the beach in the glorious broiling sunshine but on Sunday we awoke to drizzle and a distinct nip in the air so, armed with a brolly (which, along with our jackets, we were able to pack away before too long) we walked back to Hanioti and had cappuccinos in a bustling cafe in the town square, packed with Greek families all dressed up and out for a Sunday stroll. We continued on our way eventually arriving at Pefkochori (Greek for Pine Village). 

After clocking up eight miles we rewarded ourselves with a large beer on Pefkochori seafront before some sightseeing and souvenir shopping. Lunch was - as always - Greek salad, a basket of freshly baked bread and a glass of the most delicious local vino (and we don't usually like white wine). We wandered along the jetty and decided that, rather than walk the ten miles back, we'd reward ourselves with a taxi home, a very reasonable €10.

The first time we've had a Greek salad with boiled eggs.

And there you have it. The museum might have been closed and the capital a bit of a chore to get to out of season without a car but there's absolutely loads to do in and around Polychrono as long as you have comfy footwear and a natural curiosity plus all that walking meant we could feast like Greek Heroes for a week and return to the UK weighing less than when we left it! 

Stay tuned for my final instalment.