Thassos

May 13 - 21. Left Sarti and after extracting Rockets claws from my shoulder we bade a tearful farewell and gave him up to a young German backpacker working in the shelter.  Little old car , still mirror dangling in the wind ( no where to get it fixed) we mosied along the coast road, checked out ruins of Aristotle's birthplace, 

braved Kavala traffic again for a lunch giros plus a good dried fruit & nut shop then onto the ferry from Keramoti to Thassos town on Thassos.

I would love to collect all the cafe table cloths - they are disposable and always have a map of where you are.

Had a fun catchup dinner with Trevor and Lesley who have already reaquainted themselves with Greek transit paperwork - Porto Largos didnt stamp them out so Thassos didnt want them come in. New rules this year with a 400 Euro tax on yachts in Greek waters but the computer system isnt in place and no one wants to do the paperwork so the usual frustrations - steven has decided we may not go to any Greek port this year!

Onto find a quiet beach spot however despite the internet indicating Golden, Potomia or Paradise beaches are the bees knees (and for Europe they may well be), have to say not my cup of tea and little accom open for visitors yet. Met an english couple who had booked via net and extremely disappointed where they ended up - not quite what brochure indicated!  One tends to forget and take for granted how spoilt or lucky (depending on your viewpoint) we are in Australia with our beautiful beaches, soft sand and clean ocean water. While the Med certainly has wonderful mixtures of culture, history and languages within such close proximity, and I am such a lucky girl to travel as I am, I wouldnt swap where I live for quids.

This is Aliki where the government blue sign told the world how many Euro was being contributed to something archeological. No work appeared to be done however the little town appeared to have new rock roads and be in excellent nick! 

Followed the perimeter road with stunning views, stopped at a convent perched high on a cliff (had to don a long dress to go in) and I have to say, if anyone wants to be a nun you would be hard pressed finding a more gorgeous and peaceful place with beautifully tended gardens, their own wine and the most spectacular ocean view.

South side of Thassos we found Potos and stopped for no reason particularly other than sick of driving. Same story as Sarti with work going on, studios cheap (20Eu) and places to mooch such as Theologos and Marie, both quaint old stone house hill towns, with once again us being the only lunch visitors but the locals always have tables set up just in case. Maybe bus tours turn up once the tourist season hots up. This is certainly the best time to travel before the hordes descend.

We followed signs Above the town of Marie to an elf cave - I didnt see one.

All the wooden lasts at a local cobblers shop - I know a girl can never have enough shoes and I did try but my bunion and their leather were not a good match.

Clearly the helter skelter of this cafe got too much for Steven - doing nothing can be exhausting!

Or if you prefer the beach there is no need to fight for space - I was the only one there which is just as well as first airing of the bikini and not a pretty sight - much work to be done so the jogging continues and again to the amusement of locals - must admit have yet to see anyone else in running shorts braving the road or dogs. This beach was only an easy jog from where we stayed but no one was there - the few other tourists that are around seem to just congregate where they are beach bars in town.

On one such run met Alex, Greek australian or Australian Greek (never sure) originally from Melbourne who with his son from Sydney, runs Boomerang studios and sports bar each summer so we had our only evening out watching the FA cup finals at his place with a group of poms! He wears Aussi caps and T shirts and was rapt as apparently we were the first Australians to visit - anyone going to Thassos do stop by.

Back on the road to Prinos for the weekly local market, lunch with cats vying for your food in Megalo Prinos ( they try to get in your lap) wandered up a hill following a goat herd with their bells singing such a lovely song, climbed a bell tower, found the obligatory ruins then onto Scala Prinos but still no wifi (hence I am doing diary for last 2 weeks). 

This church was actually boardered up and gate locked but the fence had a gap and tower door was ajar so climbed up, trying not to knock the bells as that would have shocked the locals - terrific view.

All towns, no matter the size, have a centre square usually around a huge old tree and always with a cafe or taverna for lunch. Back on the fried corgette and aubergine trail.

OK, enough climbing of hills and road trips - it is seriously time to find the ocean and a boat plus our 18 days are near up so time for a ferry back to the mainland and make a run at the border - this time with all fingers and toes crossed.