We first went on a seaside holiday together with my husband to Polichrono, which lies on the east coast of Cassandra, the west arm of the famous Chalkidiki Peninsula. Among the three smaller peninsulas making up Chalkidiki, Cassandra gets the most precipitation, so here you find the richest vegetation making the landscape so very attractive. The other two peninsulas to the east are named Sithonia and Agion Oros.

Polichrono takes pride in having one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece: crystal clear water washes over the shore covered with almost white sand, and the sea bottom can clearly be seen in great depths as well. This is an ideal place for lovers of the sea, who, just like us, hardly ever come out of the water!

Once though we got on a paddle boat to roam over the shore and to be able to take a photo of the wonderful view over the coast, looked from the side of the sea. Photos are not enough to convey this kind of beauty, still we were happy to bring home just a little bit of this wonder.

Here is the crystal clear sea water with the light playing with it, which put a real spell on us! We were only willing to sacrifice one of the ten days to leave our much loved beach to do something else, though we had heard of all the beautiful places worth visiting in Chalkidiki. Fortunately our curiosity gained victory over our "laziness" just in time on the last but one day, and we took part in an unforgettable boat-trip.

Our ship left the port of Pefkohori to start its seven-hour voyage, the main purpose of which was to see the monasteries of the Agion Oros Peninsula. They can only be viewed from the sea, for women are not allowed to enter this rather unique, independent republic of orthodox monasteries, where only men gain admittance occasionally.

The monasteries lie in a wonderful natural environment. The 2033 m high Athos mountain offers an entrancing sight with its lacy ridges steeply descending right to the coast, among them countless smaller or bigger V-shaped valleys, which were carved out by mostly winter rainfalls that find their almost unhindered way down the slopes of straggling vegetation.

Approaching the coast the medieval-like buildings of the monasteries come into full sight so that you almost feel living in a different age! Several architectural styles appear that makes exploring the coast even more interesting. This is something you just can't afford to miss when visiting this wonderful country!

Some monasteries have almost unbelievable locations, making us wonder how such massive type of buildings could have been erected on cliff tops without the modern technologies that we just take for granted these days.

After seeing the monasteries on the west coast of Agion Oros, our ship made its way along the east coast of Sithonia. It has a rather straggling vegetation compared to Cassandra, but the rocky coast provides a magnificent view. We called at Porto Koufo, an inlet going deeply inside the mainland. The air was almost glowing for the heat, the humidity must have been at its lowest point, giving us an experience we had never felt before.

On our way back to Cassandra beside some almost tame sea-gulls, for a while even a dolphin making big leaps was following our ship, which made our trip truly unforgettable! The next evening unfortunately we had to say goodbye to the sea, but we really made an oath to come back again someday. Polichrono has a special place in our heart, as this was our first seaside holiday together.

Some of the pictures are courtesy of Ormos Travel. You can visit their site by clicking on the above link.

 

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