Thassos revizitat 5. Limenaria / Thassos revisited 5. Limenaria

There are 42 km from Limenas to Limenaria. It was founded at the end of the XIXth. century by the inhabitants from Kastro, a mountain village above Limenaria. Hills covered by olive trees are descending to the shores.

Entering the location, when you come from Potos, you can see a new church, Aghia Metamorfosi. Nearby it is a statue but no explanation.

A promenade, the beach, some little streets with souvenir shops and…that’s all. On a hill above the port, you can see Palataki, an office building which belonged to the German company that exploited here the  at the beginning of the last century.

La 42 km de Limenas, se afla Limenaria, a doua asezare ca marime a insulei. Ea a fost construita, la sfarsitul secolului al XIX-lea, de catre locuitorii din Kastro, un sat de munte de la interior. 

Dealuri cu maslini se inalta in spatele Limenariei, coborand lin spre coasta.

in drum spre Limenaria

 

La intrarea in localitate, venind dinspre Potos, se afla Agia Metamorfosi, o biserica mai noua, pe care am gasit-o insa inchisa. Langa ea o statuie, fara nici o explicatie.

Agia Metamorfosi

O promenada, plaja, cateva stradute cu magazine cu suveniruri si…cam atat. Pe mal, numeroase taverne stau la dispozitia amatorilor. Pe un mic deal deasupra portului, atrage atentia cladirea companiei germane care a exploatat fierul in zona, la inceputul secolului trecut. Grecii ii spun Palataki.

Waiting Peace by Costas Lovoulos

Palataki

Thassos revizitat 4. Limenas, capitala insulei / Thassos Revisited 4. Limenas - The Capital of the Island

Limenas or Thassos-town is situated on the Northern part of the island and it is the capital town. You can reach it in half an hour by ferry from Keramoti, and one and a half hour from Kavala.

A promenade, connecting the actual port with the old one, enables you to see the vessels and admire the sunsets. There is also a row of taverns which became very busy in the evening.

The town was inhabited by the ancient Greeks and by the Romans. They adorned it with temples dedicated to Hercules, Poseidon or Dionysos. On a hill, the remains of the ancient theatre and the citadel towers on Acropolis can be seen. Beautiful panoramas or sunsets are the rewards for those who climb the 137 m hill.

Limenas sau Thassos-town cum ii mai spun unii, se afla in nordul insulei si este capitala acesteia. Localitatea este locuita din cele mai vechi timpuri, fiind o insula apropiata de continent. In numai o jumatate de ora se ajunge cu ferry din Keramoti sau intr-o ora si jumatate din Kavala.

Astazi, orasul nu se deosebeste mult de alte locatii insulare. O promenada care porneste din portul nou si merge pana in cel vechi, iti da ocazia sa privesti vasele care vin si pleaca.

 in portul nou

 portul vechi

Ea te tine aproape si de salba de taverne, care seara sunt mereu pline.

 

Ca orice oras grecesc care se respecta si Limenas are un mic bazar, numai bun de pierdut timpul.

Stapanit pe rand de grecii antici si de romani, orasul a fost impodobit de temple inchinate lui Hercules, Poseidon sau Dionysos, ale caror urme se mai vad si in zilele noastre.

Artefactele descoperite in urma sapaturilor pot fi vazute la Muzeul Arheologic, adapostit de o frumoasa cladire clasica.

 Muzeul de Arheologie

Sus pe deal, la 137 m deasupra nivelului marii, se vad inca urmele amfiteatrului construit in sec. III inainte de Christos, care gazduia 2000-3000 de spectatori. Romanii l-au utilizat apoi pentru lupte cu gladiatori.

 spre teatrul antic

Un drum urca prin padure la Acropolis, pe care se mai vad inca urmele turnurile citadelei care se afla aici. De sus, se deschid panorame frumoase asupra orasului.

 

Thassos revizitat 3. Plajele / Thassos Revisited 3. The Beaches

The Thassos Island is almost round, having in its center the mountains which descend to the shores,

(Ipsario, the highest peak is 1204 m), where a lot of beaches attract the tourists during the summer. There are beaches with fine or more coarse sand, or beaches with cliffs, the favourite places for snorkeling around. The most beautiful beaches are on the Eastern and Southern part of the island.

We saw the most of them on 2010, when we have been there on June, the sea water being warm enough for swimming. Now, on May, it was cold, and we risked only in the last day. Besides, Thassos like Samothraki are the furthest North islands of Greece, and the water is always less warm than in the South.

I put some photos from 2010, to remember the beaches we visited then. Now, we strolled on our little beach in Astris, then the Psili Amos beach, considered by many the most beautiful on the island, and a no name beach, right after Limenaria and before the Tripiti Beach.The last one I liked the most. It looked now so wild and unexplored. Of course that during the summer there are many people there, but now it belonged only to us (and our dog, Caro), and a distant fisherman.

Insula Thassos, de forma aproape rotunda, arata ca o cetate care are in mijloc munti si coboara treptat pana la plajele risipite cu darnicie pe marginile insulei. Exista plaje pentru toate gusturile: cu nisip mai fin sau mai grosier, sau stanci in preajma carora ii vezi pe amatorii de snorkeling. Cele mai frumoase sunt in estul si sudul insulei.

Pe cele mai multe le-am “incercat” la prima vizita in Thassos, in 2010, cand caldura din iunie permitea deja baia in mare. Acum, fiind abia mai, apa era prea rece pentru baie fiindca, oricum, Thassos e dintre cele mai nordice insule ale Greciei, alaturi de Samothraki. De aceea, ne-am plimbat doar pe plaje, riscand o baie abia in ultima zi.

Iata un remember al plajelor pe care ne-am lafait la soare in 2010, plecand din Limenas, in nordul insulei, pana dincolo de Limenaria, in ordinea acelor ceasornicului:

Golden Beach, 2010

Aghios Ioannis Beach, 2010 - small, secluded, wonderful

Kekes Beach, 2010 - good for snorkeling

 The Field Beach, 2010 - under St. Michael Monastery

Aliki Beach, 2010 - with the old port from where the vessels carried the marble in all the antique world

Salonikios Beach, 2010 - back then, on 2010, it was "the best"

Tripiti Beach, 2010

Anul acesta am haladuit mai intai pe micuta noastra plaja de la Astris.

 Astris Beach, 2012

 Apoi, la 1 km de noi, frumoasa Psili Amos, pentru unii chiar cea mai frumoasa de pe insula.

 Psili Amos Beach, 2012

 In ultima zi, dupa cum am scris, am revazut Salonikios Beach, unde am stat pana dupa apus.

 Salonikios Beach, 2012

Plaja care mi-a placut mie cel mai mult nu are nume sau cel putin eu nu il stiu si se afla imediat dupa ce iesi din Limenaria, inainte de Tripiti Beach. Placile de piatra care avanseaza in mare si vegetatia ii dau un aer deosebit. Nu stiu cum arata vara, cand sunt probabil mai multi turisti acolo, dar acum, cu un singur pescar in capatul ei, parea salbatica si neexplorata. 

 No name beach, 2012

 Caro on the beach