Halkidiki and Prespa Lakes
Welcome to my webpage about my holiday to Halkidiki and Prespa in September 2003. I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures and enjoy browsing the photographs. I hope they bring back memories to you or inspire you to visit either of these in the future.
Lorraine
Our holiday was arranged by Filoxenia, a small family-run company based in Halifax, England. We stayed in Olympiada on the north-east coast of Halkidiki, which is a quiet resort with only a few waterside tavernas out of high season. We picked up a hire car at Thessaloniki airport and drove a couple of hours to Olympiada past a couple of lakes on a new fast road. Our accommodation was the Apartment Mijies - a self-catering apartment with a small pool, approximately 15 minutes stroll from the village centre, with delightful Greek and German hosts.
The seafront and extremely long beach in Olympiada which stretches as far as you can see:
The village of Olympiada is next to the ancient site of
Stagira:
The view from Stagira, looking along the coast::
Prespa
After a couple of days settling in to Olympiada, we set off in our hire car to the Prespa Lakes in the North West corner of Greece, bordering Albania and Macedonia. The journey took all day, and we stopped off briefly for lunch at the side of Vegoritida lake:
After travelling through some beautiful scenery, and past the ski resort of Pisodheri, we arrived in Prespa late afternoon. The descent from the hills down onto the lakeside was stunning, with the spectacular sight of huge lakes and pelicans flying overhead. Driving across the causeway-like road from one side of Mikri Prespa to another seemed a bizzare experience as we were all alone, with no-one in sight until we drove past an army checkpoint and up another steep hill into the village of Psarades where we were based for 3 nights. Although the daytime temperatures were hot, the lakes are at an altitude of 900 metres, and the evenings were very cool in comparison.
The road runs along the causeway separating the
lakes:
View of the village from our balcony:
We stayed in the newly built hotel opposite the village, known as the Ladies of
Psarades hotel, as it is run by the local women from the village, and for 2 of
the 3 nights we were the only residents in the hotel! Our room was clean
with a lovely view of the lake and village with TV, private bathroom, double
bed and balcony. Breakfast was continental with fruit juice, boiled eggs,
cheese, ham and coffee.
Over the past 10 years the water level of the lake gone down, and what was
once a village perched on the edge of the lake is now some metres from the
waterfront, however, it is still very picturesque with terracotta tile rooves
and houses traditionally built with wooden beams:
A walk around the village reveals many of the houses still showing signs of the
Yugoslavian war, when the village was used as target practice by neighbouring
troops!
Apparently a lot of the locals moved out during this time, and came back after
the war to find their houses inhabited by strangers on their return!
However, the area is now returning to normality, and supports a small tourist
trade - Greeks who come to look at the ancient icons painted in the caves and
churches and a small fishing industry.
Our first full day in Prespa we visited the island of Agios Ahillios, which is famous for it's 11th Century basillica, churches and a monestary. The island is now accessed by a newly constructed floating walkway. The island has a couple of houses plus a taverna and small tourist kiosk, which sells pelican and icon souvenirs as well as postcards and icecreams. The island mainly attracts Greek tourists to the churches and there are paths which enable you to walk round the island at your leisure.
The walkway:
The basillica:
We then ventured back across the causeway and drove to the village of Agios Germanos, where we visited the information centre about the Prespa Lakes, which are a national nature reserve, detailing all the wildlife in the area including 1500 species of plants and 260 species of birds as well as wolves, chamois and bears (although we didn't see these for ourselves). In the Psarades bay we were lucky enough to see pygmy cormorants, purple heron and egrets.
Our second day in Prespa took us back to the village of Agios Germanos, where we visited the ancient byzantine church, adorned with 11th Century frescoes. The church is now connected to the modern church, and is accessed through a small wooden door. The outside of the building does not prepare you for the sights inside. We then visited a shop in the village which stocked gorgeous books with colour photographs of the area and the wildlife - sadly too heavy for my return luggage. Heading south, we visited the village at Microlimni, but sadly it seemed closed, and we quickly turned about and returnd towards Psarades, stopping off at a taverna at Koula beach, which is on the narrow strip which separates the two lakes. It would seem that the taverna was once a waterside property, but sadly the change in levels of the lake means it is now a 200 metre walk to the water, and looks as if it has seen better days. However, we did walk down to the lake slowly and carefully trying to avoid disturbing too many birds which were along the waters edge. In contrast to the sometimes barren hillsides, most of the land between the two lakes is planted up with thousands of wigwams of beans.
St Germanos church: Beans:
Our third and final day saw us return to the island of Achios Ahillios to once again take in the spectacular scenery, and a long stroll around the lakeside and village of Psarades. The final evening was memorable for our visit to one of the tavernas on the edge of the village which served us delicious carp wich had been freshly caught and cooked to our choice of method, which involved an invitation to look around the kitchen. An experience not to be missed!
The return trip was also as exciting as the visit to Prespa itself. We had no idea that Edessa would be such a picturesque and cosmopolitan town. It was an unexpectured pleasure as we drove through the tree-lined streets, often with small streams running along them. We stopped for a couple of hours near the cliff, taking in the amazing waterfalls which plunge over the high cliffs straight down to the plateau beneath, stopped for coffee at the High Rock cafe, and walked along the cobbled streets of the old town, before breifly visiting the ancient ruins of the original town below the cliff. I will never forget what incredible noise the water made plunging over the edge. Even the best photographs could not do it justice - you need to be there to appreciate the scale of the falls and the noise. We also walked down some steps through the gardens to see the waterfall, and can even walked behind it with the water thundering overhead! We could have easily stayed longer if we knew we didn't have to drive back to Halkidiki so soon. A glass lift also runs from the top of the cliff to the ancient ruins below.
The
waterfall:
The ancient ruins with the waterfall in the background:
Well worth a visit - the High Rock cafe:
Pella
We then returned to our car and headed back across the plain towards Halkidiki. A couple of hours later we were in need of another stop to break the journey, and paid a visit to the ancient site of Pella. The archaeological site is huge, and is still being uncovered and discovered, with some spectacular mosaic floors and columns still in place. The city was designed in regular building blocks, with horizontal and perpendicular streets, similar to the design we associate with contemporary modern cities of today. The museum across the road, which consists of three large rooms, is also well worth a visit for all the hoards of gold which have been found both on the site at Pella and in nearby burial sites – the likes of which I have never seen before. Although now some distance from the sea, in bygone times – early 4th Century BC Pella was a palace city on the coast, with sophisticated water supply and drainage systems. It is thought that the city was destroyed probably by an earthquake, then subsequently abandoned around the 1st Century BC.
I am sure that in the future more of the city will be discovered, and undoubtedly reveal more about the inhabitants of this once great city.
From our base in Olympiada, we took a day trip to drive around the Sithonia peninsula. We started by driving to Stratoni, then took the road West up through the mountain villages of Paleohora and Paleokastro and Poligiros, before descending South to the coast. Again turning East we drove the coast road around the peninsula, stopping at various beaches for stunning views. The whole area has beautiful beaches with turquoise waters, mostly deserted as you can see from our photographs, surrounded by vibrant green pine trees:
The most populated town in the area is Neos Marmaris, where we stopped at a marina-side café, and for the first time in days, we heard English voices! The town has a number of shops and accommodation, with a large modern hotel in the next bay.
From here, heading south, there is nowhere quite as large and busy, with the
odd village and amazing views, all the way round. Once the corner is turned, and you are heading north again,
the peninsula of Mount Athos can be seen through the haze, and there is a
panoramic restaurant on the main road where many people stop to take photos as
we did. The Mount Athos area is
covered in monasteries, which can only be reached by arrangement and by men
only.
Mount Athos in the distance:
Green
lush coastal scenery:
