Island Paradise - Samothraki

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So arrival in Alexandropoulis was abrupt, me and Rach stopped at one of the many 24hr cake shops (yes wierd for a town with a pop of ~70k) managed to find a cheap hotel that would give us a half rate for the day if we were out by 3pm and caught a few extra hours sleep. We left at about 12 and i managed to catch the end of the Greece vs USA basketball game, Greece won and within seconds the streets were filled with people with flags, drums and anything that could make noise, was quite unexpected and very cool.

On Meisha's instructions i managed to find a cheap tent, sleeping bag and bed roll in preperation for camping on Samothraki, and to sus out a ferry that evening while Rach booked her train for that night back to Istanbul. We kicked around the town for the day, found out that most things in Greece close from 2pm til 5 or 6, and had a drink at a waterfront cafe. The town was clearly a summer holiday destination and judging from the many empty cafe seats the peak season had passed. The locals here were really friendly, helpful and spoke english, i had one guy help me sus where the stores might be, a girl take me to a store to ask about a tent and another guy in a store fire up his PC and check the nexts weeks weather for me! Very cool vibe.

Its a night ferry so i roll into port about 2230hrs and it says the last bus is at 2330hrs which would take me to the camping ground, so i wait, and wait, and wait. About midnight its a lost cause so i decide it might be an idea just to wander out of the town and find a spot to set up camp for the night. As I'm walking out I figure its a small island, I might try my luck and hitch a ride, and within a minute I met Thimis, a local who takes me to a small village Therma (close to my camping ground) and assures me everyone on the island is very friendly and if he didnt pick me up someone else definitely would have. We stop at the cafe at Therma which is still filled with people, had a real hippy feel to it, and he introduces me to another couple of guys who have been staying on the island for a month. They start to tell me how amazing the island is, magical i think the exact word was, and tell me i can free camp nearby, there is fresh running water from the streams, thermal water and baths and the village has a bakery and small shop for anything i might need. He shows me a spot near a thermal vent where the pavement is heated and i decide that looks like a sweet spot to spend the night! An interesting start.

The next morning i'm up pretty early, grab some breakfast, chill at the cafe updating my diary and chat to a few other people around who tell me about some of the things to see. I find out later that there is actually an area 50m down the road into the bushes where all the local visiting greeks free camp in a little community, but i figure i need to get to the camping ground so i've got some facilities and can meet some people to hang out with. So i saddle up and walk a few kms down the road in the sweltering midday sun to the camp ground. Its very empty, like i said i'd missed peak season but there were still a few people hanging around so i figured it do for that night at least. While i was setting up my tent i heard the familiar sounds of Crowded House being blasted out a car parked near my tent spot and low and behold an Aussie cobber Pat and his Kiwi girlfriend Michelle (Billsy) emerged! We get to chatting and they invite me to one of the far away beaches for the afternoon.

This is the first of many amazing Greek island beaches, the water is absolutely crystal clear at every one of them, there are lots of small fish, (that Pat tried his hand at catching, with some success I might add) and almost no waves (weather dependant!). The water is quite salty so its easy to swim (additional buoyancy) and its nice and warm.

We got some food on the way home for a shared meal, they had all the gears since they were traveling ex Uk in Bluey, a little Ford Escort wagon they had converted with a bed etc. Top meal by the way Pat, then we met another local Greek girl Sofia also camping who joined us for a drink and chat and to school us in Greek.

The next day we went to walk up a river (called ‘The Murderer’ due to the huge rocks that get washed down it in flood) to see three notable waterfalls. The scenery was beautiful and really reminded me of home, beyond the first waterfall the trail got a little hairy but the views from further up the valley were worth it. It was a decent hike that ended with an extremely refreshing cliff jumping and swimming session back at the first waterfall. As a side note for later, this was where I first met Kostas, a greek guy from Athens, briefly.

That night was a repeat of the first after a relaxing thermal soak, this time Billsy showed her hand at cooking and I was dish pig again. We also discovered that Billsy had actually used to live just down the road from me in Hillsborough on Ramilton rd, small world ay. Apparently I’m also a spitting image of her older brother, so I thought it was only fair to rag on her like I would my little sister 😊 Later me and Sofia went to watch the stars, this was the first time I had an opportunity to see the Northern Hemisphere clearly and it was quite weird to see a totally new skyscape. (I saw two shooting stars too!)

The next day started with bacon and eggs (YES! It had been too long!) before heading to another beach even more beautiful than the first, we were the first there and the water was so still there was a thermal layer about a foot deep that was like warm bath water, borrowed some goggles here and swum around the rocks for ages.

The camping ground was closing that day so I grabbed a ride back to drop my gears at Therma for another night free camping before my next available ferry to Limnos was due, then went to the port to see the Walrus and my surrogate lil sis off on their ferry to … somewhere. Thanks again guys, was good times, hope your travels still going well! Caught up on some emails and arranged to meet Fran on Limnos (island halfway between us), she’s a kiwi girl I met in London who was traveling down the Turkish coast with her parents, I figured they probably needed a break from her 😊 and it’d be nice to have some more kiwi speaking company camping on the islands. Then I went for a drink with Sofia at her new temporary job/accommodation at a bar on the island. Hitching a ride back to Therma proved pretty frustrating, I’d walked about a third of the way before the 9th car stopped and gave me a ride, so much for your theory Thimis! (possibly due to the fact it was really late and I didn’t have my pack I’m thinking)

On my last day I had planned to walk up solo to the summit of the main mountain (1600m) before catching my ferry late evening. So I was up early and saw Kostas again at the café before leaving, he had done the walk so gave me some careful directions to find and follow the path… which I must have ignored since I couldn’t find the damn path even though I back tracked and forward tracked twice! The path I did follow led me to another two rivers, waterfalls and rock pools, again beautiful and untouched, I met a Greek girl Dora and her Portuguese boyfriend and hung out in the sun for the morning and had my first skinny dip (greek style) Damn good actually, guys if you’ve only ever swum in boardies I think you need to give it a try, bloody comfortable.

That arvo I went for coffee and lunch with Sofia before heading down to the beach at Therma for my last swim, ended up playing with a 7yr old german boy and his greek friend, was good times for an 8yr old kiwi boy trapped in a 27yr old body and proved once again language is no barrier to fun.

I hitched to the port without any trouble, said goodbye to Sofia and caught my late ferry with Kostas to Limnos. Had a nap on the ferry (note to self, don’t sleep in front of heat exhaust vent again) and we arrived about midnight. We found a sweet spot on some rocks at the base of a castle overlooking the port to sleep, since Kostas was too tired to drive his Duck (= halfway between a scooter and a motorbike) anywhere that night and I had to wait to meet Fran the next morning at 6am when her ferry was due in.

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Photos

Tank near the beach
Convieniently pointing at Turkey?

Comments

[SERF]

NUDE SURFING
MATEY, AS CURRENT DAKAR CUP HOLDER, IF YOU THINK A SKINNY DIP IS GOOD, YOU WANTA TRY NUDE SURFING, HIGHLY RECCOMENDED

[Paddy and Billsy]

Cool Pics
Nice work mate!