Traveling For Pleasure

Travel is one of the most enjoyable human activities. A trite statement, of course, but at least it's true. It's hard to find anyone who would disagree with that.

There are many kinds of trips as a result of the many needs or obligations we have, and the most enjoyable trips are the ones made exclusively for pleasure. Pleasures are many and differ from person to person.

I travel out of curiosity, we probably all do, whether we understand it or not. Curiosity to see new places, different people, different lifestyles than our own.

The lifestyle, the food, and the way food is cooked appeal to me. On my travels, not too many of them, I try to get up close, observe and, if possible, taste the local lifestyle.

When I think about past trips, I most like to remember the food I ate there. I don't remember what I got in overly touristy places, in resorts with restaurants and terraces, that is common food and that I find where I live. I only remember those special and unique moments that are not repeated. That remains specific to only one place...

Memories of past travels, Limenaria, Thassos, Greece

It's been so many years already, five years since my most recent trip to Greece, the island of Thassos. However, five years is not that many, but in my case, I have promised myself that I will travel there every year of my life, it means many. Especially since I fear I will never go there again.

By chance, I ended up in Thassos, in the second largest town, Limenaria. Some call it a village, others call it a small town. It's not particularly beautiful, a mix of new (less) and old (more). I didn't see much opulence, more poverty, but an air and atmosphere apart from what I was used to. I fell in love with the place gradually and slowly...

The Aegean Sea, which we only knew about from Greek mythology and Herodotus' history, was now just a stone's throw away from the narrow beach. The sea atmosphere I had never found elsewhere.

One of the advantages of an island is that the villages with their beaches are appropriate to each other. For those who prefer walking the place is ideal. The walking and the sea!

Nature is incredible, the Mediterranean climate and nature. The walk through the pine forests and olive groves was unforgettable.

Not to mention the beauty of the flowers!

But that's not what haunts my memories now. Mostly I think about the chance I had to find a place where locals made the food, it was the same food they ate every day. It was exactly what I wanted more.

Dinner at Sotiros

Holidays in recent years have mostly meant lots of walking. The main activity, even if it's by the sea. Not the beach, not too much bobbing in the water, mostly walks.

Walks through Limenaria, through narrow streets full of stalls with all sorts of things that might interest a tourist.

On the last day of my stay at the sea, on my first holiday in Thassos in 2017, I ended up on a street not on the side but on the opposite side of the sea.

Thassos is a mountainous island. The street I'm talking about leads to the mountain. The mountain is not important now. Just the street on which I saw lots of yellow chairs lined up on either side of it.

I immediately understood that this was the famous sidewalk eating place. A tavern that is not housed in a building. I've heard stories about this place, the good food, and the difficulty of finding an empty seat at a table.

I thanked my lucky stars that I discovered this place before I left. We got interested and found out that the place was open from 7 p.m. and that we had to come early to find seats at the tables.

The wait was long. The darkness descended upon us.

The food was cooked in the kitchen of the house, a small kitchen and it took a long time before all the orders were prepared. No one minded the delay. It was a pleasant time for socializing.

Good wine. Light and refreshing. We all felt like we were visiting friends.

Then the food! When I go to the sea I want to eat what the sea offers and I don't have it when I'm at home. When I go to a place I want to eat what the local people eat...

I liked the grilled seabream best. Seabream caught in the Aegean Sea. At home I eat seabream, but from aquaculture. The taste is nowhere near as good as fish from Thassos.

My wife doesn't eat anything from the sea. That's why I can't eat fish at home. She can't stand the smell of fish. However, she was very pleased with the schnitzel there. She followed the Greek custom and squeezed lemon on the schnitzel. It was even tastier!

Greeks prefer simple, fresh food with olive oil, oregano, and wine.

Toasted bread with oil and oregano is extremely tasty and a must for every meal.

It was my favorite meal. I didn't show it all because I got so engrossed in the food I forgot to photograph everything. There were sweets in the house. It's a custom here, you always get something on the house.

After the hunger has been appeased, people are left to talk, sing, and even dance. Each to his pleasures.

Unfortunately, I left the next day without being able to eat again at Sotiros. That's the name of the place, after the family that owns this little business.

This happened in 2017. Especially for those roadside dinners we did holidays there in 2018 and 2019 and then... the pandemic stopped us.

This is one of my fond memories. I look at the hundreds of photos I took in Thassos and still miss them. Writing these stories and sharing them here makes me live them all over again. That is why I will never stop telling stories of Thassos, even if I repeat myself sometimes. I use old photos but the words are always new. Because, the further I get away in time from those wonderful moments, the more different the stories become...