Halkidikilcious!
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young olives
I've been very lucky and have just returned from a work trip to Halkidiki in the Macedonian region of mainland Greece. We flew into Thessaloniki Airport and stayed just outside Nikiti at the beautiful Danai Beach Hotel for two nights, then moved on to Ouranoupoli for two nights at the Eagles Palace Hotel.
The Danai Beach is one of the Leading Hotels of the World group and was a stunning, marbled oasis of calm and elegance set in beautiful gardens. The nearest village is old Nikiti which is a sleepy little place of traditional houses and a thriving beekeeping industry, together with the ubiquitous olive trees for their fruit and oil. The coastline is unspoilt and quiet, with sandy beaches although it's a little early in the season for swimming in the sea - for me, anyway. I did brave the unheated pool at the Danai Beach, but it was painfully cold until I started swimming!
the view from my balcony at the danai beach
beautiful clear sea
the old town of nikiti
nikiti
Eagles Palace is a larger, resort style hotel near the town of Ouranoupoli in the north west of the region and we were lucky enough to have a villa with private pool each which was a treat. I was lucky to have an end villa, so I had a 360 degree panorama to look out onto from the living room, terrace, bedroom and even the bath tub!
the view from my villa at eagles palace
the small harbour at ouranopoli
From Ouranoupoli we had a morning's walk through olive groves and past small vineyards and farms to the ruined Zygou Monastery and on to the last beach on the Mount Athos Peninsula where women are allowed.
At the furthest point of the peninsula, 2000 monks live in isolation, the largest male-only area in the world. Even female animals are banned. We wandered down the beach and peered through a large chain link, barbed wire topped fence through to the empty beach on the other side and yes, police do patrol the area and yes, it would be up to 10 years in jail for breaching the rules. Male tourists are allowed to visit the monastery though.
I did catch a glimpse of Mount Athos in the distance and saw Mount Olympus near the airport with its snow covered top; in fact, the whole area is very mountainous and lush.
the ruins of the zygou monastery
young olives
i’m afraid this beach is out of bounds ladies
this one is fine though!
Lots of wonderful Greek food, Greek wine tasting and amazing hospitality made for a really interesting visit to a beautiful, unspoilt area.