My dad proposed spending a week at our beach house in Nea Kallikratia, Chalkidiki, Greece. You start out by saying: you wouldn’t want to spend A WEEK in a BEACH HOUSE in GREECE!? And you’d happen to be correct. My beach house is…unique. Standing at nearly 100 years old, the four room structure is…small. It has one small kitchen, with a strange, sloping roof, and three bedrooms. You might be thinking…so where is the bathroom…good question! We have an outside. Inside contains everything of a bathroom. There is also a small shower outside (but there is no hot water there). In my selfishness, I opted to split the week between an apartment on Mt. Pelion and the beach. I cannot resist indoor plumbing! My dad went to Mt. Pelion as a kid, so it felt nice to explore a new part of Greece that had a meaning to my father. Mt. Pelion, located in Northern Greece, is home to the mythological creature: the centaur. Not only is Mt. Pelion home to the centaurs, but Jason and the Argonauts launched the Argo from the shores to embark on their quest for the golden fleece.
The drive to Mt. Pelion was terrifying. The roads were impossibly narrow and winding. After about 5 hours of long, anxiety-provoking roads, we reached our quaint apartment with the most beautiful view. To my left and right sat mountains and right in front of me lay the sea. It was truly beautiful. I indulged in delicious fried cheese, stuffed eggplant and an abundance of Greek salad. The beaches are beautiful, cold, and pebbly. At night, it would drop into the high 50s-low 60s and reach the 70s during the day, not the typical weather you expect for Greece.
The weather stayed the same as we drove to Kallikratia. It was windy and cold as I tried to find warmth in the sun at the beach. To be honest, I only went in the water once in Kallikratia. It was just too cold! The beach has changed a lot since I first came here when I was 5. Due to the economic crisis, a lot of businesses have shut down and tourism has decreased. It is disappointing to see the struggling business that once flourished during my childhood.
As the week came to a close, I packed my carry-on bags, ready to head off to a new adventure…
