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This year our local beach has no bar, so nowhere to sit in the shade, no iced coffee to enjoy with a book beside the sea, no shower to wash off the salt after a swim. And nowhere to go in the evening to watch the sun go down, sip an ouzo over ice and nibble on olives and salted sardines. We still go for a quick swim there now and again. The beach is dirty and the sun searing hot. And I hate sitting around afterwards all covered in salt.
Neorion beach
With our niece from Australia we tried an old beach under new management
There are eucalyptus trees on the beach and a couple of pines right on the water's edge to give us shade
The beach was sandy. I could wade into the sea without treading gingerly over small stones and falling unceremoniusly in front of an audience. The water was warm
It was calm enough to slow breaststroke out to the nearest buoy
A nargile for the adventurous
I didn't see anyone using them but it made for an exotic atmosphere
There were breezy curtains, a few fat pillows scattered on the sand and 'eastern' carpets
And the usual loud greek music
And the old familiar. Chairs on the beach and cold beers from the canteen.
Monastery Beach
on the other hand had got a facelift but judging by the prices the customers were being made to pay for it
My girls go down to this beach to see their friend Kelly who works there like a slave all through the crushing summer heat serving drinks to the sunbeds
She works from 10am till 7pm and then
Spends 4 hours, helped by her two children and husband, cleaning up sunbeds, righting umbrellas, collecting cigarette butts and raking the sands
I don't know how she made it to the end of summer
Monastery Beach
It was neat and tidy with wooden boardwalks, whitewashed stone work and comfortable wooden sunbeds.
Usual price for sunbeds is 5 euros for two beds and an umbrella between them. Here they are 10 euros. Makes for an expensive day when the beers and coffee are twice the price as well
If you want quiet then there is our old local
No canteen, no shade, no people
And most importantly, no canteen people to clean up the beach after a northerly breeze
No canteen people to scurry with a coffee as you rise from the waters of the Aegean
A beach bug came to visit .. and wouldn't go away
She works from 10AM to 11PM....? Wonder how much she makes? Wonder what her husband works at, which makes it necessary, for her to do this, in the summer?
ReplyDeleteShe makes bigger all! Her husband and his family have a huge herd of goats, sell meat, make cheese etc. Now the husband works for a big hotel, long hours, still helps aging parents with goats and helps at the beach. You do what you have to survive, specially in the summer.
DeleteBugger all, it should be. Basic minimum and extra hours don't count
DeleteGuess you pay for what you get. Even in getting a cooling swim. In the most comfortable circumstances. :-) Like everything else, in this world.
ReplyDelete🍁 🎃 🍁
It all looks good and, of course, the more expensive, the better it looks.
ReplyDeleteThe second beach is a huge improvement but in years gone by we had fun there and the canteen the beach was cheap and rustic, a place you could sit with friends, have .Souvlaki and let the kids run wild.
DeleteProgress
I'd go for the quiet beach, and take my own cool-box. There's nothing like that feeling that a beach is yours alone!
ReplyDeleteWe tried the cool box. Just not the same . Good for a quiet swim on a sweltering afternoon and then home
DeleteI’d pick the quiet beach. As an Aussie I would set up camp early with my esky, my umbrella and sunshade tent. Food and drinks would go in there along with spare clothes and I’d be on the chair under the umbrella
ReplyDeleteWe thought we might do that but just wasn't the same. I remember the olden days.....last year......and yearn
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