My opinion is that Greece have some of the most beautiful islands in the whole world and simply whichever island you choose for your holiday in this country you will not make a mistake. Couple of years ago I had a perfect chance to visit Evia, the second largest Greek island
and to spent there one great day discovering the old historical ruins, drinking
local coffee with my friends and swimming on the massive waves. After short Athens adventure, the next stop was Oropos, a small village on the coast of the Aegean Sea that contrary to the some other more popular destinations in its surrounding still has not developed luxury tourism. Reason why I stayed there was a three weeks long summer camp where I had learned about the environmental problems of the region and their future eco projects in Oropos.
(Golden Sea Sunset, Evia)
Photo taken by Igor L.
The good thing about Oropos itself is that this village is actually located just across Evia island and from there it is possible to take Ferry boat for different destinations several times per day. We however chose the closest place to go which was a small village on the Evia island called Eritria. We bought the tickets, entered the Ferry boat and whole ride did not last more than a 15 minutes so during that time we have really enjoyed by watching the vibrant sea on the hot summer day. The whole time on the island we spent picnicking, walking by endless local roads, meeting the locals in tavern and visiting important ancient sites + swimming in the tucked old port! At the end
of that day I took this photography which will always stay in my mind like a
nice memory from a great summer time.
(Grass, Sea and Mountains, Chalkoutsi)
Photo taken by Igor L.
The next early morning we went by the foot directly to a village called Chalkoutsi which is located very close to the Oropos, place where we had stayed in camp. Somewhere
on the halfway to our final destination we were met by a rather swampy
atmosphere which is blended in vicinity of the river, sea and dry grass
that was swinging all around the place. From
the stories of the local people, we found out that this place is rich with
various protected species of birds and some of them are even originating from the African continent. Main problem for this region arose as the wastewater was continuously discharged during the many years into the inflows which go directly to the sea. This created environmental chaos and now local authorities try to displace what it was being built for a many years.
(Ferry Boat in Sunset , Oropos)
Photo taken by Igor L.
Last night on the beach was something memorable because of the sunset and whole orange-red sky atmosphere! After the almost three weeks in this wonderful village with the great local Greek people but and all others who make me a company during that time I need to say goodbye for while, pack my bag and to grab a bus to the Athens again on the next day. Sometimes it's just best to visit places that are not so popular but that can provide you much more than a regular kind of vacation and I had a incredible chance to experience something different then casual "sitting in the hotel" tourism which in this case is simply priceless.
