Greece - Alexandropoulis (1)

GREECE

Alexandropoulis harbour wall

So far so good, we have been pleasantly surprised by our first stopover in Greece and wasted no time on having a look around on the first full day in Alexandropoulis. You read and hear about the economic problems and so on, but you find that people go about their daily lives as people do all over the world. It's early days yet I know, but first impressions count.
Alexandropoulis is on the Aegean in the far northeast of Greece near the Turkish border, a small city of 73,000 inhabitants including the surrounding municipalities. We opted by recommendation for the municipal campsite on the beach, just on the outskirts but easy 20 minute walk into town.

View from Fifi

A beach, the Aegean Sea and an Aegean sky.

The port is a natural place to start as the beach road kind of takes you there. The usual yacht facilities, ferry terminal, fishing activities and coastguard vessel can all be found.

All manner and means of ....

.... recreational use

SAOS ferries commute to various Aegean destinations such as Thessaloniki, Greece's second city, and islands in the Aegean.

Shimmering in the afternoon sun

The Greeks are proud of their contributions to civilisation as can be readily seen by the name board of the main thoroughfare in Alexandropoulis. The word 'democracy' (Gr. demos kratos) meaning 'people and power' goes back to 5BC with its origins in Athens.

Main street, Democracy Avenue.

From the campsite beach there is no mistaking the usual fishing activities around all coastal communities the world over.

Some do it leisurely

Some do it hell-for-leather

Some do it more 'naturally'

A wonderful microcosm of life around a campsite in northeastern Greece, all pictures were taken within a 45 minute walk of where Fifi the motorhome is parked in the municipal campsite of Alexandropoulis.

And then sometimes you see a view which is simple but inspiring, it speaks of silence and the beauty of nature .... in this case Samothraki, some 26 miles off the coast of Alexandropoulis. The highest peak comes at 1,600m, population just under 3,000 and 69sq mi in size.

The island monolith of Samothraki

A Greek welcome