The prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler discovered in Pelion a perfect corner in Greece, where “you’ll find a secret stretch of coast with sleepy fishing villages and deserted beaches, where the swimming is heaven and you can go completely off-grid”.

“I thought I knew Greece, but I had never heard of Pelion until friends told me about the simple stone house they were staying in, the perfect swimming, the unripened food, the joys of pine- and olive-covered slopes and deserted pebble beaches. When they went on about it as a forgotten corner of Greece, I thought maybe they were exaggerating. But they weren't”, writes Condé Nast’s editor, Anthony Sattin.

The journalist stayed in Argalasti, close enough to the sea and at an ideal location to discover the beauties of Pelio. He was “lured” to the hills, drank ouzo in Agios Georgios, visited Tsagarada, Mouresi, Lafkos and “many other villages that brisk trade serving large families late into the evening.”

“On a still day I might drive to the east coast, where the Aegean will be flat and a gentle breeze will take the edge off the heat. Everyone has their favourite Aegean beach - Veneto up in the north, or Milopotamos, divided in two by a huge stone arch, or Damouchari where they filmed scenes for Mamma Mia! and where Apostolis keeps a good taverna and hotel, or Katigiorgis with its sand beach and excellent fish at Taverna Areti.

But mine are Mikro, at the end of a road that feels as though it will drop straight into the deep blue, and Paltsi, as unassuming a place as you can find along the coast, a broad, stony stretch hemmed in by very steep, green hills.”

“Now, as I write this, the image that is most prominent in my thoughts is of sitting on the terrace of the house late at night, moonlight dazzling water in the bay. Occasionally there are car lights on the opposite shore, or an owl in the grove, or a truck on the road, but mostly there is nothing but silence and stillness, ideal conditions for dreaming while still awake, for letting the mind roam through shadows, recovering stories that had retreated and insights long faded. Then, just as I am lost in thought, a line of fishing boats cuts across the view from right to left, leaving Volos towards the sea, big lights on their booms to attract a catch. In their wake they tow more dreams and memories, of Jason leaving on his adventure, of Achilles sailing for Troy, and of the words of the poet Cavafy who wrote about the joy of a journey, of entering harbours for the first time. One day soon I will have to leave on another journey. Before then, there will be days on white stones and in blue water, nights in the dark scented grove in this place we'd never heard of, to which I find myself wanting to return.”

Read the whole article, here.

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From: Anthi Sasmatzoglou

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