Arrival

3 hours or so later and touch down. Not the biggest airport in the world. In fact if there are two planes at Kavala then it's busy, and that's including the Greek air force. Instantly hit by the heat. It's OK for the other two as they are in shorts. But I have to travel in the DVT stockings so I have trousers on. Maybe I should have packed shorts in the hand luggage.

Greeted by the rep who tells us how wonderful our hotel is. Excuse me for being cynical but she's hardly likely to say it's horrible. We get on the coach and watch our bags being loaded on a rather dilapidated lorry. We are taken to the local port where we have to get the ferry to the island. I am about 500 feet from a cache but between me and it is an expanse of water. We try walking around but there just isn't time (this was to be a recurring theme which lead to a bit of ill so this is the only time I will mention the failure to get a cache during this holiday). Getting on the ferry is an interesting exercise in itself, avoiding the cars that are loading at the same time. We quickly find the bar and decide to try a local beer, Mythos, which certainly goes down well in the heat. Then out on deck to enjoy the 30 minute crossing, to revel in the sun, and to watch Thassos get ever closer. And I am pleased to say, to spot the luggage lorry as well.

Another short trip by coach and we are dropped at the hotel. We get a ground floor room, clean and tidy, right next to the pool. The other side of the pool is an area of decking, then the beach, and finally the sea. From our room to the sea is probably 300 feet at most. Perfect. The rest of the day is spent enjoying the pool and the sea, along with another beer or two.

In the evening we walk along the beach a short distance to a taverna for a lovely meal full of tsatsiki and fresh sea food.

The only thing that is a slight culture shock is the discovery that you aren't allowed to put paper down the toilet. No paper at all. That's right, even THAT paper. Bins take on a whole new meaning.