Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DECEMBER
December 6: Feast of St Nicholas
(Áyios Nikólaos) The patron
saint of seafarers, who has many chapels dedicated to him.
December 25 & 26: Christmas
(Khristoúyenna)
If less
all-encompassing than Greek Easter, Christmas is still an important religious
feast, one that increasingly comes with all the usual commercial trappings:
decorations, gifts and alarming outbreaks of plastic Santas on rooftops.
December 31: New Year's Eve
(Paramoní Protohroniá) As on
the other twelve days of Christmas, a few children still go door-to-door
singing traditional carols, receiving money in return. Adults tend to sit
around playing cards, often for money. A special baked loaf, the
vassilópitta, in which a coin is concealed to bring its finder good luck
throughout the year, is cut at midnight.
SIX OF THE BEST
WINDSURFING SPOTS
Vassilikí
on Lefkádha island, p.732
Sánta María
, Páros, p.407
Prassoníssi,
Rhodes, p.528
Kokkári
, Sámos, p.606
Kouremenos
, eastern Crete, p.478
Karathónas
, Peloponnese, p.141
and crowded moorings. The Cyclades suffer particu-
larly badly from the
meltémi
, and are also relatively
short on facilities: better choices are to explore the
Sporades from Skiáthos; to set out from Athens for
the Argo-Saronic islands and north Peloponnese
coast; or to sail around Corfu and the Ionians,
though here winds can be very light.
Because of the potential for pilfering submerged
antiquities,
scuba diving
is still restricted, though
relaxation of the controls has led to a proliferation
of dive centres across the mainland, Dodecanese,
Ionians, Cyclades and Crete. There's not a huge
amount of aquatic life surviving around Greece's
over-fished shores, but you do get wonderfully
clear water, while the rocky coast offers plenty of
caves and hidden nooks to explore.
In the Peloponnese, central mainland and Epirus,
there's much potential for
rafting
and
kayaking
.
Sports and
outdoor pursuits
The Greek seashore offers endless scope
for watersports, from waterskiing and
parasailing to yachting and windsurfing.
On land, the greatest attraction lies in
hiking, through what is one of Europe's
more impressive mountain terrains.
Winter also sees possibilities for skiing at
a number of underrated centres. As for
spectator sports, the twin Greek obses-
sions are football (soccer) and basketball,
with volleyball a close third.
Skiing
Skiing
is a comparative newcomer to Greece,
beginning on Mount Parnassós in the 1950s. With
global warming, snow conditions are unpredictable
at the southernmost resorts, and runs remain
generally short. However, there are now eighteen
ski centres scattered about the mountains, and
what they may lack in professionalism is often
made up for by an easy-going, unpretentious
après-ski scene. The season generally lasts from the
beginning of January to the beginning of April, with
a few extra weeks possible at either end, depending
on snow conditions. No foreign package operators
currently feature Greece among their offerings - it's
very much a local, weekender scene.
The most developed of the resorts is Kelária-
Fterólakkas on
Parnassós
, the legendary mountain
near Delphi, though high winds often close the lifts.
Other major ski centres include
Vórras
(Mount
Kaïmaktsalán), near Édhessa;
Veloúhi
(Mount
Tymfristós), near Karpeníssi in central Greece;
Helmós
, near Kalávryta on the Peloponnese; and
Vérmion
, near Náoussa in Macedonia.
Watersports
Windsuring
is very popular around Greece: the
country's bays and coves are ideal for beginners, with
a few spectacularly windy spots for experts (see
above). Board rental rates are reasonable and instruc-
tion is generally also available.
Waterski
boats spend
most of their time towing people around on
bananas or other inflatables, though you usually can
waterski or wakeboard as well, while
parasailing
(
parapént
in Greek) is also on offer at all the big
resorts.
Jet skis
can be rented in many resorts, too,
for a fifteen-minute burst of fuel-guzzling thrills.
A combination of steady winds, appealing
seascapes and numerous natural harbours has long
made Greece a tremendous place for
sailing
. All
sorts of bareboat and flotilla yacht trips are on offer
(see p.29), while dinghies, small cats and motor
boats can be rented at many resorts. For yachting,
spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons;
meltémi
winds can make for nauseous sailing in July
and August when you'll also find far higher prices
