Sithonia is the name of the second leg of Halkidiki. The first one is called Cassandra, named not after the ill-fated Cassandra but after Cassander, a king of Macedonia, contemporary of Alexander the Great, and one of the four “successors” who divided Alexander’s territorial gains among themselves. The road from Thessaloniki to Moudania (on Cassandra) is dual carriageway all the way. From Moudania onwards, the standard of the road drops to single carriageway, considerably slowing down journey times. Being nearer Thessaloniki, Cassandra is much more developed than Sithonia. From Moudania to Nikiti there’s about 40km before you turn right and enter Sithonia. It is wilder and more beautiful than Cassandra. Most of the guest houses are family affairs, but on Agios Ioannis, the first beach on Sithonia, a large complex (the Ammoa Luxury Hotel and Spa Resort) will be opening this month. Obviously, there is some conglomerate behind the development rather than a family-run business. I wonder if this is the harbinger of things to come. Details of the Ammoa Hotel can be found here: https://www.voria.gr/article/ammoa-luxury-hotel–spa-resort-anigi-stis-12-maou-to-neo-5astero-sti-chalkidiki
My spot, Toroni, is as beautiful and primitive as ever. We spent the tail end of the Easter break there. It was deserted and colder than we expected. Even now as we approach mid-May, temperatures are lower than normal.
Femicide returns to northern Greece. Another woman has been murdered by her partner. This time in Kavala. He also – as they say in the UK – “had previous”, in other words a track record of abuse against other women. The lawyer representing the family said that perpetrators of such crimes use “the crime of passion” excuse, claiming that the murder happened “σε βρασμό ψυχικής ορμής” (with their mental rage at boiling point). I believe the lawyer is implying wife-killers will try to get a softer sentence on the grounds of diminished responsibility or temporary insanity. The lawyer further pointed out that strangling takes three to four minutes and added “Τέσσερα λεπτά είναι μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα για κάποιον που υποτίθεται ότι είναι σε βρασμό ψυχικής ορμής.” (Four minutes is a long time for someone who is supposedly at the height of rage.) If there is any good news, it lies in the fact that fewer people are buying into the bullshit of wife-beaters and killers. The story is here https://www.iefimerida.gr/ellada/gynaikoktonia-kabala-promeletimeno-egklima and here https://www.thessnews.gr/koinonia/gynaikoktonia-stin-kavala-apotropaio-to-egklima-dilonei-o-dikigoros-tis-oikogeneias-tou-thymatos-video/
Meanwhile the trial of Babis Anagnostopoulos is currently taking place. He killed his British wife, Caroline Crouch, last year. His initial story was that foreigners broke into his house, tied him up and killed his wife and the family dog. This is the Daily Mail report: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10804711/Greek-pilot-begs-forgiveness-says-no-excuses-killing-British-wife.html
And if the above were not enough, there is also the trial of two men accused of murdering Eleni Topaloudi in 2018. She was raped, stabbed, hit with a metal bar and eventually thrown into the sea while still alive. The accused are busy trying to blame each other. On the theme of foreigners, the press has not failed to notify us that one of them is of “Albanian descent”. https://www.newsit.gr/ellada/eleni-topaloudi-enoxoi-xoris-elafryntika-i-protasi-tis-eisaggeleos/3522809/
Covid is still with us but, thankfully, in decline. The latest numbers are: 4,782 cases; 182 intubated; 18 dead; and – first time I’ve seen this figure – 486 reinfections.