A Kassandra Cruise

The very best thing to do in Kassandra if looking for an active holiday would be to get on a cruise boat. It gives amazing opportunities like visiting a new beach, shopping in Neos Marmaras as well as a little bit more extreme sailing. 

It starts at 9 o'clock but we left at 9:20- things happen, people are late....

We traveled to Toroni- they have a great beach there - small coast line but beautiful sand which looks and feels like wet sesame - amazing feeling! 

Be careful- once you enter the sea you will have no more than 5-7 steps and then it gets really deep so if you're 1.60 m you really need to watch your step! 

We were lucky to have a great weather- yes, it was windy and there were clouds however it didn't rain and even though the water was relatively cold  at the beginning once you get used to it it will be perfectly fine against the skin, especially if you manage to get some sun. It's extremely salty so take suitable glasses and make sure they won't let any water anywhere near your eyes as otherwise you will remember this every time you blink. 

The Greeks are so lucky to have this amazingly beautiful water:

It'a also very clean with no algae so it's perfect for those who hate them or are afraid. It's also great for kids - there were very small fishes running literally between my bare feet- amazing! And it was all natural- just one random beach at the coast of Sithonia where we didn't even get on purpose! 

Great start!

Back on the boat it was literally pouring all over the place and everyone got inside. When leaving I thought that the lunch, which was included in the trip, would be a sandwich and probably juice. We had meat with rice and bread- everything was delicious and they were all very organised when serving it. There was also a selection between juice and white wine- I would say it was an amazing lunch! It was pouring rain outside and I was extremely happy with our luck- we got inside right on time and as per the initial schedule we had for the trip. 

By the time we arrived at Neos Marmaras the weather was perfect again. We had 1 hour and 15 minutes to shop around which was too long for such an activity if you ask me- I would honestly prefer to have more time for swimming in the sea or exploring local beaches. However we had the opportunity to get magnets, post cards and frozen yogurt. The town has 2 squares and we went to get frozen yogurt at the second square- once you get off the boar you go right- it's close. On the left there are a couple of beautiful threes and small tiny streets between the windows of the people who live there. We got postcards for as much as 1-1.20 euro. Certainly you can also get for 0.80 euro - beautiful as well. The magnets are all kinds- they have hand made which are more expensive, but for 1-2 euro we got some beautiful ones. 

Here is what we got for snack- I'm holding my refreshing bubble tea:

Heading back to the boat- they have this amazing system - when getting off the boat each of us got a card like a ticket which included the name of the boat and we returned them when getting back on board - perfect for counting how many tourist you need to come back and at the same time they still have the name of the boat with them just in case someone gets lost. 

We have one last stop before going back for which I was extremely excited! 

We had around 30 mins to swim around a small island situated between Sithonia and Kassandra with amazing water! Around the shores and coast lines the water color is definitely different compared to what you can see in the deep sea. Near the coast the water is warmer and has this amazing light blue-green-turquoise colour but while travelling from one place to another on the boat we managed to see a deep blue-almost black water which may scary you (depending on what you imagine when staring at it) or make you realise you are surrounded by the extremely powerful and large waters and make you feel empowered. 

As we were travelling the boat got close to the island and stopped. Here is the view:

Extremely beautiful! Judging by the color it should be warm enough to jump! Yeah, let's not judge so quickly! 

We had 2 options - to jump right into the black water beneath us or to use the stairs and go slowly. I went for the second option as I was pretty sure it will be cold and I was later happy with my initial decision. It was warm enough to feel great once you get used to it and there was a beautiful view from it- blue sky, almost no clouds, small island, huge sea and the boats around us! Perfect! 

Yes, the water is very very salty, but keep your eyes safe and you will be able to enjoy your time there! 

I finally decided that we only have one life and if I don't jump in the water now I will regret this later for the time being as no one knows how many opportunities we get in life. Besides jumping off a boat in the salty sea where everyone else jumped before me and there were absolutely no incidents doesn't really seem like the most extreme move in a person's life. Which is what I believed in until I stepped on the platform and looked down to the water. It looked really deep and I believed I was kilometers above it but in fact it was no more than 2 meters at most. As I was staring at the water for a couple of seconds a very nice man from the crew came to me and tried to persuade me by saying - Just close your eyes and jump. It was very nice of him so I just counted to three and went for it. Oooh yes, it was great! 

On the way back we were surrounded by seagulls and we were feeding them with bread bites. They were flying so close to us and were catching the bread in the air. Amazing creatures and we had the opportunity to see them from a very short distance. It was beautiful! 

TIPS: at the beach you will be able to buy all kinds of things- from donuts (which are good- they have with chocolate and powdered sugar and just with the sugar- smell and taste nice) to eye wear and bracelets.