At first, we hesitated to reserve a berth in Kavala. For our boat, it was 81 euros per night without water and electricity, and no shower or toilet. But then the price went down in the off-season. So we were able to visit this great city with its impressive fortress, beautiful old town and lively atmosphere directly by boat. Natasha made up for the poor infrastructure for sailors by taking care of everything for us: mooring, bunkering diesel before winter storage... a wonderful, professional woman working on behalf of the Port Authority. We hope she gets a cut of the hefty mooring fees.
Kavala, the largest city in Eastern Macedonia, used to be a transshipment point for tobacco that came from Turkey, was stored here and then transported on to the Balkans. This was obviously a lucrative business, as evidenced by the villas of the tobacco barons that still stand today.
The fortress towers directly above the harbour. From the cockpit, we admired it in every light of day and night. Of course, we also climbed up. From the tower, there is a magnificent panoramic view over the city, the harbour, to Thassos and as far as Mount Athos. Another special eye-catcher is the two-storey viaduct, through which water was transported into the city in earlier times.
And then there was Oxi Day, Greece's national holiday on 28 October. We have experienced it several times in other places, and it is always a big spectacle, even though it has a serious and, for the Greeks, very painful origin (https://du-bist-grieche.de/28-oktober-der-tag-des-nein-in-griechenland-ochi-tag/19366781: speeches, music and a parade. This time we were in Kavala, delighted by the many children and young people in the parade and the women and men in their very different traditional costumes. So many young people and such diversity are visible here. Where can you see that at home? It's also nice to watch the people watching the parade. They gather for this big event, arrange to meet up and then usually find each other thanks to their mobile phones. Parents and grandparents who are proud that their children and grandchildren are taking part in the parade. Sometimes we also get into conversation with someone. And whenever the city's dignitaries pass by and a person raises their right hand (often wearing a white glove), we are reminded of the occasion of this day in 1940. We are so glad that, since we have been travelling in Greece, we have always been welcome everywhere as Germans.
We have now arrived at our winter mooring for our boat, just west of Kavala in Nea Peramos. It's another new experience to go ashore here.
