Мои плоХОрошие греческие каникулы My bad Greek holidays

The main reason that I chose Greece for a summer vacation for the third time is the unprecedented visa generosity of this wonderful country. Last time it was an annual Schengen, and this time it is already a two-year one. We, travelers from the Russian Federation, can only dream of visa-free travel, so thank you Greece!
The second reason is the sea. I love the Aegean very much. It seems to me the cleanest and warmest. The hotel was chosen according to the principle - to find a balance for both the soul and the wallet. I chose the Calypso hotel on the Chalkidiki peninsula. Photos on the Internet were bright and colorful, and promised a wonderful holiday. Upon arrival at the place, some, to put it mildly, discrepancy between the viewed photos and "nature" immediately caught my eye. In general, the first shock - the hotel is not the same. It turns out that on the small peninsula of Kassandra, literally 10 km apart, there are two Calypso hotels - one in the village of Hanioti (the one that I looked at on the Internet) and in the village of Siviri (the one where they were actually brought). This is solely my oversight, but there was a disappointment. The hotel is small, the main contingent - Macedonians, Serbs and Moldovans, there were almost no Russian speakers. The staff speaks Russian, in particular - the hostess and the bartender. The room is spacious, with a wide balcony, refrigerator and air conditioning. The bathroom is small, with two annoying minuses - the shower is a 60x80 cm nook with a curtain that sticks to the body, which is very unpleasant - they took a shower without hanging a curtain and, of course, flooded everything around. The second disadvantage is poor ventilation. After taking a shower in the bathroom, the steam stays for several hours and it is impossible to stay in it. But these are all trifles. I liked the food at the hotel. Breakfast is standard - scrambled eggs, cold cuts, cheese, vegetables. For lunch - soup (each time very strange), several side dishes, well-cooked meat of several types, vegetables. And for dinner the same way - meat, side dishes, vegetables, one dessert - but consistently tasty. No frills, just what you need. We had All Inclusive food, drinks were taken at the bar - wine, beer, juices. A bit of harm from me - according to the rules of the hotel - you have to clean up the dishes yourself - take them to the kitchen, and glasses - to the bar. It's not difficult, no doubt, but I would still prefer it to be done by the staff. As well as how it would be worth at least sometimes to wipe the tables.
The second shock is the sea. Having reached it on the first day, and walking 800 meters, we saw the following picture - it is not just muddy. It is yellow, unpleasant in color, covered with a porridge of algae floating mixed with bags, bottles and other household waste. It turned out that before our arrival on the peninsula it had been pouring rain for 4 days. And in the village of Siviri, a small river flows into the sea. And then the showers provoked the injection of mud into the sea by the river. In itself, the fact of muddy water is half the trouble. The entire coastline, both in the water and on the shore, is strewn with cobblestones of various sizes, and if the water is muddy, then you simply don’t see that you are floating on a stone. And it is very traumatic. Let's not talk about sad things - on the third day all the turbidity settled and the water became, I apologize for the banality, clean as a tear.

It is necessary to say a few more words about the sea. The central part of the beach is ideal for families with children - the sea is very shallow. Those who like to swim for their own pleasure and dive at a depth should go left to the rocky cliffs, cross them, then go waist-deep in water to the bay, where there is a shadow, there are very few people (and in the early morning there is no one at all), there are practically no stones in the water and excellent depth.
The village of Siviri, although quite tiny, has some great restaurants, souvenir shops and a supermarket of the Masutis chain - which has everything your heart desires at low non-resort prices.
For the whole holiday we went on the only excursion - to Meteora. We traveled from Mouzenidis as part of a group of 72 people (on a double-decker bus). The cost of the tour is 70 euros. There are a lot of impressions, the only pity is that the road is long, and we spent only 1.5 hours in the monasteries (note to Mouzenidis - have a conscience !! ! A whole hour for a store with icons is a mockery of tourists! And the restaurant you bring to, with at prices of 19 euros for an inedible dish - a shame !!! )
We traveled on our own by bus to the neighboring village of Afytos - a pretty village with medieval streets and a gorgeous view of the sea (bus ticket - 2.8 euros) and to Thessaloniki - 10.8 euros. Shopping in Thessaloniki is excellent, just for the sake of it it’s already worth going.
I will definitely go to Greece again - as soon as the Schengen ends, but I will not return to Siviri.
P. S. here on the site there are already photos allegedly related to the Calypso Siviri hotel, but this is not so. Half of the photos are from Calypso Hanioti!