Visiting Panagia was one of the things we just had to do in this vacation. So, we actually dedicated one day to this little trip.
So we were again on the bus and in about 15-20 minutes we arrived. Panagia is a beautiful little village, let's say, that you can go to for shopping, just for a nice walk and taking pictures or to find out more about making olive oil.
I really enjoyed shopping in Panagia because you find many small, family shops, where you can buy homemade olive oil (each family says they have the best oil), homemade drinks, soaps or home accessories.
As far as restaurants go, I have to say you can find other places with a lot more options, but the food we had was good.
Let's just start with the environment, to create a context. :) Panagia is a typical mountain village. The streets are narrow and they give you a home and comfort feeling. I have to say you can really walk a lot to see the village, you climb up and then go down a lot and everywhere you see beautiful houses, with lots of plants and grape vines. Also, olive trees, pine trees, pomegranate, lime and fig trees everywhere.
What I liked the most were the houses painted in the traditional Greek blue or the ones with the facades constructed from beautiful local stone.
For a break we stopped at Elena's, a tavern that serves traditional food, so we went all traditional. We ordered Greek moussaka and eggplant stuffed with minced meat.
Obviously, the moussaka had aubergines and both of the dishes had bechamel on top, so they tasted almost the same. It was ok, although they didn't put so much effort in the kitchen to make the dishes appealing. Serving fries with everything must be really convenient, but if the moussaka had a potatoes layer, I honestly don't see the point of chips.
Anyway, the dishes had a nice, home-cooked-meal-approach and that was exactly what we asked for, to try something cooked the way the locals would serve it in their homes, for their families.
After lunch, we rushed to a place we just had to see. It was a place where they show you how they make olive oil. In the front, there was a big room with a nice little showroom.
Here you could buy all sorts of olive oil and olive oil products. Olives, balms, small olive wood decor, soaps, olive seed bracelets, etc. here, I bought some *healing* balms, magnets and an amazingly moisturizing olive oil liquid soap.
You could also learn more about the production process through a screen, see some tools and other interesting things. Information is the key....even in your time off, I guess!
In the back of the building, you could actually see how the oil is produced traditionally.....
...and how it is made in factories.
Also, we discovered how smooth and amazing olive tree wood (is that how you call it?) is. Honestly, it is really cool. *childish excitement here*
We also bought some other stuff in Panagia, that we couldn't find in Thassos City, so the trip was very pleasant. We had some homemade olive oil, some pomegranate drink made with Metaxa (will try that in a super-cold evening), a lot of handmade pillow cases and a wooden Pinocchio puppet (adorable) for my nephew.
I loved Panagia, really loved it. We both did actually, we wanted to move there immediately. It was such a cozy but fascinating place, I always had the feeling that I somehow interfere in locals' lives, but they didn't seem to mind that. So full of life, but peaceful, if that makes any sense.
When we got back to our room- surprise- a storm started. The view from our balcony after the storm left you breathless. The mountains you could see above Skala Potamia seemed to be steamy, with clouds rising up in the mountains.
And, not very far away, above the water we spotted a little (I have no idea if it was little or big, just guessing) tornado. Can you see it?
We started to doubt the weather to come in the next days, but, as it turned out, we had nothing to be afraid off.
Stay tuned for the next story,
