Kavala 20 May

Thunder and lightning!! We are lucky to be in the Port of Kavala. It is heavy rain for the whole morning. 

We are berthed right next to the fishing boats who went out yesterday evening. They came back in the middle of the night /early morning, possibly because of the enormous storm, thunder and lightning, which we experienced this morning. Nice and cosily tucked up in lellebelle we waited for the storm to pass.

And as soon as it stopped raining, breakfast was prepared, yoghurt, creamy like we have never seen before, red, sweet strawberries, fresh bread, honey, fresh coffee to start the day.

We set off for Philippi by bus. 

The ancient city of Philippi was first settled by people from Thasos who were aware of rich sources of precious metals, timber and agricultural products. They founded the colony of Kremides in 360 BC. The colony was threatened by the Thracians and in 356 BC sought the aid of Philip II, king of Macedonia. Philip captured and fortified the city and gave it his name, Philippi. King Philip is the father of Alexander the Great.

The bus ride was only about 25 minutes. We got off the bus and started walking towards the archaeological site of Philippi

And what happened was that Kevin discovered that he left his bag with passport and iPad on the bus. He set off at great speed running after the bus, which of course did not stop because it was too far away. Kevin hailed down a car and the driver very kindly raced after the bus with Kevin in the car. This is Kevin been brought back having caught up with the bus and retrieved his belongings. We can't take Kevin anywhere!

Back to Philippi. In 42 BC the Romans fought and won a battle and converted Philippi into a Roman colony. The beautiful amphitheatre was built during the Hellenic period and continued to be used by the Romans with some alterations.   

Another event which changed the personality of the city was the visit by St Paul, the apostle, who founded the first Christian church on European soil here in AD 49.

After the fantastic visit to Philippi we stopped at a little taverna in the town where we were treated to a delicious plate with potatoes, cheese, sausages, meatballs, tomatoes, cucumber and bread. All made specially for us.

We had to return to the old town in Kavala for a flambeid fried cheese starter. The name is Taganaki and is quite delicious when ouzo is used for the flambee fire effect.  

 And once again, Kevin left his jersey in the restaurant and had to run back to retrieve it.

It must be said that leaving or forgetting valuables in Greece does not seem to be a problem. There is always someone to help and valuables do not disappear.