Dave and Gerry's Alonissos Island Information Site
Dave and Gerry's Alonissos Island Information Site |
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Fish Festival July 2007 |
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A couple of days before Wednesday the 11th July signs were posted up in Patitiri, one in English and one in Greek, advertising a fish festival to take place in Kalamakia. A picture of the signs can be seen on the right. The festival has been taking place every year but this is the first time we have been on the island and actually managed to make it. As Kalamakia is a distance along the coast the Dimos provided a free coach which ran from 6pm when the festival started up until whenever. As you walked down to the harbour from the road the Dimos had set up trestle tables to the left by the waters edge where they were loading charcoal into barbecue's made from 45 gallon drums cut lengthways. A stage had been set up on the harbour front between the first two tavernas where there is an open area for dancing. We sat at Taverna Margarita for an ouzo while the setting up was still taking place. People started walking passed us with plates of loukoumathes (dough balls with honey) so we walked along to Taverna Corali to get some. They were lovely, freshly cooked and crispy on the outside. |
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During the evening cloulds of smoke wafted around the harbour front and the smell of cooking sardines filled the air. We went and joined the queue and got our plate of sardines with bread and a glass of wine. We went back a couple of times for more fish and a few times more for the free wine. The sardines were tipped from huge plastic buckets and put onto metal barbecue griddles to go over the hot coals. As the sun went down and the sky darkened the harbour lights went on and the bouzouki band from the Taverna Koutouki in Patitiri started to play. The teenage dance group that performed at the threshing circles the previous weekend performed a different set of dances, but this time rather than traditional island dress, they were dressed in the same outfits of blue denim trousers and white shirts and blouses. By the time we left at 11pm there was still a throng of people walking up and down the harbour, the band were going flat out, a large gathering of Greeks and other nationalities were dancing merrily, the tavernas were all full, more sardines were going on the barbecue and the wine was still flowing. A great night and a lovely setting. We look forward to next year. |
Fish Festival July 2008 |
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The fish festival was again held at Kalamakia and exactly the same signs went up as per last year, except the date had been altered from Wednesday 11th July to Saturday 12th July. As they did last year the Dimos provided a free coach to Kalamakia from the harbour at Patitiri which ran from 6pm when the festival started up until midnight. We know this because we were on the last coach, dirty stop outs that we are. A number of trestle tables were again set up to the left by the waters edge where they had the 45 gallon drum barbecue's in action. A stage was again set up on the harbour between the first two tavernas where the traditional dancing was to take place. We sat at Taverna Maïna this time and had some food and drink while the setting up was being organised. Loukoumathes (dough balls with honey) were again being served by Taverna Corali towards the end of the harbour so we had a couple of plates of these while we were waiting for the fish to cook. |
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| We had some plates of sardines with copious cups of wine and watched one of the school dance groups performing traditional dances. As the night set in and the harbour lights went on the Taverna Koutouki bouzouki band started playing. We left to catch the midnight bus back to Patitiri not sure how we were to get back to the Old Town as the bus had stopped running at 10.30pm. However, while we were waiting for a taxi a car pulled up and two young guys who recognised us from walking Zoe around the Old Town offered us a lift. Another very enjoyable night and although its the same again we will continue to support these events because if we don't then they may stop. |
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