Favorite afternoon, Sunday afternoon… Tomorrow is holiday, Saint Athanasius and it’s time for Kastro. Limenaria is hollow empty.

There is no real winter on Thassos, especially on the south of island. Weather is like in autumn. Yesterday and today the temperature is around 15 degrees, past week was around 25. I miss winter and snow, but the most of all Serbian nature… Sea is beautiful, also the pine forest, beaches… but Serbian rivers and streams, hills and evergreen trees are more beautiful… Here there are no meadows, even the grass becomes yellow and burns completely because of the sun… Of course, everything is beautiful on its own way, but nostalgia for Serbia influences on my impression of the nature. My friend from Serbia, who also lives here, usually says: “Why do I need sea, it is just dead water”, then we both laugh, because we know that this sentence is only reaction to our wish to be in Serbia at least for a while.

My first summer on Thassos I was delighted with the fact that number of Serbs who spend their summer holidays here, has significantly increased. Then I had only one Serbian friend on the island and she was the only person with whom I could speak Serbian and who could understand how I feel here. When the summer came and when I could hear Serbian on every step, I was so enthusiastic that I would easily get in touch with all Serbs, hang out and going out with them, like they were my brothers and sisters :-). They could count on me and very fast between them was spread the word that in Limenaria lives one Serbian woman who is ready to help them if they need anything. On the day when one group of tourists was coming and another is leaving, the one that is leaving would inform the ones who just came about me, so that day was always separated in two parts. Actually, from 2 till 3pm I would say buy to hundreds of people who are leaving, and after 3pm I would meet the new ones. That summer it turned out that I was really helpful in many different situations, because various accidents happened, starting from different diseases, car accidents, losing passports, problems with accommodation, stealing money, suitcases… and many, mostly elder people, needed my help in communication with local people, especially in supermarkets. I was referring them to the cheaper restaurants, giving them a map of the island, marking the places which they should visit, like the best beaches, monasteries, traditional villages, archeological sights and so on… I was really happy that I could do something useful and at the same time to do something I enjoy, like meeting and hanging out with new people… New groups from Serbia carried with them gifts for me from the previous tourists. Gifts were very various and they always surprised me. Actually, I was delighted with the creativity of Serbian people who were always trying to be original and unique and who were obviously thinking about what could I miss here. So I was getting different types of rakija (Serbian brandy), like rakija from plum, walnuts, quince, then ham, pork rinds, kaymak (kind of cheese spread), dictionaries, books, perfumes and so on.

Since I became more active on forums and blog, I received many questions about what I need from Serbia and what do I miss the most, on which I answered: “Only Plazma biscuits”, then I started receiving Plazma all the time. To people I helped it was easier to pay off, and I felt uncomfortable for receiving expensive gifts, so Plazma became a sign of recognition. Whenever I was waiting a bus with a new group, people were getting out with Plazma in their hands and the same moment they would see a smile on my face, so would I on theirs.

So, that is how my job as touristic guide has started, and the next summer I officially started working for one touristic agency and it was already a serious job. On one forum, somebody wrote that the guide Nikana would find even the bird’s milk if it is needed. I really took my job seriously and I was totally dedicated to people I was helping. Of course, that was not always a good thing, especially because I was learning on every step that not all people can be satisfied and together with all the effort also comes disappointment, but there were always people who were worth making an effort.

Last couple of years I met so many good and quality people worth for making an effort, but also those who are coming to vacation with prejudices about touristic guides as uninterested and ruthless people.

From the moment I started the blog last year, till now, the number of boxes of Plazma has reached few hundreds. I want to use this opportunity to thank to everyone who brought it to me, and to the ones who didn’t, because they knew I have it in huge amounts, as well as to those who didn’t come to meet me, because they forgot to bring Plazma or their children ate it on the way to Thassos. Plazma is really not an obligation or something I expect to get. I would like to thank to those who couldn’t find me, but who left me small notes, as well to those who were coming to meet me all the way from Limenas and Skala Potamia. I feel sorry that I didn’t meet all the people who are following my blog, because it was impossible to achieve everything. After all of these, I can really say that people are wonderful and that on the world there is a lot of good and it always wins evil, even when it doesn’t seem so.

I don’t know if this blog is followed by one man from Vienna, who step by with many printed pages of my blog and called me on the phone. At that moment I couldn’t meet him, but I was searching for him afterwards and waited but we didn’t meet at the end. If he still reads my blog, I would like him to reach me.

This post became long, not on purpose, but for the end I would like to say that this winter I will try to help you, not only with choosing and booking the right accommodation, but also with buying of real estate on Thassos, since I get more and more emails every day with questions about buying a house or apartments on Thassos. Last year I promised to write a post on that topic and I didn’t, but since I see that things are getting more serious and that there are more and more Serbian people who wish to own something on Thassos, I promise one post on that topic soon.

I wish a pleasant Sunday afternoon to all of you…