Pondamos

[j90]

Has anyone been to Pondamos recently. Most postings on this site appear to be from Ftenagia regulars. Have the trippers finally forced everyone to migrate to Ftenagia.

I would be interested to know of the general condition of the beach and how densely populated. We only have a week so would not want to be jammed in like sardines as we were last year.

[ann]

Haven't been since June, and then only in the evening. The sunbeds looked pretty tightly packed together, but the beach looked fine.

[dawn]

Was there in July. The padded beds, that belong to the taverna, are very close together. Definitely a case of one person turns over, we all turn over ! However, at the far end of the beach (or rather the nearest end, as you're walking up from the village) there are a handful of beds that have more room round them.

We found the beach was quieter in the morning, a couple of hours of bedlam when the day trippers arrive, then quieter again after that. There were a few days when there were no beds left free by about 11am, and it may be even busier now. Mind you we only went to Pondamos for the first 4 or 5 days of our fortnight, then we went to Ftenagia and never looked back

[j90]

Thanks Ann and Dawn. Sadly you have reinforced my views of the demise of Pondamos. We have used this beach every year since late 90's because my wife likes the shallows and the sand.
I guess it's unreasonable to expect everything to always stay the same so we will adapt and overcome as they say. Hmm, how do I 'sell Ftenagia to the wife'?!!

[Liz]

Retsina helps ;D

[Kinygos]

Please remember these day trippers are brought over at 11:00 - 12:00 and returned at 16:00. What can they do except "a couple of hours of bedlam" at a beach taverna?

I doubt that they will do it more than once.

Compassion is the way of the buddha.

[j90]

Very true Kinygos. It's not so much the bedlam as the lack of space on the beach. It's just not big enough these days for everyone since the sea encroached the 'old town end' a few years back. Last year we could only access the taverna steps via the sea. Every square inch of sand had a body on it, every day!

[pda]

Expect crowds in July & August, my sister in law is there now & says "its busy". Well we did warn her but...she knew best. ;D

Just go after 4 to the beach when its starting to get slightly cooler, much more room then.

We had no problems in June, beds a bit closer than previous years but there seemed fewer of them strangely.
Expect the beach to be less crowded at the end of Sept for our next jaunt.

Theres always Areta, Yiali or down at Trachia for the adventurous.

[j90]

Yes Liz. Also destroys equilibrium too! But it's worth a try.

Thanks pda. I did 'adventure' a long time ago. Just want to chill out now but I take your point. Last year it was so quiet after 4 oclock, just the gently lapping sound of the water and the litter on the beach. Sadly, after crowds have left there is always litter. So far, thankfully, Ftenagia appears to have escaped this phenomenon.

[carol]

And long may it last ;D ;D ;D

[pda]

May be a good idea to point out to Nick & boys that they are losing money by not cleaning up the beach each day.

If customers are going elsewhere because of the mess then maybe there is a remote possibility of improving things.

Miracles happen so I am told.....

[Andrew]

Hi j90

Just got back from two weeks in Halki. Our eleventh successive year but, sadly, probably the last for a while. Will go into more details in a separate post.

We much prefer Pondamos to Ftenagia. This year, we spent most days at Pondamos. The day trippers are present between 11.30 and 15:00 approx. One day I counted 167 in the sea and on the beach plus however many in the taverna. Oddly enough, the lack of beds at the village side attracts them, where they seem happy to pack in. The lack of width of beach at the taverna side makes it seem less crowded there. My advice is to get there early; preferably by ten when there should be beds available. Choose a bed near the taverna and if the trippers bother you, go into Nick's for a leisurely drink and meal. The food there is amongst the best on the island now. (I'll cover this on another post!) Few trippers go in to Nick's. After 2.30 or 3.00, it becomes quiet, the sea is bath warm. (Possibly to body heat and pee!) The trippers incidentally don't go into the sea at the taverna end and there is plenty of space.

You almost feel sorry for the trippers who have paid 40 or 45 Euros expecting something better. Many saw the beach, the crowds and just turned back towards the harbour. They get sold a false picture of Halki which is a great place to stay but really rotten to visit for a day.

Be warned that the island is very, very crowded now. I was amazed to witness the extra numbers coming off the ferry on Tuesday. We heard that there are a thousand people crammed in for the festival and there is no spare accommodation. Many of these will obviously be heading for the beaches.

In spite of this, we still prefer it to Ftenagia. You still get the feeling that some of the couples there don't want kids near them! When Ftenagia is crowded, the tiny bit of shallow water is packed. It's still crippling to get in and out of the water. It still feels like the beds are on a gravel car park beside the "beach". The gossamer thin umbrella fabric have the equivalent sun protection of Hawaiian Tropic coconut oil. About SPF minus seven. The music is still poor American and repetitive.

I wish we could go outside of August!!

Andrew

Attachments:

[carol]

Goodness Andrew that looks awful to me, I will be staying with Ftenagia and the gravel ;D

[Liz]

Gosh Andrew -that is very crowded !

Outside of August it is not so bad ..I do know what you mean about feeling sorry for the trippers -I don't think alot of them know where they are going -they have been to the butterfly farm in the morning and then they are deposited in the heat of the day on Halki ...most I have seen seem to nurse a cold drink somewhere shadey waiting for the boat to come back

[j90]

Yes Andrew that is not a pretty site but I still reckon last year was worse. Masses of litter also and everyone seemed to have a very active mobile phone !