A Memory of the 2018 Camp in Leptokaria

We remember our stay in Greece with smiles on our faces. Sun, sea, beach, excellent company, and, on top of it all, daily taekwon-do training. Could one dream of a better holiday getaway?

18 participants went to Leptokaria. They stayed under the supervision of Andrzej Walocha, who served as counsellor and coach during the trip, and Mikołaj Kotowicz – the manager of the entire undertaking and a coach. Although, due to the number of participants, the camp was rather exclusive, there was no shortage of energy and fun. We spent 8 wonderful days there, full of experiences.

Leptokaria lies on the Aegean Sea, whose water temperature in summer is around 25°C – by comparison, the water temperature in the Baltic Sea at the same time is around 18 °C. In addition, we are guaranteed sunny weather every day. Simply, what more could one ask for! Therefore, every day we took advantage of the favourable weather and relaxed on the beach. The beach was supervised, so everyone could give themselves over to aquatic madness without fear.

 

As this was a taekwon-do camp, training sessions could not be missing. They took place twice a day. In the morning before breakfast, we practised patterns, and before dinner there was functional training. Additionally, for those willing, Andrzej led boxing training sessions. Since meals have been mentioned, it is worth noting that they were delicious and varied – we could enjoy Greek and Polish cuisine. They provided energy for entire days of fun. Apart from taekwondo and relaxing on the beach, we played boules, practised archery, and when we began to run out of energy, we exercised our minds by playing board games.

 

Of course, as happens at every camp, there had to be an initiation here too. Among other things, our participants had to eat tomato-and-watermelon soup, roll around in the sand after first being thrown into the sea, or eat Nutella – which in this case only seems easy.

 

One does not visit Greece every day, so apart from lounging on the beach, 3 excursions were organised. Our first destination was Meteora, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a massif of rocks with a complex of 24 Orthodox monasteries situated on its peaks. Their Greek name, metéoros, literally means “suspended in the air” or “middle of the sky”. They were undoubtedly some of the most picturesque views we had ever seen.

 

The Northern Sporades were the next place to tick off our list. We visited the island of Skiathos, which belongs to that archipelago. It is a beautiful island where several scenes for the films Mamma Mia and Mamma Mia: Here we go again were shot. Due to its lack of noteworthy historical attractions, Skiathos became a true essence of slow life, a life dictated by the rhythm of nature. Another attraction that day was a boat trip, during which the Greeks taught us to dance the zorba; we took part in a water-balloon fight with a neighbouring boat, and the lucky ones standing on the right side of the deck saw dolphins! The Northern Sporades trip was optional, so not everyone took part. Those who stayed in Leptokaria enjoyed the beach, went on a banana boat rather than a ship, and, of course, trained hard.

 

Paleos Panteleimonas was the destination of our last excursion. It is a village situated more than 500 m above sea level, on the slopes of the Olympus massif, where time has stood still. The village was founded at the beginning of the 15th century by highlanders who grazed goats and sheep on the slopes of Olympus. We saw stone houses there, where the few permanent residents still living in the village go about their lives.

 

To sum up, our stay in Greece was extremely successful, both because of the climate and the wealth of attractions we managed to enjoy. There is probably no one among us who would not want to return there. It is only a pity that so few people could enjoy it with us this time.