One of the places I spent a lot of time at was the accommodation for the holiday: Norma’s Village, in Panormos (Πάνορμος).
Located about 5km from Pothia (Πόθια), all rooms have a balcony/terrace overlooking the Norma’s Village pool and olive grove. The rooms are typical of self catering accommodation in Greece – very basic facilities (2 cooking rings, kettle, fridge) for the kitchen. However, going to Greece is all about living like the Greeks and this often means eating out at tavernas and restaurants. The only time you’re likely to use the kitchen equipment is making your lunch, which in the summer will probably consist of a roll and possibly some sort of soup.
If you like eating out but don’t want to go too far, you can always try the Norma’s Village restaurant! It offers a wide range of food – Well known “British” food is available for those who miss home, or with 24 hours notice you can order a Greek dish. With basic cooking facilities and most tavernas serving Greek food, a Sunday roast dinner is hard to find. However if you order a kleftiko (κλέφτικο) from Norma’s Village, you will probably find its similar to your usual Sunday roast. The traditional kleftiko is actually a Cypriot dish. It is lamb baked in the oven with vegetables, and the whole lot is wrapped in foil. However, if there’s a particular vegetable you would/wouldn’t like, the dish can easily be adapted.
In terms of facilities, there is a pool table and the bar has satelite television which is capable of recieving both Sky Sports (for British programming) and Nova (the Greek satelite system, for Greek programming); they actually need 2 satelite dishes in order to recieve both services. The apartment my family was in also had an analogue television; capable of recieving the internal Greek channels such as ΕΤ1, ΝΕΤ, ΕΤ3, ΣΚΑΪ, Alpha, Mega and a few others. I’m not sure if all the rooms have a television though (its not mentioned on the list of room facilities) and due to the mountainous nature of Greece, analogue television signals aren’t very clear – even in summer!
If you want to find out more about Norma’s Village, the website is www.normasvillage.gr (in English) or www.normasvillage.gr/index_gr.htm (in Greek). If you’d like to travel there for yourself, the easiest way to go is by booking through Olympic Holidays (the only UK tour operator who still have properties on Kalymnos); it is also possible to travel independantly, however this requires more work!
The image used is taken from the Norma’s Village website.
