Page 103 - ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL 2022

ELO UND A

MICHALIS KLONTZA S
Elounda’s Multi-Talented Most

Enthusiastic Ambassador

Intervie w by Despoina Sampson

The Cretan president of the Lasithi Dental Association,
is also a singer as well as boat business owner who has
made Agios Nikolaos his home and you could say its
biggest proponent.
How does this place affect your life?
Agios Nicholas, Elounda and Istron are magical places!
They embrace you, give you the opportunities to work and
succeed. They are destinations where people smile and
give you their very best resulting in the best hospitality
in the world! Then there’s the temperate, dry and cool
Mediterranean climate! This place where I live and
work inspires and energizes me. It gives me so much. I
feel blessed that I was born and live in Crete, in Agios
Nicholas!
Has your view of where you live and work changed over the
years? How have Agios Nikolaos, as well as the wider area
of Lassithi, evolved?
Visitors can enjoy absolutely everything here; there’s
Mirabello Bay known for its excellent beaches and unique
seabed, the magical golden-yellow sunrise and the sound Michalis Klontzas (top)
of the cicadas, then of course, there’s traditional Cretan and his son George (right).
cuisine, with its freshly caught delicious fish, its unique
dishes and the herbs that grow in the island’s soil!
Asides from your dental practice, you also run a boat business,
you’re a captain, but you also sing. How does singing affect sirens seem to give you a helping hand, making your
your daily life? singing even more fascinating.
I’m a multi-faceted person and I’m so happy that my son Which is your favourite boat excursion around the island that
George is also particularly multi-faceted. I’m a dentist, you would most strongly recommend to visitors?
captain and singer and he’s a law student, captain and That’s like asking me to choose my favourite diamond
singer! Singing is so fulfilling, it brings the very best of from a pile of them! Every part is beautiful and so special
you. I sing with my son! When we’re out on our boats, to me! The route from Agios Nikolaos to Spinalonga is
we try to provide our clients with the very best vacation especially beautiful – as you can enter small caves, swim
memories. They’re so happy that when they return to in crystal clear waters and experience pristine small
their home countries they whisper: Summers in Greece beaches. The island of Spinalonga is unique, especially in
are really unique! the late afternoon. When you take a walk on the island,
Is there a particular destination on the island of Crete where you become one with the stone, with the culture, with
you would love to sing? hope itself - you feel the value of living every day with
On the island of Spinalonga, actually I have already sung a smile! If you climb up to the turrets, you’ll feel the
on the island! When you sing there, it’s truly unique – presence of the Venetian soldiers, smell gunpowder as
you experience moments of sadness as well as happiness... well as see the sun caressing the domes of the hospitable
And when you’re a captain and singer yourself, Odysseus’ and unique Domes of Elounda! •

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