Days six - The storms & Evangelistria monastery.

A cloudy day dawned today after immense storms during the night!
I was woken around 2am by the thunder and lightning. I went out onto the balcony of our room to marvel at nature. WOW! This was one hell of a storm! Even though I was well under the balcony, I was still getting wet with splashes from the deluge pouring down. They don't 'do' gutters much here, as they don't usually need them. Tonight, they really needed them. Water was flooding some parts of the hotel (we were OK), and even coming through a couple of the corridor skylights! The poor owner said he'd lived there 38 years, and never seen this much rain in such a short time.

You can see short videos of the storm from our balcony, click Here  HERE  HERE  HERE and HERE

At breakfast, the rain still hadn't abated.

This was our patio view. Click HERE

We now had the car, so decided to drive to the end of the main road, bus stop 18 - Koukanaries. The rain had stopped, but there were heavy clouds all around.

We sat on the mostly deserted beach, and watched the storm approaching!

Click HERE to see the lightning striking out at sea.

Not much of a photo' day, but we still enjoyed the show (and got to read some of our holiday books). We watched from our car as the car park at Koukanaries filled with water, eventually to calf depth. How do I know? Well, a gallant guy gave his wife a piggy-back to the bus stop, and that's where the water came to on his legs! The people already at the stop gave him a big round of applause. The rain came with a vengeance. So much so, that the imminent scheduled bus didn't turn up for over an hour! When it did, the dozen or so people at the stop had to walk down to road to get on - there was no WAY the driver was going to take his bus into what looked like a swimming pool!

When the storm calmed, we drove off to bus stop 18, parked up, and did another restaurant on the bucket list. This one was called 'Orsa'. Although opposite another one that was rated, the salt and pepper, we decided either would be good.

Again, super food, this time our first beef stifado.

We thought, with the weather as it was, we'd just do a bit of exploring in the car. Now, apart from the one main road on Skiathos, a lot of the others are 'interesting'! After the sat nav tried to send us up a flight of steps, I turned it off, and we resorted to map reading. Twisting and turning, we managed to get quite high up. Here's a view over the airport and Skopelos.

This was one place we were hoping to find, Platanos restaurant.
The entrance is very welcoming.

Some great objects in the courtyard, these shells are some of the biggest I've ever seen.

A nice old anchor (and there was a propeller there too).

Great views, looking down to Skiathos town.

We pressed on, stopping at this chapel. 

Why wouldn't you? These places are dotted around the island, and look simple enough, but inside........

Amazing! And just open to the public. I can't imagine how they'd fare in the UK.

Each one, no expense spared. Just look at that lovely chandelier and floor.

Icons and paintings of saints all over the place.

Intricate murals too.

Saint George seemed to be a favourite, here and in others we'd visited.

This sign pointed to another 'must do', as described by previous visitors and friends, the Evagelistria monastery. We parked the car, and decided to walk to the monastery.

What a lovely, simple and surprisingly new-looking building. We were expecting an antiquity.

This is where the jaw-dropping starts!

This place is incredible, it really is. From the dozens of cats around the place, to the herb gardens, the intricate stonework, you really just HAVE to be there to take it all in.

This part was out of bounds - it was the monks living quarters.

What a peaceful place to walk and think. You can't help but feel reverent when here. Look how well this land is tended.

The shrimp plant, as it's known. Sue told me, and I can see why.

The terraces of fresh herbs.

Cats relaxing in the courtyard.

I saw into a room where there was what looked like a senior monk. He was talking to a couple in hushed tones. We went in gingerly, feeling as if we were almost desecrating the place by just being there. I can't explain why, it just felt like that.

We saw a younger monk by the door, fingering his prayer beads, and looking deep in meditation. He looked up briefly and smiled.

The older monk had, by now, finished talking to the other couple, who left. 

He engaged us, and was really, really friendly. He exuded calm. We liked him right away. I asked if it was OK to take pictures inside, and he said yes, but no flash on the paintings. No problem.

We looked up at this stunning ceiling. To see it is to wonder! HOW was it done? So many styles, and tiny bricks. Was one of the monks a master builder?

I asked the old monk. He said no, it was all done by a group of the brothers. Where did they acquire such skills, I asked? He told me they built it on the ground again and again, until it was perfect. They then transferred their knowledge to the roof, and this was the result.

I have NEVER seen anything like it before!

We left, astounded. Back to normality, as these kittens briefly raised their heads from their afternoon nap to see what we were up to.

Back in Skiathos town, we parked up and walked into town along the harbour road, with views over the harbour. 

 That sky still looks VERY angry, doesn't it?

We ate at 'Portabello'. This time we had the moussaka, another traditional Greek dish. Again, tasty to the max! Their garlic bread was great - something we're specialists on!

We again strolled back down Papadiamanti street, taking in the ambiance of the place.

Then, a few spots of rain started to fall. Then a LOT of rain. We ducked under the canopy of a creperie. Of course, it would have been rude not to have one - so we did. Sue loves them, I'm not as fussed, but I must admit, it was lovely. The rain came really hard again, and the shop opposite the creperie was selling small umbrellas for five euros. Someone joked they were only three euros when it wasn't raining ;-)

By the time we left, the rain had eased a little, so we didn't get really wet. Not as it mattered. It was warm, we'd had a great day, and we still had a large portion of our holiday left.

What's not to like? 

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Day four - Kanapitsa peninsula & Koutsouri beach.

Before we came away, Sue bought a book all about Skiathos written by a local walker, Ortwin Widmann. It gave us lots of ideas, but the first we explored was the small peninsula beyond our hotel, the Kanapitsa peninsula. His description of the good views became apparent very early on. This is looking back to the local beaches s (Kanapitsa foreground, Tzanaria behind).

Views opened up more, the more we gained height, and we could see right across the main bay to Skiathos town.

Lots of insect subjects for me to practice my camera work on.
Click on any image to get a larger version.

They were good enough to pose.

Before 'hopping off'.

We rounded a bend, and saw this tiny beach below us. It was described in the guide book (Koutsouri), but the way to get down to it wasn't detailed.

So, the only thing for it was to try and find one for ourselves!
We bushwhacked through the scrub, clambering here and there on the loose path.

After quite a steep scramble (we found out there was an easier way when we returned up later in the day), we reached the tiny, sandy beach. Only about six people on it. A right little sun trap it was too, and the water was again good to swim in.

We spent a few hours swimming and just catching the sun before making our way back up to the top of the cliffs to continue the walk. This was prompted by the arrival of a boat full of people. The skipper had a radio, or some kind of sound system on, blaring out and totally destroying the calm of the place.

There was a lot of nude/semi nude bathing going on, but as the boat disgorged it's passengers, most covered up, or went.

As we rounded the headland, we came upon more villas. 

Some of the gardens were like professional ones - so well planted and maintained.

Of course, all that sunshine made us thirsty, so a cold beer was in order.

As it was on the way, we stopped for a drink at a place on our 'tick list' - info' given to us by people who'd been to the island before us. It was called the Hermes restaurant.

We then went back to the hotel to change, and returned to Hermes later to eat. As always, great food. We tried our first lamb kleftiko, a specialist local dish. It's unusual for us to choose the same dish, as we nearly always share, but we both wanted the full Monty on this one.

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Arrival & first day 16th/17th September 2015

WELCOME TO MY BLOG OF

OUR TRIP TO THE BEAUTIFUL GREEK ISLAND OF SKIATHOS.

Other blogs of mine, click;

HERE (Gran Canaria 2012)
HERE (Gran Canaria 2018)
HERE (Lanzarote)
HERE (Madeira)

HERE (Peak district walks)

HERE (Majorca)
HERE (Kefalonia)
 HERE (Fuerteventura)
and Cyprus 2018 HERE

After an uneventful flight, apart from our first-ever delay - two and a half hours -  we were airborne. Thanks to lots of cloud, it was a lot of nothingness, apart from the odd glimpse of the sea below, as we continued.

However, we did get a FEW glimpses of land as we flew over. I think this was a mountain pass in Spain. I do think these features look amazing from high above, the way the road snakes through the deep pass.

The mountains were, as always, very impressive.

Snow caps and all.

This reservoir was like looking at a large scale map, features so well defined, it was stunning.

After a smooth and enjoyable flight, we saw the coastline of Skiathos from the plane.

Now to prepare for that well-recorded short landing at the airport.

The airstrip is short, so pilots have to get pretty low early on, they fly RIGHT OVER your head!

You can see a video of our landing by clicking HERE

Customs was a quick affair at the airport, and in no time at all, we arrived at our hotel, the Kanapitsa Mare.

We got exactly the room we requested, 206, with this stunning view over the sea.

No time to mess around, we unpacked only the absolute essentials (trunks, snorkel) and went straight to the local beach, Tzanaria.

It was lovely, warm and relaxing. The holiday had started!

After frying for the afternoon, and doing our first lot of snorkeling, we got changed and went to the local bar/restaurant - Johnny's.

Now this is how I like my lager beer served, WELL chilled!

Johnny's was quite popular, and it was easy to see why. Friendly, good food, nice ambiance and comfortable seating. We would come here several times during the holiday, as it was just across the road from our hotel.

The next morning, we intended to catch the local bus, known as the 'sardine express', into Skiathos town but as we stood at the stop, a taxi pulled up and the driver leaned out of the window and said; 'five euros to town?' - we accepted, as the combined bus fare was three euros twenty, so not a lot of difference. On the way, he stopped and picked up two more people, another five euros.

We got out at the top of the main street in Skiathos town, Papadiamanti street, named after a famous son of the island.
You can read about him if you CLICK HERE.

We had had some local knowledge from some friends who had been here several times. They recommended a cafe bar called the Lobby. We soon found it, and started to people watch while sipping our lattes.

 After coffee, we began to explore. "Just get lost in the back streets", our friends had said, so we did. We saw some great local fruit and veg shops, just look at the size of those tomatoes! I can tell you too from experience, they are SOOOOOO sweet on salads.

We called in to the lobby of a 'boutique hotel', The Bourtzi, (with boutique prices) and I got this shot of their lovely horse sculpture.

Sue noticed this 'bird' on a chimney, then we realised it wasn't real! It was to scare the real thing away (apparently).

It looks like it's done a long, brown dropping!

The streets of this town are lovely. Lots of them, and lots of interesting sights to see, and not an inch of Tarmac - all beautifully paved and rough.

The island is COVERED with small churches and chapels, also loads of tiny little shrine-like things (more of those later).

This guy was making the famous 'Baklava' cake, so loved by the Greeks. We tried a mixed box of their cakes, including Baklava, and they are far too sickly sweet for our taste. They are dripping in what looks like syrup, almost impossible to eat by hand.

The guy was below this shop, this is where his wares were sold, all hand made. The lady, who MUST be some relative, gave us two little profiteroles. I have to say, they were the best we had ever tasted, and that's one of our favourite sweets.

So MANY to choose from!

We walked to the top of the street to come out above the ocean.
This seat would produce a magic moment later on in the holiday.

With the sun beating down, Sue was determined to find us a place to catch some rays, and soon.

All the buildings were whitewashed, so the sun reflected, and we were getting VERY warm

Soon, we reached the start of a promontory, the views from which were terrific.

Over to our left, a dilapidated building, once a bar? It looked to be in the PERFECT  position, but sadly derelict.

The peaceful bay in front of the bar.

This place was perfect, and we spent a long time sitting here and swimming. The water was deep right away, so the snorkeling was good too.

This really is the perfect place. OK - no sand, but we were VERY comfortable on these slightly angled flat rocks. Best of all, the sea was RIGHT THERE.

So - only one thing for it - GET IN.

The views over the harbour to town were just perfect too.

  Also, we could watch the planes coming in to land. You can see what we saw by clicking HERE.


A panorama taken from the rocks, click on it for a larger picture,

The water taxi passes by. You can see where we caught it by clicking HERE

After three hours relaxing, we walked into town, via the old harbour.

We visited the Bourtzi bar (same name as the boutique hotel) on the lump of rock that divides the old harbour and the new one. The rocks you can see behind the boat are where we had been sunning and swimming earlier.

Lots of shade from pine trees here, a very pleasant spot to tarry.

 We then ran the gauntlet of cafe owners trying to talk us into their own establishment.
We could see the famous clock tower above us (another restaurant), which we earmarked to visit at some point.

The prom' was lovely here, with no traffic for the most part. The 'road' began just beyond those trees, and Papadiamanti street was just ahead on the left.

The sun was over the yardarm, so cocktail time was in order.

Then it was into the bustle of Papadiamanti street, with all it's shops, cafes, etc etc.

All over Skiathos town was the buzz of small motorbikes/mopeds. NO-ONE seemed to wear crash helmets, and they carried all manner of things on them. During our stay, we saw sets of golf clubs, fishing rods, FOUR members of a family, and even a guy driving one-handed, with a BABY tucked under his other arm!!

In this one snap, there are FIVE motorbikes!

The local cinema was open air. This was because there had been a fire there in the past, which burnt the roof off. They thought; 'why do we need a roof?', and so now it shows films 'topless'. Twice a week, they show 'Mama Mia', as this island, and neighboring Skopelos, was where a large part of it was filmed. They are, understandably, milking the connection.
It is a MUST DO to see the film here (even though we have the DVD), so we bought tickets for the following Monday showing.

By now, night was falling and we were getting peckish.
This place did a really lovely mixed grill for two, with bread, wine AND a sweet for just 18 euros - super value (and a nice meal).

The pace was relaxed and informal. The evenings warm and balmy. This was a GOOD place to be, and we were getting well into holiday mode already.

At every turn, a beautiful courtyard or walkway.

 Shops spilled out onto the street with wares to try and catch the last of the tourist trade. Greece has a very short season, which is why we were here in September. We usually don't go away until mid-October, but this two week period was the last for the island this year. We could see evidence of this towards the end of our stay, with places closing, beaches being stripped of sunbeds and umbrellas, etc.

Just to walk these beautiful streets was a delight.
We couldn't get enough of it.

Finally, we decided to catch the boat taxi back to our hotel, just three euros each for the trip. With the soft harbour lights twinkling behind us, we made our way back.

Day one done, and were were already in love with this island.

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