And so it was time to leave the sunny Sporades islands. We’ve both loved them – I think we both prefer them to the Cyclades that we travelled last year. They were relaxed, quiet and calm, like the Greece we first discovered 30 years ago. They were pretty, very pretty – blue sky, cobbled streets, white houses, all fringed with verdant green pine forests on the surprisingly high hills inland. And the water was perfect: crystal clear, warm, calm, and deep, I loved every of the many minutes I spent swimming in it.
The ferries were fun, and easy, none of the (organised) chaos to be found in the ports of Paros or Santorini, and it was so worth going beyond Skaithios to Alonossis and Skopelos.
Corfu and Kefalonia, Sifnos and Syros: at some point you have all held the number one spot in my heart as my favourite Greek island, but after a week on Alonissos you have all been knocked of that perch.
Alonissos has been wonderful, my new favourite Greek island. It is pretty with the green pine trees that were missing from the Cyclades, the swimming has been superb – crystal clear water from stone or shingle beach (contrary to popular opinion, neither Becky nor I are fans of sandy beaches), its had enough to keep one interested, but no so busy it feels overcrowded. It has been “authentically” Greek, with friendly people and delicious food. As we sat munching cakes and coffee at our favourite bakery for breakfast, Becky commented that we haven’t heard blaring music once during our holiday; we must be getting old as we increasingly seek peace and tranquillity as hallmarks of a good trip!
As I write, we await the mid-day(ish) arrival of this ferry (Seajets Superstar) to take us on a thirty minute journey to Skopelos, and begin the next phase of our Sporades adventure.
Today we went for a day out to Kokkinokastro, a beach about 15 minutes up the south-east coast of the island. There are not many bus routes on Alonissos – a few up to the Chora, and then two to Steni Vale, but not ’til 2pm – but there is a company – Aqua travel – that run a trip to a different beach each day of the week. We chose Kokkinokastro as we were told it was pretty – it was, the swimming was good – it was, and it was quiet – it was. It was 6.50 euros each for the round trip, picking up at 10.15, and departing the beach at 4pm
It was very pretty, the beach pebbly (which we like) and the water crystal clear and soon got deep enough to have you out of your depth. One section of the beach was “organised”, and there was a small beach bar, which we didn’t use as we set up camp further along the beach and I was to chilled to make the short walk across the stony shore.
We headed home, showered and headed back out ready for an evening of dance! We had seen signs for Alonissos festival of dance, on the 4th – 6th July, and our (very) limited Greek, coupled with google translate and talking with a taverna owner earlier in the week suggested that the festivities would start at 8pm. We found a table in taverna with a good view of the stage that had been erected, and watch in growing anticipation as circles and numbers were chalked onto the road in front of by the organisers.
By 8.15, we saw some costumed dancers walking into town, but still now sign of action. By 8.30 we could make our meal last no longer, so paid up and went to find a wall near the stage to stand and watch. Eventually, at 9.30 (ish!) the dancers paraded down the main road from the port, and then began dancing on the street behind us, directly in front of where we had been sat. Then, though, the main event began and the all processed, whilst dancing, onto the stage in front of us.
It is hard to estimate how many dancers there were, but would guess circa a thousand, and it took over half an hour for them all to make their way onto, and then off, the stage, all the while dancing to live music. It was a magnificent spectacle, and a privilege to witness and watch.
To plan, or not to plan, that is the dilemma we have faced. Earlier in the week, we sketched out a rough plan of what we would do each day whilst here on Alonnisos, but on Monday we were hungry and didn’t want to wait for the evening bus to the Chora, so we changed that plan. On Wednesday, we loved our day on the local town beach, so changed plans again and went back there today.
Its good to have some idea of what you are going to do on your travels, but those plans don’t need to be set in stone. Its only taken a couple of days and we are already operating on “Greek time” – taking things slow, and letting the world wash over you, like the clear, refreshing Aegean sea.
Lunch was simple: bread, breadsticks, fruit and veg picked up fresh that morning, the day was spent reading, swimming or just staring into the vast blue yonder. What plan could better that?
And this evening we did make it back up to the Chora, and enjoyed a wonderful meal, in a lovely – yet not twee – taverna with magnificent sweeping views out to sea. With the vibrant hues of a the setting sun providing the canvas as we awaited the bus for the ten-minute trip back down the hill, it was the perfect and picturesque end to an unplanned day.
Over the years, we’ve come to learn that shade is a vital commodity on the beach and would typically buy a beach umbrella when we first arrived in country, use it for our holidays, before leaving it behind in our accommodation, hoping that the next occupants may use it.
For our last few trips, however, we have taken our umbrella with us, packed in the bag along with my rucksack for the flight (although this does mean it needs to go in oversize luggage with the added risk it doesn’t make it smoothly to your destination as happened on our flight here ) Today, loaded up like a pack horse with normal beach stuff, plus the umbrella, and a couple of chairs, we headed of to the town beach for the day.
It is a beach that has captured my heart …
but was a stoney beach and, with a bit of a breeze, some serious engineering was needed to secure the umbrella. A couple of years ago, we bought a “screw in anchor” for the umbrella pole – great for sandy beaches, less so for stone, so some excavation to place to bury this as far as possible (not far!) and then build a base of rocks up around it. But my real achievement came three weeks ago one Sunday morning back in England. Thinking ahead, I used jubilee clips and plastic tie wraps to create a couple of loops on the poles – we took a reel of ribbon with us on holiday and were able to create guy ropes for the umbrella, secured by a couple of big rocks. As the wind got up, the umbrella fluttered in the breeze but stayed anchored in spot all day. I must say, I was rather pleased with (and rather enjoyed) my civil engineering first thing in the morning!
Chuffed with my efforts, I went for a swim in the clear waters. Whilst I explored the bay, Becky built a tower of stones …
Having been bitten by the engineering bug, I thought I, too, could build my own tower, so I did …
With gyros on the beach for a (late) lunch, it was a lovely chilled day on the beach
before ambling back through town – stopping for coffee and ice cream – on our way back to the apartment. A shower later, we headed back into town for a meal and as we returned to our room for the final time we (well, I) took the opportunity to get up close and personal with a Seajets ferry docked up overnight.
This morning we took the bus from the port/harbour (Patitiri) up to the old town, or Chora, (or Hora depending on how you want to turn your Greek into English. My Greek remains limited to a few very basic works, but I am starting to make an effort to at least look at words written in Greek and think how they might be written in the English alphabet, but I digress.)
A ten minute, and 1.80 euro each, bus ride from “town” delivered us to the Chora to be rewarded with magnificent sea views and a charming village of old buildings and cobbled streets tumbling through the town. We spotted a swallows nest, with youngsters big enough soon to fly the nest – perhaps an apt metaphor as we find out tomorrow what our youngest has scored in his final exams and his degree classification.
For all its charm an beauty, the Chora has been touched by tragedy. In 1965 it was hit by an earthquake, with many inhabitants forced to live in tents for two years before being made to move down to the port of Patitri. Life – and residents – have returned to the Chora, but we saw more than one dilapidated building for sale, and one begins to dream ….
More poignantly, we encountered a memorial to 9 citizens of Alonnisos that were put to death in the second world war, an important reminder of man’s inhumanity to man, and must not be forgotten.
The busses to and from the Chora are not frequent, so we walked back to Patitiri down the old donkey path, a wide cobbled path that wound its way down through the countryside. It was a pleasant “amble”, if somewhat hot, and after about 30 mins we stumbled back into town and rewarded ourselves with our first gyros of the trip.
And then we found a new swimming spot. Not the easiest to access, and all surrounded by rock, but there was a ladder to allow you to get into and out of the water. (Although, of course, I found an alternative way into the water …)
Swimming in the infinity of the deep blue sea, surrounded by pine clad cliffs, I was in heaven.
Our first full day in Greece and after a quick swim in “our” pool (our apartment block is owned by the owner of the small hotel opposite, and we have full use of their pool)
we headed, via a bakery for breakfast, to the beach on the inlet parallel to the harbour (we are staying on the top, between the two). As the crow-files, possibly less than 100 metres, but the geography of the island dictated a 10 to 15 minute walk, past some sunflowers
but it was so worth it.
The beach was not big, perhaps 100m wide (?), largely organised (ie covered with sunbeds – 15 euros for a pair and umbrella – and some tavernas, bars and mini-market fringing the beach) but with un-organised space at either end. We found ourselves a rocky jetty to settle down on, and before long I was in the water. It was/is the perfect swimming spot – easy to get in and out, the water crystal clear, getting deep quickly and the cove extended outwards for a couple of hundred metres, flanked by rocky cliffs, topped with green pine trees full of “singing” cicadas. For me, it was perfect.
I found a rock to dive off, and spent quite some time swimming in this idyllic spot. It wasn’t just the perfect water, the surrounding scenery was serene, I loved bobbing around in the water and looking up at the roots of this pine tree, exposed, no do doubt, by some rock fall.
And then, with a loud hoot, a Seajets ferry hoved into view, heading for port in the adjacent harbour: my holy trinity was scored – Sea, sun and Seajet ferries.
We enjoyed a late lunch on the seafront ,
before heading back up the hill, happy and contented after a full dose of Greek medicine. A perfect way to start our latest Greek adventure.
And so another Grecian Odyssey begins – this time two weeks in the Sporades, a group of islands off the east coast of mainland Greece, perhaps most famous for providing the breathtaking backdrop to the film Mama Mia, much of which was filmed on the island of Skopelos (and we shall be paying our due homage to the movie, and the Swedish super-group Abba later on our travels.)
Today, we flew out from Bristol on a surprisingly empty jet (plenty of empty seats), landing on the island of Skaithos some three and a half hours later. Levels of concern did rise a little (a lot in Becky’s case) as everyone else collected their bags and headed off into the sun, whilst we, and one or two other worried souls, were left bag-less as the luggage carousel ground to a stop.
However, our worry was short lived, “oversized” (or, more accurately, mis-shapen) luggage was delivered to a separate door in baggage reclaim, and, a few minutes later we were reunited with our bags. When using hold luggage, we use rucksacks – much easier to negotiate the chaotic, and often, cobbled streets of southern Europe with a bag on your back, than trying to trundle a large suitcase along a busy and bumpy pavement.
We then caught the bus – 5 mins and 3 euros each – into the town/port, were we had a few hours to kill before catching our ferry – a rather sleek looking hydrofoil straight out of a James Bond movie – to our first destination, the island of Alonnisos.
The journey was swift, if a bit “sporty” (aka rough and bumpy) stopping off at a couple of ports on Skopelos before terminating in the calm waters of Patitiri on the island of Alonnisos. It was picturesque and pretty as we climbed a hill (always a hill!) to our accommodation, before heading back into the harbour area to enjoy a delicious Greek meal, before returning “home” and collapsing tired, but happy, into a deep sleep, dreaming of adventures yet to come.
