N: P. Pack, I think it’s time to get into the musical business!
P: Why, N. Back?
N: Because, P. Pack, we couldn’t be more unprepared for our next adventure!
P: Where is it going to be?
N: We are going to the Mamma Mia island, Skiathos!
Hurry up! Here we go again! My, my…how can I resist you, Skiathos? 😊
While we are sitting in the plane, looking through the window, let us check what we know so far about our musical island Skiathos.
The more you know:
Skiathos island was mostly under Athenian domination with sporadic back and forth occupation of the Romans. That is why Skiathos Old Town has some ancient Venetian spirit.
In the more recent years, Skiathos took a major role as shipbuilding spot, due to its abundancy of pine forests.
Looking from above, the green pine tree scenery only increased our desire to start our Skiathos adventure. The landing was not smooth, but who cares. Let’s get us to the crystal clear, blue waters as soon as possible!
The owner of Antonia House, where we originally planned to stay was waiting for us at the airport. A big, friendly Greek guy in an old Nissan greeted us warmly while telling us that the car doesn’t start. “What a joke!” we thought.
The sun and the sweet, salty breeze helped us stay positively thinking backpacks. We smiled and said to ourselves “That couldn’t be! It’s a perfect day, nothing can go wrong!”. Seems like the car felt our positive energy and started immediately! Giannis, our driver, was excited and confirmed our thoughts: “You’re very lucky today!”. Let’s see if that holds on. During the 10-minute drive from the airport to the accommodation we tried to talk to Giannis. His English was bad, but his smile was big. Therefore, communication was working somehow.
Arriving at Skiathos town we learned that we needed to change our accommodation AGAIN! For one night we needed to stay at the Hotel Belvedere Achladies, due to some mix up with the rooms. Skiathos was clearly trying to test us. Would we be strong enough to handle the Greek temperament? A strong espresso on the house for the inconveniences definitely helped and we jumped into the jeep bringing us to the third hotel that day.
Looking at it from the bright side proved to be working for us. We got a room in a more expensive hotel close to the beach for the same amount of money! Complaints? What? Who said something? 😉
We were in a hurry as the warm Aegean Sea was waiting for us. The Achladies beach was only a 5 minutes walk away and we spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach.
The first day of our Skiathos trip could not end without the most important ingredient: Gyros (of course!). It is our most favourite dish, and it was cheap and very delicious at “Meat-ing & coffee”.
The evening had arrived quickly, and we had to hurry up, as the next “must-be” on a trip was booked and we should not be late.
Taking a taxi to get to “Parissis Winery” was an arduous undertaking due to the high speed of our taxi (a former F1 driver, it seems…) and the mountain terrain. The driver dropped us at Profitis Eliseos, a beautiful small church with an amazing view of Skiathos town. We took the 100 stairs up the direction to the winery.
Finally, we were reaching a plateau, on which a modern winery was build. With no paved street going there was a flabbergast. Who would think that there is a such a treasure, hidden behind the pine trees?
The family winery, built in 2000 is spectacularly positioned on Skiathos highest point. Our expectations got higher with every minute we were there. We will not tell you everything about it here, as we have our “Gusto” section 😉. There you’ll get all of the delicious experiences. Simply visit that part of our blog, but here’s some teasing:
Getting drunk and talking to everybody is our owner’s speciality. The friendly son of the family was our dear friend at the end of the evening. We’d like to send him a big “Thank You!” for that.
But hey! We’re not always drinking and eating. Just wait for tomorrow and you’ll see!
Tomorrow…(wow, that was fast!)
We got up early and put on all of the sun-protection cream we had packed, because we were going to spend a whole day on a sailing boat with “AENAO sailing trips”. We started at 10am and our first stop for swimming was in Tsougrias island. The we took direction to the “Diamanti beach”. The access to the beach is only possible by boat or by foot. But it’s not an easy walk. You have to do some real hiking, before reaching this private most tranquil place.
Next, we headed to Skopolos and Kastani beach, which is also known as “Mamma Mia”-beach!
After so much swimming and exploring the turquoise depths of the Aegean Sea, we headed for our lunch spot. Entering the port of Neo Klima one cannot stop thinking, what would the spartans have done, once being here.
“Molon Labe” – come and take, like king Leonidas of Sparta, we came to conquer the most delicious food known to us.
With full bellies and happy souls we got on the boat again to reach the blue cave on island Dasia. Vicky and Theo (the boat crew) told us the big secret of the cave. It is a hideout for sea lions, where they go to make home for their newborns. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any, so we had to believe our guides.
Getting a Greek yogurt with honey and savor the sea rush is the most pure tribute to the Greek summer and the happiness with which it fills our hearts.
Our feelings of separation and the unescapable Good Bye were slightly dazed away, because we still had a couple of hours to enjoy the busy streets of Skiathos town and try to most delicious gyros place on the island: “Nonani” is a busy place and that’s for a reason. Everybody is hungry and in a hurry to get the Greek delicatesses. Sitting on benches or small wooden chairs on the street while enjoying the last Gyros of the trip, felt perfect and right. As Hippocrates once said, “let food be the medicine and medicine be the food”. We believe in the wisdom of the ancient Greek physician and we are almost sure that he actually meant “Gyros” 
Secrets revealed:
- The sailing trip was 90 € per person. It includes meals and drinks. Definitely worth the money and very personal. Try to avoid big boats and crowds.
- Parissi winery offers wine tastings for 20 € only. You’ll get a variety of 6 wines and a plate full of local delicacies like cheese and tomatoes. The view is stunning and comes free of charge!