Skopelos island: Glossa, Ag. Ioannis, Stafilos, Hovolo and Kastani

The other main tourist town of Skopelos is a picturesque hillside village of 1,200 people and views to die for. There are ruins in GLOSSA dating from 400 BC as well as Byzantine walls to poke about in. The houses in Glossa are mostly two storey with wooden balconies and the fields are full of plum and almond trees. Several dirt roads lead out of the port village to provide lovely walks to nearby sights of interest.

There is the ugly monastery of Agios Ioannis which perches high on rocks overlooking a small cove, the monastery of the Agion Taxiarchon, built on the remains of a 7th century Byzantine church and the Gourouni Cape which has a lighthouse.


Other roads and tracks lead down to deserted beaches. On the northwest coast are MYRTIA and KOUTRIA, while to the east there are pebble coves to be found at PERIVOLI, PETHAMENI, HONDROGIORGI, KERAMOTO, MAVRAKI and SPILIA. Like all remote north coast beaches they are prone to collect debris and rubbish. Many are difficult to find and only Spilia and Perivoli have roads leading to them. Pethameni is at the bottom of a steep and precipitous path but has small beach and some good snorkeling. Hondrogiorgi has easier access and so is popular with locals at weekends.




At Spilia there is a cave and a chapel built on a spectacular headland above a double coved beach. The headland was created when the cliffs collapsed into the sea and the chapel featured strongly in the hit movie musical Mamma Mia.









The island's main beach at STAFYLOS or STAFILOS is popular with families, but only because it is the nearest to Skopelos town - about 5km directly south out of the harbour. Access to Stafylos is off the main road and 500m down a steep tarmac road to some ever steeper stone steps. Tavernas at the top and bottom of the hill are most welcome for those on foot. For those using cars and bikes there are good car parks.




The narrow strip of sand and shingle at Stafylos, mostly shingle, is attractive enough - basking beneath steep and high scrub-covered cliffs. Its popularity has grown recently and the sandy bits get snapped up early.



The steep cliffs behind can seem a little oppressive and the narrow Stafylos beach only allows for one or two rows of sunbeds that are put out in high summer. The water is shallow with stone underfoot so beach shoes are needed. On the road above, near the bus stop, there are a couple of tavernas and parking for cars. Small hotels and apartments are dotted about the Stafylos hillsides.










A rocky limb that juts out to sea is home to the tomb of the former Cretan general Stafylos, who gives his name to Stafylos beach. Among the treasures unearthed at the tomb were a 15th century gold-plated sword which is now housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Velanio beach is approached a short climb over the headland at the end of Stafylos beach. Velanio beach is bigger, steeper and deeper than its more popular neighbour. It is a mixture of stone and shingle and the further along the south-facing beach you go, the stonier Velanio it gets. The waters here are very clean and clear, ideal for swimming. The lovely beach at VELANIO is still a favourite with nudists though they now tend to stay at the far eastern end beyond a rocky outcrop that splits the beach in the middle. Velanio often takes the overspill from the family beach at Stafylos but it takes around 15 minutes to walk down from the bus stop on the main road, along Stafylos beach and over the headland. It has only a small cantina that opens in high summer. Lines of sunbeds occupy the more popular end of the beach; naturists make do with laying their straw mats on the smooth white stones. Velanio resort is said to take its name from old Roman baths 'valaneia' that were once reputedly sited here but locals say 'venanio' simply means acorn and dismiss the Roman link. There is a spring near the end of the beach. Pick your way through the naturists to get to it.





HOVOLO which is on the outskirts of Elios town and for me was one of the most beautiful beaches, not only because of the beautiful beach and crystal water, but even because of the plenty of natural shade provided by the high rocky mountain behind.

A few kilometre south of Hovolo beach brings you to the splendid beach of KASTANI. One of the island's sandiest beaches, Kastani was used for beach scenes in the hit musical movie of Mamma Mia. The approach is down a steep, pine cloaked and heavily rutted dirt track and there is not much room to turn at the bottom so take car with the car. A beach cantina with great music sometimes springs up in the summer but there are no other facilities. However, they had plenty of sun beds, umbrellas, baldachins and cushions all over the place and it was magical to just enjoy the natural shade under the pine and olive trees, drinking a coffee or juice:).

Skopelos, Agnondas and Amarantos

As mentioned previously, during our stay on Skopelos island, we stayed in Agnondas, small fishing bay, 8 km south of Skopelos Town. Here is the picture of me and our lovely host, Ms Angeliki.



What I loved about Agnondas is that the beach was very close to the apartment and that there was plenty of shade from trees that come right down to the shoreline. There is a very narrow strip of sand and shingle in front to the tavernas, offering good food, especially fresh fish and other sea food.

Agnondas beach shelves gently into the sea protected by the steep hills on either side of the bay so it is safe for children. Also, the bay is very protected from the prevailing winds and is sometimes used as a second harbour, when the weather is bad.










On the main road between Agnondas and Skopelos town is a new dirt track(the first on the right after Agnondas) which branches though the forest leading to several secluded small coves at AMARANDOS or AMARANTOS where pines sweep right down to the crystal water's edge offering privacy and shade.

It is the place where some of the scenes of the Mamma Mia musical were filmed. The place with most breathtaking views of the rocks, pine trees and the azure, clean water. Loved it!!!

Skopelos, the city

As , mentioned before, here is the first blog post about the gorgeous Skopelos island, in Greece. It is dedicated to the main city, Skopelos.

You can maybe watch this nice video about the island, I found on the net. There is also very useful Skopelos website that has many great pictures, info, maps and other things and I've booked our apartment through that website.
Let's start with a bit of info from the net as: Skopelos is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos is one of several islands which comprise the Northern Sporades island group. Sporades, are a group of widely dispersed islands in the Aegean Sea whose collective name means ‘Scattered’ from sporas. The Skopelos island is located east of mainland Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea and is part of the Thessaly region. Skopelos is also the name of the main port and the municipal center of the island. Skopelos has an area of 37 square miles (96 sq. km.). The interior is covered by a series of low mountains, the highest peak being Delphi which reaches a height of 1188 ft. (362 m). The entire 40 mile (67 km.) coastline is blessed by an abundance of natural harbors which provide safe haven from Aegean storms throughout the year. The name Skopelos comes from the ancient Greek word meaning “rock” indicating its rocky nature. Despite this, eighty percent of the island is covered with pine trees giving Skopelos the notoriety of being amongst Greece’s greenest islands. Other trees commonly seen on the island are olive, almond, plum, and fig trees. Another one of Skopelos’ valuable natural resources is its many natural springs and its plentiful fresh water supply. For many years the island’s main export was its wine. In the 17th century it was said that Skoplos had “the best in the Aegean.” Pine resin, dry plums (prunes), and dry figs were also exported in the past. Since the late 1980’s, few farm or tend to their land, and tourism has taken over as the island’s main industry.





Worthwhile sightseeing on the island includes many churches, chapels and monasteries. The deep religious convictions of the islanders are evident in the sheer number of structures dedicated to this or the other saint. In the main town of Skopelos alone there are 123 of the total of 360 chapels that dot the island.

 














While climbing the who knows how many stairs taking us up, at the top of the old town, the kids were searching for cats and dogs, while I was looking for the nice corners to photograph, almost entering into the houses of people, as the stairs in some parts are very narrow and you may almost feel like uninvited guest, until Greeks welcomes you with a smile and a "yassou," the actual Greek word for hello:)











The two and three storey homes have a panoramic view of the harbor and beautiful balconies showered in colourful bougainvillea and all kinds of blooms decorating small balconies and walls with visible, decorative, wooden frames. The roofs of the houses are covered with schistolith (a type of shale) or tile. Because of the remarkable architecture of these traditional houses, the town of Chora has been declared a preserved settlement by presidential decree. In the old town aerea there are still houses over 500 years old dating from the Byzantine period. The capital of Skopelos is beyond any doubt, one of the most beautiful villages in Greece.



Now, said all that, I would never suggest renting the hotel or apartment in the Skopelos city. It is very nice to see, take a walk, eat etc, but being the harbour and the main city on the island, it can't have the most beautiful beaches. The town's long, sand and shingle town beach may look inviting from a distance but closer inspection reveals it to be little more than a squalid, litter-strewn dump. Facing north against the prevailing summer wind, it attracts more than its fair share of flotsam. Rubbish regularly creeps round from the harbour, swept in by the current. The water is very murky and not recommended for swimming unless you are both desperate to cool down and have all your inoculations are up to date. Sewage pipes that once ran straight into the harbour now extend out to sea but it is hardly a solution to the problem. Fresh water from a covered culvert trickles into the sea. In the spring, many wading birds can be observed pecking their way through the debris and plastic. Nevertheless, in the high season, the beach is packed with holidaymakers - mainly Greeks. The back of the beach at Skopelos Town, once a nice area for walks, has now been built up with several small hotels and apartments. There is another beach that is somewhat cleaner but it is very small and made up of stone and pebbles.



And the nearest nice beach(but not anything special) is the Agios Konstantinos beach.




 There is another small beach in the bay of Skopelos Town to the west at GLYFONERI. It is not much to look at though, just a narrow string of stone and shingle though it does have a very nice fish taverna above it.






 After  Glyfoneri, there is Glysteri beach. Daily boat trips to GLYSTERI beach are widely advertised in Skopelos Town. The beach lies about 2km north of the port and can also be reached by road. There is a small, stone and shingle beach set in a deep and secluded bay with a large taverna set back from the beach and sometimes a waterside cantina in the summer months. There is also a campsite at Glysteri in the nearby olive groves for those who prefer roughing it. The only drawback for those trying to escape the crowds are the fairly regular visits from caiques which drop off day trippers en route to the sea caves at nearby TRIPITI. The more adventurous can head a little further north to the small bay at VATHIAS, wild and unkempt with a steep winding road down to a scrap of rock and   shingle.



I'll blog about the rest of the beaches in my next post including, Agnontas or Agnondas, the small village where we were situated.