Skopelos Island Greece
Scopelos Island GreeceSkopelos is the ideal island in Greece?
I had spent seven days on Skopelos free of memories of Meryl Streep, Abba or Mamma Mia! - the saccharinical that was filmed here almost a century ago. It' the goddamn thing, is it the goddamn thing? You can find fine sandy areas and more characteristic towns, but Skopelos is ticking most of the time.
Journey by boat to a scenic Hellenic harbour is immediately soothing. The arrival in Skopelos is no different. There is no airfield on the island, so the fastest way to get there is via the nearby Skiathos, where you will find one of the smallest and most narrow pistes in Europe - watch out for the smartphone-swinging tourist who take photos when you land.
It is an enchanting shady haven, dominated by a small chapel and a cafe. It has perhaps the most beautiful view of the whole island. Skopelos lack of monuments, museum and gallery more than makes up for with cloisters. There' re a dozen spread around the island, maybe 10 of them on Mount Palouki alone.
You can reach the T1 trail from Sotiris (there are three other signposted trails on the island). It is a beautiful trail, stunningly lush, full of activity and with spectacular vistas of Alonnisos, the next island in the Sporades Islands, which is largely untouched. Beside the friars and the compulsory goats with their cattle we had the whole hill to ourselves.
We even found the band of Agios Ioannis in the northwest of the island, which sits on a 100 m high cliff and is the most famous Mamma Mia! (here the marriage scenery was shot), abandoned, while no more than 10 persons squatted the wonderful sand below.
This tavern is part of every greece vacation. The menus should contain most, if not all, of the following elements: tzzatziki, daffodils, fried courgettes, Souvlaki, klefttiko, stiffado, Greek lettuce, calamari and cheesecake. Skopelos' best examples are located away from the pedestrian zone of the port. Skopelos is a small island that is nothing without its sandy beach, and while most of Skopelos' pebbles are pebbles, they are scenic, surrounded by cliffy lush vegetation and serene.
Kastani, an important Mamma Mia! venue, is just as beautiful - but the only place on the island that is overflowing. The majority of tourists here are either Britons, Germans or Greeks.