Space Waitress' Travels on Earth

It was a team effort this morning for the sunrise, and once again, an amazing sight. Talk about lucky to be alive. That ball of light comes up so quickly but the first few minutes are stunning!

Coffees on the deck done, we decided to do a walk to a local church. The track was as expected for this island…. up and down, and along the way, beautiful views, plants and friendly locals. The church was at the end of a tiny road, looking over the sea and surrounded by a couple of tall swaying trees and the experience was almost spiritual.

The church had beautiful artefacts inside and although tiny, was beautiful.

After the church visit, it was time to revisit our new local coffee shop, for our daily fix of “real” coffee. As we wandered down the road, a man on a scooter passed us with millimeters to spare. As I side stepped the bike, I noticed his load, number 8 wire and a headline flashed through my mind…….”Kiwi Taken out by Number 8 Wire!” Hahahahaha.

We were greeted like long lost friends at the coffee place and today’s treat was a homemade donut that melted in the mouth.

As we were enjoying our cup of jo, a local man with his donkeys came by. This caused screams of delight from us and the lovely man stopped so that we could take photos and pat the donkeys. This place just delights us every day.

Our neighbour at the villa, rescues dogs and cats, and although it can be a little noisy at time, we absolutely support what she does and love chatting to her. She paints beautiful rocks to sell and assist with money to feed the dogs and cats, so we all purchased one. This morning as passed her villa, she popped out and had a wee puppy in her arms that someone had dumped! Needless to say, a cuddle of said puppy was in order. This lovely lady has organised us a car to hire for a few days, so we can get to all the hard to get spots.

It was beauty spa afternoon at the pool, sunshine, face packs, hair conditioner and 70s music….. bliss.

We grabbed the late afternoon ferry to Skiathos, as we loved the island on our brief visit and decided to explore it more. As the ferry approached Skiathos, we saw the runway and realised how short it is! Well done pilot!

The alley ways and cobbled paths led to all sorts of quaint shops, some catering to tourists and some with amazing clothes and homewares. I bought a beautiful plate that will remind me of Greece each time it is put on the table. Along with a few other purchases, we also wandered up a few stairs to a bell tower with views over all the house roofs. Now….. we saw a beautifully lit up tower when we were at our pension on the first night and planned to explore it…… was this it? No, but it was lovely to wander around this bell tower, and we noticed a wee box that a cat was eating from and it warmed our hearts to think that all the cats that we see wandering, are at least being cared for in some capacity. We were told on our first night that the locals live “in nature” with the cats and dogs on the island. There are MANY, and as alien as it to us that they don’t have owners, it seems they are tolerated at the least and cared for at the most.

After having a snack at our other “local”, the 7 Sins, we wandered in a new direction and found a church square that was filled with kids and families and bikes and fun. Was this the lovely lit tower we saw the first night? We all decided it was and breathed it all in. It was lovely to feel the family atmosphere, 9 pm at night and the kids were not on electronic devices, they were outside in the fresh air. The evening was balmy, the views beautiful and the company fabulous. As we left that lovely church square and lit up tower, feeling like conquerors as we had found the “light”, we went a little further onto the Old Port and looked up to the horizon. What did we see?…… the lit up tower …… it kept moving and we still hadn’t found it……… next time !

The ferry home was fashionably late, as we have come to realise is usual, so the heads were nodding off on the trip home. Taxi ride up the hill to Villa Pasifika, and bed ……zzzz.

Breakfast this morning was had at a cafe in Glossa village. The power was out at the villa and also in the village, but the lady owner made us coffee, Greek, traditional method over a little gas stove. The coffee was great and the baked goods along with it, yummy. Kourabiedes biscuits were so good and very traditional. As we sat outside at the tables we watched the elderly locals, coming and going from church. We chatted ( kind of ) to many of them and were totally impressed with the age and agility. This village has steps ( many) and they take them in their stride, no wonder they live to ripe old ages. One of the men was 95. Again, we chatted to a man who had been in the navy and been to the Pacific many years ago. It seems the whole elderly male contingent of this island was in the navy.

After breakfast we jumped back in the Opel mobile and headed to St Johns chapel at Agios Ioannis. Now, prepare yourself, this is the church high up on a rock, used in the Mama Mia movie. 200 steps up the rock path found us at the top and although my first words at the top were ….. “stuff walking up here to get married”, it was STUNNING. My words will not do it justice so I shall say, we were loathe to leave the place and trek back down. Before we did though, we lit some candles and prayed for friends and loved ones.

Trek back down we did and planted ourselves on the beach at the bottom of that rock, Kastri Beach. For at least an hour, there was no one else on that beach and we loved it.

The water was so clear, we could see all the rocks on the bottom, and some random feet (lol) and any little fishes that decided to join our party. A local lady joined us with her pretty dog called Wilma ( the dog that is ) and she swam out to join us in the water.

We dragged ourselves away from that beach to head back to the villa and plan dinner. The drive back was a little hair raising for some in our party, as we needed to keep to our right, even though the drop to the right was ……. a long way down…… and there were no barriers like other PC countries. We have become quite used to hills, narrow roads and scooters. I have enjoyed driving here, but I’m not so sure about my passengers hahahaha.

Thanks for reading xx

Our last full day dawned and we contemplated how to spend our last hours on this stunning island. We began wandering down the road to our coffee/ bakery place, Utopia. As we passed the gate of our lovely neighbour who rescues dogs and cats, she popped out for a chat and told us to stop in on our way back. The walk down to the bakery was pretty as usual and the coffee and cakes delicious. This is such a great spot to chat with locals and tourists as many people gather here in the morning. We also carried on down to the port to walk around the point, a new place to explore. The water was a little wilder at this point and uninhabited.

On our way back we stopped at our lovely neighbours and met many of the beautiful rescue animals. We surprised her with the gift of 2 bags of cat/ dog food, as we are all in awe of what she does for these gorgeous wee orphan animals, with no funding to speak of, just the goodness of her heart.

We dragged ourselves away from these darlings and hopped back into the Opel mobile to get gas, and visited a local family run Olive Oil Company and saw the pressing process. I could bore you with a few facts but one will do, Greece is the 3rd largest olive oil producer.

Sadly, we planned our last afternoon at the pool. Each time we have been at the pool, we have been provided entertainment by a group of swallows who seem to play a game of …… who goes the lowest…… hahaha. 7 million videos were taken before I got this !! Cheeky little things seemed to know the camera was on them, and it was difficult to catch them in action.

The evening had already been planned, so we began the preparation to join the locals at Central Square, for dinner and music at Utopia. As it was the Royal Wedding day, we dressed in white and had our own wee photo shoot before dinner.

Central Square looked amazing, they have tidied up this week ready for the summer season, and it was a beautiful setting.

Our meals were all delicious, fresh and tasty, squid, vegetable fritters, fried egg plant, mousaka, and pork. All accompanied by local wines which we have enjoyed. Our waitress was lovely and wanted to marry one of our sons and come with us. We had a great night, saw people we have met during the week and were once again treated like friends. The music had us swaying all evening and eventually 2 brave girls succumbed and danced to Zorba the Greek.

We had one local dodgy dude who crashed our photo shoot at the restaurant and the waitress had to tell him in Greek….enough is enough……over friendly, if you get my meaning lol.

As we wandered back to the villa, after dinner, feeling more than a little satisfied, we were grateful for the steps that gave us a little more exercise to wear off some of the amazing food.

Off to bed, last sleep in our villa x

Last nights sunset was one of those times when the world around you goes away, and you just stare.

Today’s outing was to Perivoliou beach.

The roads have continued to be windy, narrow and at times, sheer drops on one side. The girls have been super kind with the comments on my driving, which at times has meant chopping down to first gear and just going for it up the steep hills, with a hairpin thrown in for good luck !!

The journey, however is ALWAYS worth it, as once again we were totally spoilt to have the whole beach to ourselves. As with all the other beaches, beautiful pebbles lined the beach and the waters’ edge. We have all collected a handful to bring home with us, and hopefully to remind us over the winter, of these amazing days. Next to Perivoliou is a little beach called Pethamenis or Dead Woman’s Beach, where a dead woman was found 40 years ago. A local restaurant owner also told us a story about dead Germans on the beach, but we can’t confirm that one ………We wandered the track towards Dead Woman’s Beach but it had deteriorated in places, with a long drop down the cliff so we had to turn back, but not before admiring it from the cliff top.

A little cafe had set up shop at the beach, under a spreading pine tree. We ordered beers and toasted sandwiches and I don’t think either has ever tasted so good.

While we were eating, our towels waited on the beach for us, the only ones in the whole place. Not sure if June will bring more people to the beach, but we are thankful for the peace and quiet.

After leaving the beach, and before heading back to Glossa, we detoured, hoping to have a look at the lighthouse, but we found that the road was very rocky and after a couple kilometres, decided to turn around when we could. Another headline flashed up ……”6 Kiwis get Flatty on lonely Greek road.”

After cleaning up and heading out looking hot, 🙂 we drove down to the port for dinner.

We chose a place we had eaten before, but sadly the meals were not like all the others we had eaten. We have truly been spoilt with our food choices up until this meal.

We did have the company of the most gorgeous wee dog though, and we surreptitiously fed her.

We all left the restaurant with heavy hearts as it is against our nature to accept dogs are just roaming free, but we have to think back to what we were told the first night about cats and dogs living naturally.

Back at the villa, we made plans for tomorrow, our last full day. 😦

After a beautiful breakfast of French Toast prepared by Camp Mother and her helper, we climbed into the Opel mobile and we were off to take Skopelos town by storm again. Although we had driven this road before, we took a slight wrong turn. It was one of those times when a wrong turn brought an unexpected delight. We carried on down a beautiful country lane which had 3 lovely old churches one after the other. We made the call to stop at one of them to take photos, when 2 elderly men stopped their gardening and came towards us. They had lovely wild flowers in their hands and gave the bunches to us. A marriage proposal to one of us provided a photo opportunity. The church was about 200 years old, with beautiful blue plates embedded in the walls.

We picked the right road and made it back to Skopelos, first stop ice cream. There is a row of cafes/tavernas on the waterfront and they are so pretty, and inviting. We found a little coffee shop called “The Little Coffee Shop” haha and stopped for a Latte. We have found the coffee to be good everywhere, whether it’s filter, traditional, or Latte.

The shops kept beckoning as they were all so quaint, welcoming and full of gorgeous things. There is lots of linen, dresses, shirts and pants, all amazing colours to match the colours of the villages we are seeing. We dragged ourselves out of Skopelos and to Panormos beach, and lazed under thatch umbrellas while paddling in clear waters yet again. The clarity is amazing, all fish and stones visible right to the bottom. Panormos was our 3rd beach visit and none of them have disappointed. We came for beautiful beaches and we got them.

The driving is becoming second nature, the turns and hairpins all taken in our stride, the most challenging part is the last drive up to our villa, has to be taken in 1st gear, sometimes with the passengers out, to allow a good run up, as the gradient is high.

A visit to the favourite bakery, and a purchase of a slice of amazing chocolate cake, 2 million calories …….

so with that and lots of driving today, we decided to walk Glossa village, and see all the little alleys and lanes that we haven’t explored yet. Being welcomed by the locals at every turn and discovering beautiful doors and windows, was strangely calming. It was totally worth the 253 steps back up to the villa.

This is not a hugely touristy village so we are a bit of a rarity. Anyone we happened to meet on previous walks, treats us like long lost friends. The views to the port and other islands are all spectacular from this village……talk about million dollar views.

After chatting with many locals, we can confirm that living to 90 plus in that village does not mean you don’t do the stairs anymore. They do them every day which is why they are 90 plus 🙂 You can’t get anywhere in Glossa without navigating stairs. The Central Square is the focal point and the meeting area each evening. We even met some sheep wandering the village ….

The evening was finished off by watching Mama Mia, as you do, haha. We were able to pick out many of the places we had seen over the last few days. To say the scenery is stunning just doesn’t cut it.

2 more days ………… 😦

The morning began as usual with us all making our way upstairs to the lounge, one by one. After casual coffee and toast, we had a rental car delivered and after signing my life away, we packed up the 7 seater and off we went. The first few minutes of driving was a bit hairy on the narrow roads, but I soon got the feel of it. The road to Skopelos was windy and up and down, but the views out to the sea….. stunning!

We had brunch in Skopelos at another little family run place. I chose the crab patties and they were fantastic. All the other meals were also fresh, tasty and enjoyed thoroughly. The owner was lovely and gave us a piece of cheesecake each for dessert, on the house. Every where we have been, we have been treated so well and given little “gifts” whether it’s food or trinkets with our shopping.

We wandered again through cobbled streets, looking at the shops and chatting to locals. The port is lovely and while we were there, 3 ferries came and went. As has become the norm, we photographed the church windows.

We decided to get back on the road and off we went to Kastani beach. This beach was used in the Mama Mia movie. The clearness of the water took our breath away, as did the local builders working on a cafe on the beach. Hahaha, they kinda liked us too!

We spent the afternoon enjoying the quiet beach, congratulating ourselves for being there off season and having the whole beach to choose from.

Heck! What a great day 🙂 We finished the day off at the villa where Camp Mother made the best spaghetti and vegetables in tomato sauce.

Technical hitch, dropped my phone, smashed the screen……… looking at options

I was the first one awake, and headed up to the top story deck to watch the sunrise. The photos don’t do it justice. The sun was a big pink ball, and I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

We were quite surprised how cold it was last night. As we all woke up one by one, congregating in the lounge, wrapped up as best we could when you don’t pack for winter, we discovered a heat pump which was promptly turned on and we thawed out. Coffee made and eggs consumed, we put the hats and sunscreen on and headed down the hill to Glossa, stopping at Utopia bakery, where we were treated like VIPs by the elderly couple who ran it.

We carried on and down to Loutraki.

Glossa is 300 metres above sea level and Loutraki is the port so…… we did a whole load of down hill on uneven paths, such a great leg workout with amazing views along the way. We found the biggest dandelion in history, so we were all able to make a wish simultaneously, and probably for the same thing 😂

We also saw a van which had been repurposed as a shed 😂

As we walked, we came across so many photoworthy things, letter boxes, gates to nowhere, sheep, and flags. We got such a warm hello from many locals, who all asked the same question “6 ladies, where are you all from?” If we were into much older men, teeth as an option, we could probably stay and live in an orange 🍊 grove forever 😂

The route march from Glossa to Loutraki was awesome and the food at the bottom didn’t disappoint. We ate at a family cafe called Aramis. Once again, a split in the choices, Greek Yoghurt and fruit in one camp and Greek Salad in the other. Cocktails along with and we were happy.

As much as we enjoyed the walk down, the uphill version was a bit daunting so we opted for the local bus.

The pool beckoned as soon as we were back at the villa and we didn’t move from there for hours.

Dinner in or dinner out ? Going out won.

We wandered down a couple hundred steps to Glossa village and ate at Agnanti restaurant, greeted warmly by the owner and shown the most amazing view on the roof terrace. While looking at the view, I noticed a wee cat on a roof, see if you can see him on the photos.

The food was sooooo fresh and tasty. Seafood to die for ( well the fishies did ) and the girls who had meat lives theirs too. We tried local wines and desserts.

Once again, a local man at the next table asked the common question and once again, the reply was ” I have been to Australia and New Zealand, I was in the merchant navy” . Seems like a lot of the older men here were in the Navy of some sort. He was very chatty but as soon as his Paella arrived he said ” now I enjoy my meal ” and stopped talking 😂 He did tell us that Skopelos is the greenest island in the Mediterranean…… is that why a bunch of kiwi girls love it ??

The 200 stairs up after dinner, not so much fun but the evening was a success. Each day we love this place a little more ❤️

Ciao