Greece 2021

Thursday28October

Early rise to board the ferry that will take us to Skiathos. The prices being too high decide us to leave our car in the parking lot. The island of Skiathos is not very big (barely 50 km²) and we should easily do without it.

Here we are aboard the ferry leaving Volos behind. The boat crosses the entire Pagasetic Gulf to the south and skirts the north of the island of Euboea to the East to reach its destination.

2.5 hours later, we are approaching Skiathos.

The island of Skiathos and its eponymous city.

Docking at the port.

Our Hellenic SEAWAYS ferry.

Barely disembarked, a parade of officials appears out of nowhere. Obviously, curious as we are, we follow it...

The parade stops in front of this statue, a monument to the fallen for the country.

Three Orthodox priests lead the ceremony. We are actually on the day of the national holiday and more specifically the day of the commemoration of the "No" made to the Italian ultimatum of October 28, 1940 by the prime minister of the time, Ioannis Metaxas. Greece then entered the war against Italy.

During this "Ohi Day", soldiers and students parade solemnly with the national flag.

Wreaths are laid in turn in front of the statue by the different schools present.

"When fulfilling functions in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, Orthodox priests wear cassock, stole, kamilavkion (from Greek ?aµ??a????? : cylindrical headdress, generally black in color). Greek and Cypriot priests must respect canons 21 and 27 of the Quinisext Council of 691-92 by keeping beard and cassock wherever they go." © Wikipedia

After the laying of the wreaths, the three priests intone a song.

The statue is a commission from 1955. The sculptor reportedly wanted an evocation of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

Small souvenir photos of some schools.

Short walk in the streets of the city leading us to the church Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas) and its clock.

Located high up, the church is one of the best viewpoints of the city.

Skiathos has its small airport whose landings are reputed to be among the most dangerous in the world... I let you judge with the following video of a landing that will take place a few months after our visit...

The end of the runway is one of the tourist attractions of the island, but we won't enjoy it because we weren't aware of it...  

The church would date from the 18th century.

The usual paintings in such a particular style.

"Riza", is the name given to the bas-reliefs in openwork silver at the level of the faces revealing images placed behind.

The island has its own islets. The islet Bourtzi is right next to the port with a nice viewpoint of the city.

Back to the port for lunch.

Some mezzes (appetizers) to start: Feta, olives and croquettes...

A pork Souvlaki (sometimes served on a skewer), and the typical yogurt with honey to finish.

The Holy Trinity Church.

Short walk following the coast.

Short tour in the Orthodox cemetery created in 1835. It is classified as a historical site. The writer Alexandros Papadiamantis is notably found there.

Most of the graves are in white stone whose only colorful touches are brought by flowers.

We continue to skirt the coast up to the beach Paralia Megali Ammos.

Back in the very small room where we stay for the next two nights.

Then dinner in town with the inevitable national anise alcohol: Ouzo...

Back to the fold passing by the cathedral of the Three Hierarchs.

Friday29October

This morning, short hike to reach the Evangelistria monastery 5 kilometers from the city. We don't meet many people except a few sheep and two donkeys who will make eyes at us to take us but obviously we will refuse...  

The 5 kilometers are not necessarily restful, we still have to climb 200 meters of elevation gain.

Viewpoint on Skiathos all wrapped up between the sea and the olive groves.

The entrance to the Evangelistria monastery.

It was founded in 1794.

The catholicon (the main church of a monastery).

We are invited to drink a glass of water   and to sit in the catholicon. Then a monk hidden somewhere started to sing a hymn...  

Here are the two recordings I was able to make

This place, in addition to having monks who sing well, has a little historical plus... It is here that in 1807 a monk made a general take an oath on a blue flag with a white cross, inspiring the future Greek national flag!

We leave the monastery and a little higher up, stands proudly the worthy successor of the 1st flag born here.

Skiathos hasn't moved. All we have to do is go back down to reach it...

We stop at the first restaurant we find. Very good choice, it was excellent and a bit copious... Greek restaurateurs are very generous. They could reduce costs by decreasing quantities, undoubtedly...  

Digestive stroll in the small alleys of Skiathos.

Our next visit is at the far north of the island. And in this season, buses are not plentiful... We decide to rent a small car just for 24 hours, our "real" rental car having remained at the dock in Volos... Here we are arrived at the old fortified village of Kastro.

We approach the site, while in the distance on the mainland, Helios, the Greek god of the Sun, fights the Nephele, the nymphs of clouds and rain...

On the thin rocky point jutting into the sea, the ruins of the ancient 14th century fortress blend into the wild scenery.

This small medieval city was built to move away and protect itself from the main town fallen into the hands of pirates...

Several churches line the path crossing the ancient city. Here we are in front of the church Agios Nikolaos with its plates set in lime.

The very simple interior of the church.

The Agios Vassilios Church.

Church of the Holy Birth of Christ, also with plates in a kind of azulejos.

Not much remains of the houses apart from foundations, and apart from geocaches of course...  

The battle is still raging between Helios and the Nephele...

The marker has taken the place of the old cannon, defense of the time against ships docking on the edges of the entrenched city.

Ha! Helios seems to have won for this end of day!  

Dinner accompanied by its Pita bread.

Saturday30October

Second awakening on Skiathos. Before leaving the island this afternoon, short morning walk on the large beach of Koukounaries.

And one last monastery before lunch. We are off season, and we cannot visit it, except for this very small chapel to the left of the church.

Back to the port where stands the statue of Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911) the Greek celebrity native of Skiathos, writer by trade.

And a last lunch with some specialties to leave on a high note!  

It's time for departure. Our ferry will disembark its pedestrians and motorists, and embark others.

The cruise will take us back to Volos where our car awaits us in the port parking lot. Then, we will leave for 2 hours of driving north to our next stage: Mount Olympus!  

Night arrival at our Airbnb on Olympus Hill, district of Litochoro, small town located at the foot of Mount Olympus. We are welcomed by the owner's mom who takes out blankets for us, because temperatures have slightly dropped...