Any place labelled 'the party island' and the vision of loud discotheques playing 70's garbage that every lager lout can sing along to... very loudly, in unison and out of tune...
Despite this we had heard some good things too so decided to give it a whirl.
There is a number to call as this is a charter boat harbour, not to be attempted on weekends when the charterers are changing over and the harbour is full. We called the number and a very friendly chap suggested I call on approach which I did. We waited while circling.... and waited. I called again. "I'm here but I can't see you" he said. "we are the only catamaran right in the middle of the harbour" I replied. Turned out he was on Limnos over 100 miles away! No idea why his number was where it was?
We found a spot and med-moored in it. Power, water and nice neighbours.
There are two harbours here, the old and the new. The old being for fishing and tour boats, a nicely paved promenade with interesting bar's cafe's and restaurants a little different to what we are used to and heading up market. The tourists are predominantly British but older so over the lager lout stage perhaps because we are not out of the high season.
The new harbour wall is for our type and larger motor cruisers and then there is a long jetty for the charter yachts. Whilst the promenade is nice, the adjacent hostelries are not as nice as along the old harbour.
But then, running behind it all is a lovely pedestrian marble tiled road where all the up market shopping and 'not so Greek' restaurants are. Sal's nose found the spot where we enjoyed one of those top ten in Greece meals.... Twice!
The Meltimi came in which meant we'd be here for a couple of days so with no real plan in mind we hired a car and just headed out. This was way different to anywhere we have been in Greece or Turkey.
The climate, like the Black Sea, is Baltic not Mediterranean. Good rainfall, lush flora with four distinct seasons. Most of the roads were dirt and with the recent rains, just the way I like them. It felt like we were out bush, nobody around and nothing like we expected.
We did find a beach protected from the wind, good spot for adults.. and great spot for kids. Banana Beach with beach chairs, umbrellas, attentive waitress and plenty for the kids to get spoiled with. Peddle boats, kayaks and a flying couch behind a fast speed boat. They had a ball.
We came away from Skiathos with a much better impression than when we arrived. If you're looking for a fairly up scale holiday where English is understood and it is not too hot... Skiathos.
At 11:10 on Thursday the 10th we headed for the Greek Mainland for the first time since Preveza back in April last year. Here are some shots of how our acrobatic children entertain themselves in rough-ish seas en-route.
Its this wave action that USED to make us and them very nervous.....
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