Week 9 part 2

21 June to 25 June

Skiathos - Heading back westwards

We arrived in Skiathos and headed for the campsite at Koukounaries beach - the only campsite open on the island. It was very green, lush and pretty much deserted. We were amazed to discover that it was the most expensive campsite we had stayed in so far and the owner was not interested in any kind of negotiation! It was the first time we really thought about getting an apartment or hotel room as it would have cost almost the same amount. We did check out an alternative campsite on the other side of the Island and this was offered to us for free but alas on inspection the buildings were overgrown, abandoned and still awaiting water to be switched on with the electricity following in a few weeks, the season hadn't begun this side of the island! We were beginning to struggle with the rising temperatures and huge amounts of mosquitoes. Not having any mosquito nets we had to choose between getting bitten or staying cool and leaving the doors open. We also played a new game each evening - 'splat the mozzie' which entailed leaping around the van with the fly swat and rolled up newspapers and collecting a piles of mosquito carcases!

Sailing to Skiathos

The campsite was a short cycle to the beach, supposedly one of Greece's finest. It was lovely - long and beautifully sandy, backed by a pine forest. It had all the water sports facilities you could wish for and when we first arrived it was almost empty. The children loved the sand and began digging sandcastles in earnest. We then went for a swim to cool off. While we were swimming, unnoticed by us, a huge tourist boat arrived and the next thing we knew there were literally hundreds of people and the beach and sea were heaving. The day after we arrived we went back to the main town to meet 'Anma and Carol who were getting the boat to Skiathos to catch their plane home. We met them for breakfast in the harbour and all piled in the van to take them to the airport. It was a sad farewell at the airport and it made us realise that we were now also heading home ourselves. Skopelos was the furthest east we had planned to travel and we were now on the journey back westwards. We decided to stick it out at the campsite as we didn't plan to stay in Skiathos for long as it was a bit too busy and developed for us - we had been too spoilt with empty beaches and campsites to ourselves for too long! We discovered Banana beach which had a bit more of a relaxed and funky feel to it than Koukounaries. It also had the added bonus of being west facing so had the most incredible sunsets.

Sunset at Banana Beach

The boys got naked in unison with the other nudists further up the beach and enjoyed al fresco showering! As the sun set they entertained the Greeks in the beach bar by shaking their booty to the pumping music and were rewarded with ice-cream and lots of attention. Not sure they would get the same response in London!

Bathtime at Banana Beach!

As the temperatures rose daily we ended up spending hour after hour wallowing in the sea as it was the only way to keep cool. Zach literally managed to stay in for about 5 hours one day and came out looking like a little prune! We checked out the weather forecast and discovered that it was cooler on the islands to the west of Greece so decided it was time to move on. Also if we left now we would have a chance of meeting up with Steve's aunt and uncle who were in Lefkas where they have a sailing boat. We headed to the port to book a ferry and were put on a reserve list for later that day. While we awaited news of whether we could leave we took the time to explore the inland. We found some incredible roads up high above the town. We got a great view of the airport and its frighteningly short runway. Apparently the baggage needs careful loading here to ensure the planes can take off safely - we felt very smug in the van at the thought of that! Even the landing lights start way out to sea as the planes almost touch the top of your head as they land on the outskirts of Skiathos town. We also took a nose at the Monastery and some fabulous panoramic views before we eventually returned to the port and finally got confirmation that there was room on the ferry for us.

Queuing for the ferry

We arrived back in Volos and drove to Sikia Camping where we had stayed a few weeks previously. This was the first time we had returned anywhere and it felt quite strange but also easy and comforting to be in familiar surroundings. We found a pitch quite close to the sea and after a fabulous meal in the campsite restaurant we settled down for the night.

Strangest Experience
The runway at the airport was only separated from the road by a flimsy wire fence. On this fence was a tatty sign asking cars not to drive on a short section of road when planes are coming in to land! Have they not heard of anti-terrorism precautions!!!