Herring Gulls - the excellent scavengers

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Gulls are not good fishermen, but they are excellent scavengers and will eat nearly anything. They are important in cleaning up harbours and beaches. They are known to pick up shellfish and drop them from the air into a rock, road, house or car to crack them open. Although they can swim passably well, they cannot dive or swim under water. 

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Beautiful Daisy

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Daisy found us when we were on holiday on Skopelos island in 2001. She was an abandoned dog who begged round cafes but had malnutrition and had been very badly treated. We were cat people, and left money for her to be fed over the winter. It was a bad winter and so when the local Cat Protection Society "SCAN" phoned and said she would die since it was so cold and no one would take her in, we decided that Daisy belonged with us. With the help of SCAN, Daisy arrived in England three months after we met her. Daisy lives with us in New Zealand now and is a most beautiful dog with a lovely nature. She has been a therapy dog, featured in our local calendar, has won ribbons for best mixed breed, and best sit down dog!  --- by Ann Allen, April 2010
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Young Women’s portraits from the past

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Old photos present a unique view of our past. Here it is a glimpse of Skopelos’ past in the form of old photographs. The past is idealized by presenting its faded photographic remains as proof of an irrevocably lost simplicity and innocence.
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Today's sunset

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Watching a sunset in person cannot be captured in a photograph. And although the feelings it creates can't be described in words either, there are so many quotes written by famous and anonymous about this magical time. Here are three quotes we've collected from the thousands that have been said and written.  “Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgandy red, the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries.” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road  “A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.” ― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath  “And yet day and night meet fleetingly at twilight and dawn," he said, lowering his vo...
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Herring Gulls - the true seagulls

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To many people all the birds seen near the sea are "seagulls". Actually there are many different kind of birds who make their living from the sea. There are shags, eagles, sea doves, and a host of others.  This, however, is a true seagull, a Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), one of the most familiar seaside bird on both Skopelos coasts and inland areas. For the so-called seagull is just as apt to follow a tractor and pick up grasshoppers on a farm as it is to pick up clams and crabs from a beach. 
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A Paradise for Children

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Welcome to a Paradise for Children! Skopelos is a small world of enchantment, where children learn through play and exploration. In this safe and secure environment, kids are led through an exciting and a stimulating round of activities every single day. 
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The lighthouse on the island of Psathoura

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A 19th century Monument, first operated in 1895. It is located on the northern side of the uninhabited island of Psathoura, which belongs to the Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades. This impressive circular tower was built from 1893 to 1895 by Skopelian stonemasons who used the island's local dark volcanic stones for its construction and is one of the tallest lighthouses in the Aegean Sea.  Type of construction : Circular Year of construction : 1895 Height : 28.90 metres - Focus : 40 Coordinates : 39°N30, 24°E11 Signal : a white flash of 1 sec / 10 sec Illumination Range : 17 nautical miles In 2001 it was characterized as a monument for historic preservation by the Ministry of Culture.  The Psathoura lighthouse belongs to the Lighthouse Network of Magnesia consisting of five stone lighthouses; the lighthouse on Trikeri, the lighthouse of “Gourouni” on Skopelos, the lighthouse on Psathoura, the lighthouse "Argyronisiou" and the lighthouse of “Repi” on Skiathos.  Psa...
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How to get to Skopelos

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from Skiathos  The quickest way to reach Skopelos is to take a return flight to Skiathos, our nearest island. It’s a five-minute taxi ride from Skiathos airport to the harbour, where there are regular crossings by ferry to local port of Glossa or main port of Skopelos town. From mainland Greece you can reach Skopelos by ferry from 3 ports:  Mandoudi  Volos  Thessaloniki   ⚓️ The port of Mantoudi in Evia is the closest one to Athens, approximately 2 hours by car.  ⚓️   If you’re in Northern Greece, Thessaloniki and Volos are the most convenient ports to Skopelos. 
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Around Stafylos bay

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It was a lovely day today however "dead calm" with no wind, making impossible to use the sails. In any case, the environment here is natural and unspoiled with beautiful forested hills above and around the beach, while the sea water is crystal clear to enjoy. click here to see more about Stafylos beach and area
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Herring Gulls - creatures of shorelines

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Although generally thought of as marine creatures, gulls are really creatures of shorelines. Omnivorous, opportunistic scavengers, the proliferation of open garbage dumps has provided more than ample feeding grounds for such familiar species as the herring gull. This has led to a great increase in their numbers. 
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the Skopelitian American chef Cat Cora

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Both of her families - her family in Jackson, Mississippi, and her family on the island of Skopelos in Greece - share a love of good food, a passion for gathering around a table for long conversations with family and friends, and a generosity of spirit that reaches from the Aegean Sea to the American South. Her dad, Spiros, born in the Missisipi Delta two months after his parents left Skopelos, has the warmth and fun-loving appetite of a Greek and the humor and charm of a Southern gentleman. In 2005, Cat Cora made television history on Food Network’s Iron Chef America as the first and only female Iron Chef, and in November 2006 Bon Appetit Magazine bestowed her with their Teacher of the Year Award, an award she calls, “the greatest recognition she could achieve as a chef”.  Cat Cora's Kitchen Favourite Meals for Family and Friends The dinners of her childhood inspired her to write this book, to pass along the idea that good cooking can spring from modest budgets. Greek home cooking...
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snapshots, updates & other small things from Skopelos island in Greece