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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Skopelos beaches

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Skopelos is an unspoiled jewel in the Aegean Sea, with mountain slopes bedecked in dense greenery carpeting down to fine beaches and limpid waters. Despite being small, Skopelos beaches are varied and aplenty: find olive trees and plum orchards and clumps of pines by the sea’s edge, composed of slender pebbled shores or white bays, caves and coves, plus curious rock formations. (tip) Make sure to pack snorkeling goggles for swimming with curious marine life, especially around the cragged rocks. Spot the occasional turtle and fish of all stripes! The most popular of Skopelos beaches lie on the more wind-sheltered west coast, home to stretches of white shingle and pebbles backed by bars and taverns. On the flip side, the eastern shoreline is peppered with smaller and more peaceful beaches, almost always deserted. Likewise, those in the north are wilder with no facilities. Keep in mind that as a Greek island, strong Meltemi (dry and seasonal) winds can affect some of Skopelos’s beaches in...
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Ancient Skopelos' Coin

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This very rare flat silver tetradrachm from the ancient Greek island of Peparethos (Skopelos) from 500-480 B.C. is exhibited in the British Museum. OBVERSE: Running winged figure in incuse square. This figure is probably Agnon, the runner Olympic winner. REVERSE: Large bunch of grapes between two small leafs in a dotted circle. The type of this coin suggests trade relations with other cities, chiefly with Chalkidiki and Cos island, where some of them have been found. 
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The remote islands of the Sporades

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The Sporades, off the coast of Greece, are a line of islands stretching out into North Aegean. Once a refuge for pirates, known variously as Satan's Islands, Demon Islands, Thieves' Dens and the islands of the Magnesians, the Northern Sporades - literally meaning 'scattered' - with their dramatic changes from island to island, strange geological forms and historical remains, are among Greece's most delightful secrets.  The three islands nearest the mainland, Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, are generally well known to visitors. However the islands further out are not so well known and retain the feel and charm of an older era. This area is well known to flotilla and other yacht sailors for whom it provides a quieter cruising area than the Ionian, the busier counterpart on the Greek west coast.  A constellation of glittering jewels scattered across the Aegean Sea, the Sporades are some of Northern Greece's best-kept secrets.⁠ Beyond Alonnisos there are: Perister...
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Weather and Weather Forecast

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TODAY'S WEATHER IN REAL-TIME  Click below for full 7-day weather forecasts.  Weather in Skopelos   WEATHER DURING TOURIST SEASON  The tourist season is usually defined as May to October, with sunny and dry weather and clear skies.  A cool and soothing breeze accompanies the rising heat during August.  Being mountainous, the island offers many sheltered beaches, no matter which direction the wind blows. For example, you can try southerly beaches when there is a northerly wind or vice versa.  For those of you who enjoy big 'ocean' waves and surfing, try the northern beaches on a north wind day. WEATHER DURING OFF SEASON  The climate is usually rainy from November to February, but not continuously. There will always be sunny days in between the rainy ones, so one is never bored.  March is unpredictable - although you can expect about 7 hours of sunshine a day, rather less rain and the average temperature can occasionally rise to 18°C (65°F) or h...
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Neo Klima by Paris Prekas

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Paris Prekas (1926-1999) was a well-known Greek artist, some of his works are exhibited in the National Gallery of Athens. He studied at the School of Fine Arts (1948-1952) under Umvertos Argyros, Dimitrios Biskinis and Andreas Georgiadis while in 1963, on a six month scholarship from the French government, he did post-graduate work in Paris. His artistic activity includes solo presentations and appearances in group and international exhibitions, such as the Youth Biennale of Paris in 1959, and the Sao Paolo and Alexandria Biennales of 1965 and 1968 respectively, at which he repeatedly won distinctions. A multifaceted creator, Prekas has been involved with painting, sculpture, decorative design and architectural ornamentation, making compositions for the interior and exterior spaces of apartment buildings and other public and community buildings. In painting he was originally involved with landscape while later, combining Greek reality with myth and tradition, he created thematic whole...
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A Wedding at Cape Amarandos

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Paul and Jasmine live in Florida, but Paul’s roots are in Greece. The island of Skopelos was his father’s (and grandfather’s, and great grandfather’s...) home and is brimming with cousins and family members, who recognize him on sight and treat him as family.  So when they decided on an intimate wedding, Greece was the obvious choice – and I was honored to be invited to join them on the journey and photograph the day. Jasmine spent the morning preparing in their home in Skopelos town, and they chose the incredibly stunning Amarandos (“The Point that Never Withers”) for their actual ceremony – the most remote and striking ceremony location I’ve ever had the chance to photograph.  Text and Photos by Aislinn Kate at  aislinnkatephotography.com  
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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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The ship "Paschalis"

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​ Many Skopelos boatbuilders worked together to build large traditional hulls, with a capacity of 130 to 200 tons. One such hull was the boat "Paschalis", ordered by the Skiathos shipowner Nikolaos Paschalis, which transported goods and passengers from Volos to the three Sporades islands (Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissos) and vice versa.
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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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snapshots, updates & other small things from Skopelos island in Greece