6/22: Skopelos Town; or, The Best Fuel Pump on the Island

First, a side note about spinach pie. In Greece, traditional spinakopita is made with spinach, feta cheese, filo dough, and a buttload of butter, then baked in an oven and cut into neat little squares for serving. By contrast, "Skopelos Spinach Pie" is fried and looks like this:

So there's that.

When we were ready this morning, we followed Ismene's recommendation for the island's two northern beaches. We struck out first for Perivoli, which was deserted and pretty, though the surf was windy and rough.

We followed a walking path to Pethameni, which we quickly learned was a nude beach. You'd think that every island inhabitant is naked as a jaybird by the tenor of these blog posts, but these beaches are scarcely populated and the liassez-faire island culture surmounts our taboo about nudity.

Getting back in the panda, we set off for the last beach on the northern end: Hondrogiorgi. We ate packed lunch sandwiches here and scavenged for cool driftwood that Annie wanted for decorations back home.

Above: Annie's scavenger/pack mule

Surf here was too rough for swimming, so we made a game-time decision to explore the island's capital at Skopelos Town for the remainder of the day.

Above: We enjoyed absent police and lax alcohol laws en route.

The island's closest thing to a city was definitely more populated than Glossa, but not as touristy as we feared. We parked at the far end of the village, near the harbor mouth, then began ascending the steps. The town is built up the hillside above the harbor, but it wasn't a difficult climb compared to, say, Santorini's caldera.

Atop the hill we climbed were allegedly the remains of an ancient Venetian castle, known as the Kastro, so we kept our eyes peeled for it. After the strikeout with the Roman Baths ruins of the day before, we knew that "archaeological sites" were easy to miss here.

Pictured: A castle atop that hill. Dare you to find it.

Along the way, we saw several wonderful churches(Agios Nikolaos & Evagelistria allowed us inside) some of which--we were told--dated back to the 16th century. For a euro or two we could enter, light candles, and even photograph the religious relics.

The churches appeared to be, if not privately owned, privately tended, so it was amazing to see ancient frescoes(by American perceptions of age) on the walls and ceiling, with no real protection or maintenance to preserve them from the elements and ravishing of time.

We eventually found the Kastro, though it was indeed easy to miss with no signage nearby, unless you count a spotted stray cat guarding a parapet. From its heights, we enjoyed an impressive view of Skopelos and the harbor area.

Pictured: Castle?

Upon our descent, we walked through picturesque alleyways adorned by verdant vines of bougainvillea and painted doorways, windowsills, and steps. The streets and homes of Skopelos Town, we quickly realized, were quite beautiful, and showed no trace of suffering from the town's growing tourist culture.

Reaching the waterside again, we browsed a couple stores full of art and island antiques. It was in one of these that Mr. Hale discovered an old fuel pump with his name on it. Literally.

Above: There was a "Wayne" placard beneath the meters.

I think it warmed the cockles of Wayne's heart to see Americana on an obscure Greek island like this, and we half thought he might try to buy the pump off the store owner. It was, sadly, not to be.

Our evening in Skopelos Town concluded with a brief café-hop among the vast number of waterside tavernas. We ate salad, baked feta dip, homemade pizza, and "honey balls"(basically doughnut balls coated in honey), washed down with a few good beers.

After eating and drinking our fill, we tracked our way back to the Panda and drove home, one of the few vehicles on the road after 11pm. Great day.

Skopelos Day 3 (June 22) Album:

Skopelos: June 22, 2011

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Location:Skopelos Island, Sporades, Greece