On the third day God created the Greek Mix and all was well with the world. After four years of ignoring Captain Bird’s Eye, I mean Nikos we finally surrendered to his wily charms and plumped for the ‘what could possibly go wrong’ option of dining at Captain Nikos’ Taverna Appaloosa in Troulos.
Perhaps its proximity to the woeful Zorba’s had tainted our expectations or perhaps it was just the thought that by dressing up like a captain every night he was trying too hard. Anyway low and behold if the food was actually pretty good – I recommend the Greek Mix where you get a bit of every traditional dish and not too much of one thing. Nothing much else happened apart from yacking with some regulars at the hotel pool and some World Cup shenanigans.
Continuing on with the idea of providing some tips and padding out this post due to my only jotted down a few lines in my notebook for Sunday here are my final Top Tips for visiting Skiathos:
8. Weather happens
Even in the paradise which is Skiathos you should expect a little weather now and again. By my experience one day in every two weeks will get ‘blowy’ to the point of umbrellas being removed from pool areas and beaches to stop them blowing away.
If you are unlucky to get some rain – it will come down like stair rods for a couple of hours and then once the cloud goes you won’t even know it happened apart from the sides of the road being a little muddy and the air being a lot clearer. This is especially the case towards the end of September. At the opposite end of the spectrum are mini heatwaves that last a couple of days and have the locals complaining that it’s too hot. Remember to drink a lot of water and keep out of direct sunlight.
9. Explore
Don’t just veg by the pool or on the beach. Skiathos is small enough to explore on foot, via the bus, or hire a vehicle of some kind of you feel confident about driving Greek style. If you are walking PLAN your journey – make sure you take enough water, suncream, tissues and insect repellent if you are prone to being bitten. The map will lure you into big walks but be careful to expect uphill stretches which can be arduous in the heat.
10. Town is hot
Typically Skiathos Town will be a couple of degrees hotter than your resort because it doesn’t get the cooling breeze found on most beaches and near pools and is built up. The last bus home can quickly turn into an oven. Fortunately purveyors of ice cream, frozen yoghurt, cool beer, slush puppies and frappes abound.
couchmagpie 