Tardy bvrc

I will precis what I have been up to to date and try better for the remainder of the holiday 🤞

We have walked (yesterday the Kanapitsa peninsula with 2 pitstops at Villa Christina and the Kanapitsa taverna) ate (a lot), drank Mythos by the pool, visited many beaches, and Skiathos hasn’t disappointed us.
Evening meals have been Hotel Panorama, Yianni’s Place on Papadiamantis St (on the balcony of course), Kohyli in Agia Paraskevi, Platanias taverna & To palouki in town. Beaches we have visited are Mandraki Elias, Koukanaries for a swim only, Megali Amnos, and in one day we visited Troulos, Vromolominos, Kolios & Agia Paradkevi and not one lounger was free so we went on to Ambelakia. Not sure if the towels were to reserve just in case the owner fancied that lounger later in the day or the owners of the towels were swimming/dining at the time. We got a space at Ambelakia and reminisced how much the beach had been destroyed since firstly Mystique, then secondly Elivi arrived. To be fair we didn’t mind the arrival of Mystique as there was still a section of the beach non-Mystique, but now the entire beach is bedded, with big fat beds that I certainly can’t move and to do any proper tanning is impossible as there’s always going to be half of you in shade from a brolly, tree, whatever. And there’s no room whatsoever for the towels on sand sun seeker. We didn’t stay long but parted with 27 euro for our big fat beds & 2 coke lights 😂. As part of yesterday’s walk we had a drink at Villa Christina on the Kanapitsa peninsula - I often see it available with TUI. It’s quite a trek in from the bus stop but does look lovely, a real get away from it all type of place. I must remember it for future.
The island seems quiet at times with little traffic and then at other times, town looks quite busy but I guess people congregate at similar times so that will explain that. We were in town one day and the shops were very quiet indeed.

Sunny start by the pool for an hour before breakfast of yoghurt & fruit in Agustera. We decided on Mandraki Elias as we knew we’d get loungers but on arrival it was overcast and coolish! Sun eventually broke through and after greek salad & chips (still the best) we lounged and sunned ourselves for a few hours. We’ve also had oven potatoes a few times this holiday, they’re so good and a much tastier accompaniment than bad chips. Later went to town and ate at O Batis - I had special chicken (not a good choice), other half had pork steak. Free cake & limoncello shot! Took a walk around the Bourtzi and a few milling around, cafe/restaurant open on it serving food and drinks - so beautifully lit up it makes for a very atmospheric evening meal. We took the bus back to AP and finished the night in Jimmy’s Bar - quite a few in, dancing on top of the well included, great fun to watch from afar. Bed about 0100 & slept well, as usual.

Monday
Storm during night had left everything looking slightly autumnal with leaves blowing around everywhere. Some guests didn’t sleep well but we managed ok, except for once when we woke up we peeked out to see how it was progressing. We decided on brunch on the Bourtzi which was a good choice, I had my usual yoghurt, fruit & honey served in a jam jar and the other half had a salmon sandwich served with a pickle if some sort, a member of staff actually came over and asked him was it good as it was his recipe so he was rightly proud of it - it was good. There was a real buzz in the cafe there and plenty of people coming and going, so we sat on reading our books. Music was a little loud but we were very close to a speaker, that was its only fault. We mooched on to Agia Paraskevi beach and actually found loungers! The forecast was poor but it turned out a much better day than we thought. Had an ice cream at Bamboon beach bar before heading back to room. It was actually cold sitting in the shade of the beach bar 😄. We walked from Jimmy’s over to Jasteri in Troulos, roads are quiet so it felt safe. Service was slow in Jasteri and we had a little wait on a table but it was well worth it. The best meal of the holiday, beetroot salad with apple , yoghurt & pine nuts with lovely bread rolls followed by burgers and lamb chops, both served with potatoes & lovely rice - reasonable too at just under €40, with a vodka/coke, coke & bottle of water. We also had a complimentary yoghurt, honey & candied carrot - now I’d never have thought carrot would go with yoghurt but it was delicious! It was gone 2230 when we left Jasteri, a band were murdering a song in the new Totem when we walked by (we thought it was karaoke as we approached), only a few in the bar. Troulos looked very quiet anytime we have went through during the day and tonight, bar Jasteri, it was also very quiet. Zorbas restaurant next to Jasteri not open at all this year. Got back to AP and had one at our bar before bed, earlier night for us and the wind was swirling again around the AP basin so I thought more rain but it just remained windy throughout the night.

Tuesday
Blustery, cloudy start but sun blinking through enough that I spent an hour by the pool whilst the other half went for a walk. By the time he returned we decided on town as the sky was getting greyer by the minute. We went to the testing centre on the old port and no queue, just us & 2 ladies carrying out the tests, bit shambolic in a Greek kind of way - test prepared by one lady and carried out by the other. There was an already used lateral flow test sitting on the window sill where all the kit contents were sitting (was negative). Our PLF form was scanned and then 2 bar code stickers which were attached to 2 new lateral flow devices. Our kits were placed next to the already used one - I could foresee a mix up happening as the ladies switched places so kept my eye on proceedings!! My swab was taken (1 nostril), dipped in the reaction tube and immediately just poured into the sample well (no swirling or leaving in buffer for 1 min) - and lo and behold it was added to the already used kit! I mentioned this and raised it with both ladies but they protested I was wrong and my sample had been added to the correct kit 🙉. Just as well I have been extremely careful here and have kits with me to test myself regularly as I do at home. Our results came back negative….., I guess it is not in the interests of the island to have any positives at the end of people’s stay on the island as they have to foot the bill of an enforced stay. Had brunch at Archontiko on the port of bacon and egg pancakes and scrambled eggs on toast - really lovely. We got colder as we sat so decided on a browse of the shops. I usually don’t shop on holidays but picked up a bangle & scarf, and have my eye on a pair of shoes and a floaty dress which I spotted in one of the many floaty dress shops on Papadiamantis St 😄. To be revisited I think! Had a beer in Gerani before returning to the apartment. Got ready in our warm clothes and took bus to Koukanaries and ate at the Italian restaurant Ottima, very nice too. I had pizza and other half had chicken risotto, complimentary pastry rolls with ice cream within - gorgeous. Service very quick, we were out within the hour, so had a few drinks in Agustera. It was very busy, I guess less people headed into town because of the weather. Bus times have changed so last bus was at 1130 pm but whilst waiting for it a taxi heading back to town stopped and agreed to €5 back to Agia Paraskevi. Had another drink in Jimmy’s bar, again very busy, before calling it a day - realised it’s quite easy to pass a rainy day in Skiathos!