”If you spend two winters on Skopelos and you manage, you are an islander” I have said this probably before in a post but this is what I was told when I started to live here. Don’t be fooled. It is not easy to live here in the winter. It can be lonely, harsh, cold and uninviting.
During winter there are less boats going to and from the mainland. You can get stuck here or there. The weather will not always be good, not many places to eat are open, not many shops are open and many people have left the island. So what’s attracting the people that stay behind to this season?
The empty quiet beaches, the silent villages and roads, the intimate gatherings in tavernas and homes. The unlimited time you can spend somewhere because there is no rush, nobody waiting, not a lot to do. It can be a time when you catch up on your reading, your craft, your friends, your family, anything!
Not everything stops here during the winter. Every month has something.
January is the month of the cutting of the New Year’s cake’s. A couple of times every week this month you can eat cake for free and be lucky for the rest of the year if you catch the coin in your piece of cake. During those cutting events there is time to catch up with friends and acquaintances and gossip if you like. One topic for gossip this year is: who will be candidates for the mayor elections on Skopelos? A retired policeman has announced he is one of the candidates. Another well know person is looking for candidate council members but is not officially announcing his candidacy yet.
Every mayor has to find enough people to run with him/her for council member and this is a problem. Many people might have strong opinions and complaints about the current mayor and those before him but not many want to run for council member. It can be hard work, not always paid and you have a lot of responsibility. We will see who pops us and as soon as I hear more about the candidates and their plans I will post about it.
Mr. Vasiloudis, the current mayor, has said at one, cutting of the cake, events that he leaves behind a Skopelos where work was done in a time that it was hit by natural disasters.
A natural disaster that I commented on a couple of days ago is the part of cliff that has fallen down under the Agios Nikolas church near the castle of Skopelos. Below here is a drone photo of Dimitri Mavridis in 2018 that shows the cliff intact.
Word is that the whole area from the church until the small square under the Evangelistra church will be closed of until a restauration plan for this area has been finalized. The municipality has asked the government to give the area a state of emergency status.
Not long now before the work on the road leading to Milos square will start. The cracks in the street are enormous and the difference in height is daunting.
Cultural- and sports wise, Skopelos in winter, is not boring. The cultural organization is in full swing with it’s dance classes. The Skopelos carnival in February and March (thank you Nana) will be celebrated with several events and everybody can participate. Almost every weekend there is a basketball, volleyball or a football game to watch in the gym hall or on the football field. Heather Parson walks with fellow hikers on the island. Various other people organize and take part in art, aerobic and Pilates classes. Many people continue swimming during the winter.
A lot of people on the island take a holiday during the winter because they are tied up in the summer. They visit family in Greece or abroad or travel to exotic places.
In March and April nature awakes on the island and we can all enjoy what this island gives to us and what is eatable. The wild greens, the wild onions, the asparagus, the herbs,the fruits, the treasures from the sea like sea urchins and fish. It grows everywhere, it is found in the sea. You just need to find it or pick it and eat it. For many it is part of their daily life and diet.
At the end of the winter, the beginning of the spring, when everybody is back, many will start thinking about the summer that is coming up. What needs to be done in their hotel, their apartment, their taverna, their house? Plumbers, electricians, painters and other handymen will be in great demand in the spring.
I am getting used to this rhythm of this island after 25 years here. The slowing down of the island in the fall, the quietness of the winter, the slow start of the tourist season in spring and the ”craziness” of the summer. That’s Skopelos.
Read Full Post »
