Skopelos – My Many Trips to this Gorgeous Island in the Sporades, Greece.

         written by Bianca Ghikas Toronto June 3rd, 2020       

I have been in Skopelos a few times, it is a gorgeous Greek Island, it belongs to the northern Sporades  group of islands. The two main towns are Xwra, the capital city of the island, and Glossa the second largest.  We have extended family living in Glossa, my one and only biological niece is married to a Skopelitis.

In ancient times Skopelos was called Peparithos, acquiring the name because of it’s first inhabitant; He was the son of Dionysos and Ariadne.

The Sporades in general are known as the green islands because they have luxurious vegetation all around, it seems to be that the have the island grounds are a virgin pine forest

Skopelos became world famous when Hollywood decided to film “Mamma Mia”, the island  instantly gained world wide fame and recognition, and of course more tourism higher prices and so forth, however, it is still quite affordable comparing to other better known islands. The photograph to the left is the entrance to Donna’s in the movie.

Skopelos has a nice legend, apparently about eight hundred years ago a dragón was killing the locals while at the same time destroying the island; One fine day the patron Saint “Agios Riyinos” chased the dragon and during the chase a cleft opened up on the side of the mountain, the dragon fell into the cleft and Skopelos became forever free of him. These Cliff is now called “Drakonstosxima” meaning the schism that killed the dragon.  At that precise point where a church was built, there is  a steep gorge and the sea surrounds it, and pine trees grow off the rocks, it must be seen.   It is located between Stafilos and Amaranthos.

On once of my vacations in Skopelos I was lucky enough to see live one of the last Rebettes, it was  quite emotional for me. I

just about love Rebetika music.

If you like to explore byzantine monasteries Skopelos has two of the most impressive ones, The monastery of Evangelistria was renovated in 1712 and it is well known for its fortress like environment and the incredibly beautiful view of the Port and Hora, the other one is the monastery of Timiou Prodromou; both of these monasteries have idyllic views.

The Episcope is a venetian building that originally was built to House the Bishop of Skopelos, unfortunately,  due to the invasion of the pirate Barbarossa in 1538 it was remained unfinished to this day.

The wedding of Mamma Mia took place at Kastri, the chapel “Ai Yannis” is built at the summit of a steep rock with many steps to climb in order to reach the top. Since Mamma Mia this chapel has become a popular destination for weddings.  My niece’s brother in law married his sweetheart in this chapel

All the beaches in Skopelos are amazing, crystal clear warm Waters, some have pebbles, very few have sand.  My favorite beach is Panormos

I have genuinely enjoyed Skopelos and I was lucky enough to visit Skiathos and Alonisos as well. We even took a sea bound tour to see the Dolphins, it was amazing to see their dance.

Greek food is Delicious no matter where you go in Greece, every área has its own specialty and Skopelos specialty is the “Strifti Spanakopita” spiral like cheese pie.

Bellow is a photographic gallery of my trips to Skopelos.