Monday 3rd August
We were expecting Delphi to be much cooler than Athens: it really wasn’t! I parked on the main road 50m from our hotel, which turned out not to be our hotel. So we walked the 1km with bags uphill to our actual hotel. Which turned out not to be where it should have been. So we walked backwards and forwards with our bags for another 10 minutes. And then I really lost my temper. We tried to get into the hotel we could see, but a notice on the door said they’d moved all their guests to another property as they had issues with the water and there was nobody there. So, absolutely raging and trying my best to calm down, I led my roasting hot babies all the way back to the original hotel and asked the helpful receptionist if we could stay there instead, which we could / did. (You did not need to know that much detail….. soz!)
Another disastrous wasp-attracting and overpriced dinner (with stunning view) left me absolutely shattered, so we beat a hasty retreat and hit the hay early.
Tuesday 4th August
A vast breakfast was necessarily followed by a walk around our very last pile of ancient rocks.
The setting for this particular pile of rocks was spectacular and I enjoyed the wander. I left three small grizzly humans under a tree, chatting about how awful their mother was, while I trotted up to have a quick gander the stadium at the top of the site. On my way down I heard an English couple chatting. Needless to say I was somewhat overexcited to speak with fellow Englanders, so I accosted them for a 5 minute chat. Joy!!
Funnily enough, nobody seemed that keen on the archaeological museum, so we gave that a miss (I can always go back!!) and instead made for Volos, a bustling little port town on the Pelion Peninsula.
We arrived with masses of time by my usual standards. I had hired a little sailing boat for 4 nights and we were due to slip anchor at 6pm but I reckoned we’d manage a 4pm departure. Optimistic. By the time I had got everything we needed out of the van and onto “Eulimene”, done the paperwork, been to the supermarket twice, washed the shit-water off Mack (comprehensively splashed by a thoughtless driver) and parked the van, it was already 5pm.
Skipper Thanasis guided us out of the port and into the Aegean….. and almost immediately Kitty turned an interesting shade of grey-green.
The scenery on the way to our stop for the night was lovely – mountains tumbling into the sea, verdant islands everywhere, and we dropped anchor in the most beautiful secluded little bay.
The kids braved the sea, Thanasis braved my cooking and we all sat quietly and watched the moon rise over the hills while the water gently lapped and the sound of rebetiko drifted from the only house on the shore. Perfect!
Wednesday 5th August
We were woken by the anchor as we set off early for a lunchtime swim, snorkel and kayak at a little uninhabited island near Skiathos. The beach was pretty empty, the sand soft, the water was warm and crystal clear…. glorious!
After lunch (gas ovens…. not my thing) Tubs had an unexpected nap whilst we made our way to Skopelos island, firstly to take a look at stunning Panormos Bay. Skopelos has so many of these lovely coves it is hard to choose which ones are the best – it’s a matter of personal preference!
From Panormos we motored on just a bit further north to another beautiful small deserted beach accessible only by boat. More swimming, jumping and diving off the boat, kayaking and general merriment ensued.
We holed up in the port of Loutraki for the night and went to find ice. We returned with ice and an early birthday present of a fishing rod, which had Alexander grinning from ear to ear – he literally skipped all the way back to the boat. It’s moments like that where I feel Ian’s absence most keenly – the happiest moments I just wish he was here to see. Their happiness filled his heart.
I left the kids to set the rod up on their own – under Thanasis‘ watchful eye – and let them play up at the front of the boat with some sausage and bread. To my genuine surprise and delight, Zander caught a fish within about 5 minutes! They were all elated!!
We headed out to dinner at Agnanti, up in the small town of Glossa. The setting was sensational, and the food was too. But I’m going to have to get on top of this fear of wasps issue…… it’s driving me bonkers!
A huge ice cream was bought for and consumed by Tubs, then we made our way back to our little floating home where we chatted under the stars for a bit (and watched, bemused and secretly impressed, as Thanasis brazenly nicked a motorbike*) until one by one my babies drifted off to sleep.
* It turned out he had a key as it belonged to a friend of his!
Thursday 6th August
A hefty storm was predicted for Thursday night, so we discussed our options and agreed to return to the same safe spot in the harbour along with every other boaty Tom Dick and Harry. Concerned that we wouldn’t get a berth, Thanasis suggested we go out for the morning and come back just after lunch to secure our spot.
We made our way under sail to Limonari Beach. From the sea, this was definitely the second best looking bay after Panormos, totally undeveloped. But up close, it had actually been concreted. In the sea. Great snorkelling but weird and slippery to walk on – it definitely lost marks for that!
One final stop at a tiny beach between Milia and Panormos was probably the best – Tubs did a huge swim into shore, then sat and gawped at a topless sunbather for 20 mins before returning to the boat and finally braving a jump off the gangplank, with a lot of gentle encouragement from us all. Of course once he’d done one jump, he wanted to stay and do a hundred more. Luckily for him, Thanasis was very obliging!
We pulled back into Loutraki port as the clouds were starting to pile high in the sky away to the west. My three keen fishersprogs wandered around the port stopping at various spots to see what their catch of the day would be (in the end, a decent sized fish called Gerald) while I packed up our bags.
Although we weren’t due to leave the boat until Saturday morning, I had decided to stay in Skopelos for a few more days rather than going all the way back to Volos to collect the car and come back to Skopelos on the ferry at great expense. So the boat was heading back on Friday as scheduled and we weren’t going to be on it. The high wind and stormy seas were helpful justification for my decision.
Dinner at Flitvos was delicious and enormous, and we were joined by Thanasis who gamely played UNO with the vicious small people. As we left the restaurant, the heavens opened and by the time we got back to the good ship Eulimene, we were all cold and drenched. A few rounds of Dobble in the warmth of the cabin (the newbie got thrashed) and then it was time for bed.
Friday 7th August
Packing everything up and making sandwiches for everyone took aaaaaages longer than it should have so we ended up not leaving until noon. We bade Thanassis a fond farewell and hopped in our heavily laden taxi, slightly regretting our decision and wishing we had another week on the boat……
Onwards!
Madre di Trio 
So lovely to read about your adventures. Keep well and keep posting. Agree with you about this ridiculous wasp phobia – my kids have it too and it ruins many a nice meal 😬😱. Enjoy your last few weeks. Libby xx