1st September

The 1st of September was the 40th anniversary of the Revolution during which Colonel Gaddafi became the Leader of Libya (also known as the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arabic Jamahiriyya). Every year there are celebrations to mark the event and due to it being the 40th this year, was bigger than ever. A few days before the actual celebrations, the Desert Rat and I went for a drive through the centre of Tripoli, where the main events were going to take place. Green Square was a hive of activity with people getting everything ready. Here is what we saw...

Sahara Gal

Sailing to Alonnisos

On our last day on Skopelos, we hired a yacht to sail us to Alonnisos, a neighbouring island. It was a beautiful day and it was incredibly relaxing as we sailed across Aegean Sea. When we got to the island, the skipper anchored in a little bay where we could go swimming. We stopped for lunch at a town called Patitiri, where we went to a fish taverna recommended by our skipper. We tried some seafood unique to the islands and had some grilled fish which was absolutely delicious.

The bay where we went swimming - divine!

Patitiri

Although this looks like scrambled eggs in a shell, it was really quite fishy!!

Sahara Gal

Beaches...

The island of Skopelos has many little coves and beaches. We didn't get a chance to go to all of them, but we did manage to see a couple. They were both pebbly, rather than sandy, but were still quite comfy to lie on and read a book in the sun...

Sahara Gal

Agnondas

Another recommendation in the Jamie Oliver magazine was a fish tavern in a tiny little port town of Agnondas. We found it on the map and drove there one afternoon. We sat under a wide verandah which jutted out straight onto the pebbly beach. Two of the local cats spent their time waiting for us to feed them and trying to catch little fish that were coming right up to the edge of the water. We had a fine feast of seafood and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Sahara Gal

Lunch in Glossa

Our best dining experience on Skopelos was definately at the Agnanti Taverna in Glossa. The town is high up on a hill, overlooking the sea and the Taverna has a prime position. We went looking for this place after reading about it in Jamie Oliver's magazine - we figured if he recommended it, it was probably worth going to. And it was. We sat at a table on the patio, with the most amazing view. The service was impeccable, the food incredible and the setting perfect. After a long lunch, we wandered through Glossa which was really pretty. It was a great day all round...

Sahara Gal

Mama mia....

For those ABBA fans out there, Skopelos was the island that they filmed Mama Mia on a couple of years ago. Thus, it seemed appropriate to visit the church that the wedding was filmed in. The Church of Agios Ionnis is stunning! However, it is very tiny so the internal scenes in the film were done elsewhere.

Sahara Gal

The Restaurant under the Pomegranate Tree

When walking around Skopelos we noticed a beautiful pomegranate tree in a courtyard. Turns out, the courtyard is actually part of a restaurant. We had a lovely meal there on our last night on the island.

Sahara Gal