skopelos via atv

these are photos from our last full day in skopelos, greece.

judah had sessions in the morning and 

then a good chunk off before the closing ceremonies in the evening,

we knew we needed to make the most of that time.

so, we rented a four wheeler!

as you've seen from earlier photos, most people ride a scooter around town.

originally we were thinking of renting one of those,

 but i knew i didn't want to drive my own and 

jude wasn't sure about me riding on the back of his, 

so we chose 4 wheels over two!

though we did not venture off road,

we did make it to a popular beach on the other side of the island.

this is where we had lunch

before trekking down to stafilos beach.

 this is a beach where you pay for a lounge bed, 

or get comfy on the sand and rocks.

we saved our 6 euros!

 upon return to our mode of transportation, 

there was some difficulty getting it started again.

so i took pictures of flowers...

 and after a few minutes we were good to go...

but cautious not to turn off the engine until back at our hotel!

 and there is our hotel room, with our towels hanging to dry.

 the closing ceremonies for the symposium were held at an 

archeological site conveniently located right next door to our hotel!

 we were given a tour of the small museum and the dig site.

 after that we enjoyed a beautiful candlelight dinner 

and a lovely time for speeches, gifts and goodbyes.

skopelos - enjoying the views

i'm back with more photos from our trip to skopelos, greece.

on this day, jude was in sessions 

and putting the finishing touches on his presentation.

so - what did i do?

i walked, and took pictures!

by this point, i was becoming more and more comfortable 

exploring on my own, 

which brought me even greater views to enjoy!

above is the main street along the port,

which is lined with restaurants and shops.

 if you follow the road to the end, you'll find some stairs that lead up,

 to where i found this man, working on a church door.

 this is the church, and below is the view looking up from the church.

 i followed those stairs to the top of this cliff, 

and they led to the other road (at the top of town).

 which brought me to these views,

  and my dream car - (but maybe in a different colour...).

 jude had his presentation that evening, 

and at the last minute i was invited to come along 

for the bus ride and listen in...

the ride was amazing, up and through the mountains,

and this is the view from where jude spoke (he did a fantastic job!).

the organizers of the symposium were so thoughtful in 

choosing beautiful and interesting locations for each set of presentations:

beaches, monasteries, artist homes, museums and archeological dig sites.

it gave participants the opportunity to take in parts of the island 

that the average tourist likely would not see or experience.

skopelos - such an incredible place...

skopelos - flora and fauna

still working my way through the photos from our time in greece.

have you noticed what a beautiful island skopelos is?

you. should. go.

on this day of our trip, 

i captured flora and fauna,

door and window,

beach and boat,

and a church...

enjoy!

 as you view these images and those in the other skopelos posts,

i would love to hear which images really stand out to you.

jude and i are planning to have a few printed for our bedroom...

skopelos - beaches and men

the amazing thing about the symposium that jude was a part of,

was the locations they chose for each session.

as we were walking down to this beach, 

it reminded us of muskoka!

and this was where the first presentations were held.

not bad, eh?

 it was really hard on the spouses and families 

to hang out there for a couple of hours...

~

you may have read this post while we were in greece.

below are the men i was speaking of from the restaurant 

where we had lunch that day...

 and this is another gentleman i met in my wanderings, 

while jude was in his second set of sessions for the day.

he was very comfortable having me take his photo, 

while the keeper for this shop, was not.

but we did chat for a while and it turns out they had been to KW before!

small world...

 this shot represents skopelos town for me, 

beautiful flowers, motorbikes and cats (can you spot it?) everywhere!

and this is another favourite from that day...

i miss walking those cobblestone streets.

some of you might have been hoping to see 

some of the younger men of skopelos...

they were there too - but it's not as easy to ask them for photos!  ;)

skopelos - old and abandoned

so these images were taken on our second full day in skopelos.

we had the day to explore, 

and the opening event for the symposium that evening.

we had already seen the town, 

so we decided to take the road from our hotel 

in the opposite direction and up into the hills...

 we found a rocky trail that lead up to this building.

 with a closer look, we discovered it was abandoned rental units.

some doors were locked up, some were not.

it was fun to explore!

on our way back down, we met another furry friend.

there are many dogs and cats roaming the streets 

for food and attention in this town.

jude was very willing to provide some love and attention...

after our hike we had some lunch and treats by the pool.

 that evening we searched the cobblestone streets for the vakratsa house

where the welcoming event was held.

this was a home given to the town to be used as a museum, 

by a family of doctors who also gave their medical services for free.  

it is filled with antiques and furnishings from the 19th century.

 while the assistant mayor was welcoming the 'academics' to her town, 

the sweet lady below was listening in.

she was so gracious and kind to agree to a photo...

(i love this one)

these are traditional wedding clothes from the 1800s.

 a few things that caught my eye inside the home,

while jude was most drawn to this display...

the museum was a beautiful place 

and provided great start to the week's events!