The Northern Sporades:

11 June 2014 | Nothern Sporades Greece

In June, we continued sailing through the Greek islands, working North West in the Aegean Sea and into the Northern Sporades island group. These islands stretch from the East coast of mainland Greece to the bottom of the Khalkidhiki Peninsula in North East Greece.

These are not the islands we see in the travel brochures and commercials. There are few white houses with blue roofs and even fewer archeological ruins. Most see few foreign tourists, and some have no one living on them. But they are stunningly beautiful. The lush pine forests extend down to the clear aqua waters. There are many small bays and sand beaches. Perfect for us.

Skiáthos, known for the best beaches in the Aegean Sea, is the busiest because it is closest to the mainland and has an airport. In early June it was still quiet.

Skópelos, is quieter and even more beautiful. You can understand why the movie Mamma Mia was filmed here.

Saint Ioannis is the chapel from the movie where the wedding ceremony took place.

Alónissos, much quieter and even more remote, is the start of the National Marine Park, a refuge for the almost extinct Mediterranean monk seal. We walked up to the “old town”, the original capital which was deserted after the 1965 earthquake and has sense been rebuilt with restaurants and shops.

Kira Panayia, even more remote and uninhabited, except for a few fisherman who stop in the almost landlocked bay there for protection. We stopped here in preparation for the trip North to the Khalkidhiki.

Skýros, sees few visitors, partly because it’s much harder to reach being further south.