16^th June

Sadly said goodbye to Alonnisos and took a 7 hour ferry to the last of the Sporades Group, Skyros. We arrived at the small port late and took a bus up to the Hora 10k away. No one to meet us off the bus and it took us about an hour and a half to find a place to stay. Prices here , a little more than the other islands, probably as it is home to many Athenians.
The Hora is a group of white
washed homes, clinging to a cliff top, with a church and fortress on the top. The fortress was closed as it was suffering earthquake damage.
 Skyros is famous for it’s little ponies which are slowly dying out, it’s traditional homes and also as the home of the poet Rupert Brooke, " If I should die think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England".  He has a statue in his honour which caused some controversy when erected in the 1930’s.
 Spent the day exploring the town and surrounding beaches but Skyros failed to live up to the quaintness and charm of the other three islands. We had fun though, due to the amazing kindness and generosity of the locals.  No one locks up their homes, motorbikes or cars here and we even saw two cases of beer left outside the supermarket overnight! How long would they last in NZ!  Everyone asks you for coffee, ouzo or desert  and one guy at the travel agency gave us his car for half a day to go exploring. How amazing!
So after two nights, off again with a 5 hour bus and ferry trip back to Athens, missing the riots by one day, and now on an overnight 12 hour ferry to Lesvos. Hope we can sleep!!