Day 11 Wednesday 10 September

Our penultimate day and we're starting to wind down now ....

Here's the Epiblog - More follows below ....

This is mostly a comparison of our experiences here compared to similar holidays in the Canaries
Tourist tax is charged at the 5-star hotel rate. This is at best a solid 3-star hotel. Rated on Jet2 s 4-star
Breakfast and dinner buffet less extensive then we're used to but adequate
No cava at breakfast, not even on a Sunday
Limited cereals on offer
Drinks more expensive (€7 for a large beer)
Fabulous sea view but some 'sea view' rooms had views blocked by trees
No lift
Excellent Wi-Fi throughout
Dinner is later (starts 7pm, perhaps late for little ones)
Pool towels not available from gift shop until 10. People are bagging sunbeds from very early, many of which remain unused. Insufficient sunbeds (not enough space - 100 sunbeds for up to 500 guests)

Nowhere to plug in the kettle, no supplies routinely provided, told to get from restaurant at breakfast but only tea no coffee or milk
Very clean. Staff are always cleaning
Shower over bath not walk-in. Bath could be slippery
Only BBC World and Sky news on tv. Other language speakers got non-news channels as well as the news
No included speciality dinner
Staff are excellent
Shuttle buses, whilst really great, start too late (10am)
Why do we have to book the town shuttle the night before?
Coffee cups should be near coffee machine not on our table
Food is well displayed but not everything is labelled
Lots of storage space and coat hangers
Info overload on arrival.  A handout would be better
We normally get a drink on arrival - not here
Coach dropped us at the bottom of a slope rather than at Reception which meant dragging cases up to Reception
Nowhere to hang wet costumes on our balcony
No dressing gown or slippers supplied
No flannels
Well supplied with toiletries- soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner
Balcony chairs aren't very comfortable
Very enjoyable barbecue on Saturday night
Not much entertainment.  Just a couple of nights with bouzouki players
Smoking seems to be allowed everywhere outside even in eating areas
Quite a few crabby little ones around including in the room opposite us which meant we were sometimes awoken by a screaming child.
Didn't really come across any school age Brits
E got a few insect bites especially on her feet
Nowhere to go for a gentle stroll. Quite a hazardous walk to the beach and no shops or bars nearby

Overall this has been a relaxing break in a beautiful location with lovely weather but it is perhaps a little boring and a week may have been long enough.

Discreet irrigation

Chocolate and walnut cheese - interesting

One of Elizabeth's two favourite spots

Day 10 Tuesday 9 September

As night falls each day, if we're on our balcony, we hear a plaintive call coming from nearby. At first we thought it was a bird in distress, but a little research about owls online suggested it was a Scops Owl.

This is a Eurasian owl, not seen in the UK, but it calls at dawn and dusk (we haven't heard it early.) It defied all my attempts to record it call on video. I can't easily post any YouTube links as these links become too generic but if you search YouTube for 'Scops Owls' you'll find a number of recordings.

Here's the Wiki article

Day 9 Monday 8 September

 

So I sit on our balcony and think: "Could I get the long-handled shears in my luggage next time, perhaps?"

I forgot to show you the gift the hotel sent us for being inconvenienced at the start of our stay ....

We also got a bowl of fruit, things we could have taken from the buffet, yes, but it's the thought that counts!

Ferries everywhere .....

Day 8 Sunday 7 September 2025 Yet another quiet day

Mornings and evenings are definitely the best times of the day ....

Graeme decided that it was 'High Noon' time today!

We've now been here a week, one night and the best part of 24 hours of which was spent in a lower grade room because of a leak in the wardrobe of our original one with only one apology - and that from the porter who was moving our cases between rooms.

I had also mentioned to Reception staff that that extractor fan in our bathroom (no natural ventilation) wasn't working because the innocuous-looking switch over the bath was broken and nothing was then done about it.

I went to Reception and asked to speak to the duty manager. They tried to put me off but I was adamant and said I would sit nearby and wait!

The manager duly came and listened to me: only a very junior employee had apologised for the room changes, they had promised us they would contact us around lunchtime the next day to give us a new room but hadn't. We only found out where we would be by asking again at Reception at around 4pm.

I finished off by saying that we had paid for 11 nights in a 'superior' double room with sea view to have to spend one of them in a much inferior room at the back with a view over the staff quarters and service areas and that we had never been offered any redress from the hotel for that.

I said that we had reported that the pull switch for the fan in our bathroom didn't work to which the manager replied to say that the extractor fan was automatic and that the pull switch over the bath was an emergency pull cord and not at all connected to the fan! I replied by saying that it clearly didn't work either as we had each pulled it many times and that nobody had come to investigate! Not only that but I pointed out that such pull cords were usually in red in public places.

I also mentioned that the switch itself was detached from the wall, potentially allowing water from the shower to short the circuit, that I had reported that but that, once again, nothing had been done about it.

The manager duly apologised and asked when we were leaving so watch this space! I'm assuming that the question about when we were leaving wasn't because they were now considering chucking us out sooner!

As the day drew to a close we were looking forward to a full lunar eclipse and, as it got dark it was clear that quite a few of the other guests were aware of it too.

Eventually we caught sight of the blood read moon. I was hoping that it would be a larger moon but our was high up in the sky so relatively smaller.

It seemed to improve over time, so see what you think - 

Sunset in the west

And then the moon rose in the east

Day 7 Saturday 6 April 2025: Not overdoing it too much!

Another couple of lazy days spent reading and relaxing.  One observation about here compared to our Canaries holidays is that there isn't anywhere to have a gentle stroll so there isn't much else to do other than chill. 

The highlight of today was a brilliant barbecue put on by the hotel.  There was an impressive array of foods including moussaka which E had been hoping the hotel would serve.

Whilst we ate, we had 2 devices on our table, one showing the England v Andorra WC qualifier and the other the England v Australia women's WC rugby match.

High-speed water taxi returns from Skiathos

We looked at the timetable for the water taxi, thinking we might have a day on Skopelos, the neighbouring island. Then I researched on the Ferryhopper app for ferries from Skiathos to Skopelos. You can go on a passenger-only fast ferry for €16.50 per person each way (30 minutes) or on a standard car ferry for €33 or so per person each way (60 minutes) but we then realised that, even on the fast ferry, the total travel cost would be (including the water taxi to Skiathos and back) €94, or €160 on the slower vehicle ferries.  Quite a bit for travel alone for a day out

WiFi extenders even in the most unlikely places!

Treatment beds in the posh area!

Our balcony is the right-hand end one, middle floor

Dead end!

The pay restaurant above

Getting ready for the Saturday night BBQ