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WHEN they came to shoot the film adaptation of the Abba
musical, a feel good Greek island set was essential. The forested island of Skopelos in the northern Aegean
Sporades group became the principal set for the film starring Pierce Brosnan,
Julie Walters, Colin Firth and Meryl Streep. The cast can be seen dashing across white beaches to
plunge into a sparkling sea or singing the big numbers en masse at epic
locations, such as the rock top monastery of Aghios Ioannis.
Skopelos is a half-hour hop by hydrofoil from Skiathos,
which is a three-hour charter flight from London. My family has owned a
house on the island since 1971, when the closest airport was Athens and
ferries stopped once a week. I visit most summers with friends and family.
Some come for the walks or medieval monasteries, but we tend to holiday like
Greeks: lazy days at the beach and evenings in town. The house is in the
capital, Skopelos town, which climbs back from the port in a picture-book
tumble of whitewashed houses and churches, blue doors and bougainvillea. |
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On the waterfront are newer cafés, restaurants and
boutiques, favourites with the Athenians who return each year. Alongside the recent tourist-geared businesses are
old-time local institutions: the banks and town hall, and Demotiko Kafeneon,
the no-frills state-subsidised café where old men talk politics and drink
coffee. |
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When I spend time on the island with friends, we usually
breakfast on yoghurt and fruit at one of the less austere cafés before
taking a late-morning bus to the beach. The buses are cheap and efficient
and make car hire unnecessary. They run from the port to Glossa, the
island's hill-top second town and cover miles of coastal views - sea, sky,
pine and white-grey bedrock - plus all the main beaches.
The first en route, Stafylos, is a ten-minute drive from town. It is also
the site of the tomb of a Minoan prince, Stafylos, no trace of which can be
seen, however. Despite its 3,000-year history and a wealth of intact
architecture, the island has no significant ancient ruins - arguably no bad
thing: visitors see the real historic Greece, not a vast museum.
We usually skip this beach, however, in favour of quieter Agnondas - ten
minutes farther on, and the base for the Mamma Mia! crew.
Here a small shingle beach nestles in a natural harbour. Yacht crews stop
here for the two excellent tavernas and bar that cluster close to a fishing
jetty. We often lunch at one of these. The seafood is meant to be best, but,
as a vegetarian, I opt for the cheap bean and tomato salads, and crusty
bread. Well fed, we sunbathe and read - then swim in the sheltered sea.
One of the Mamma Mia! crew's hang-outs, Limnonari, is a scenic 15-minute
walk from Agnondas with no bus access. The white-sand beach, flanked by
forested hills, is an excellent place to laze in relative seclusion - but
with tavernas near by.
Most of the film's locations are smaller beaches well off the beaten track.
My favourite, Perivoliou, on the sparsely inhabited north coast, has an
almost Cornish feel, with jagged rocks and windswept flora. The beach can be
reached by taxi or hire car and combined with a few hours in nearby Glossa.
An excellent restaurant is
Ouzeria Anatoli,
simple and outdoors, within the low-walled ruins of the Venetian citadel at
the highest point of Skopelos town. Rustic food, local wine, wide views and
sea air combine to awesome effect with the rembetika of the musician-owner.
Mamma Mia! is on general release next week.
The
Times, Saturday, July 5, 2008 |
