At the end of a long, challenging year with far too many battles fought and far too few won, Cameron and I decided to treat ourselves to a budget island adventure.
Conveniently, a ferry brought us from the Greece I had not been anticipating to the Greece I’d been dreaming of. Finally, I had arrived.
We were most excited for the beaches. All kinds of beaches.
We called Skopelos the Mamma Mia island because many scenes from Mamma Mia had been filmed there, including when the iconic Meryl Streep sings “The Winner Takes it All” at the foothill of the chapel before scaling the steps in record time.
Since we were on Skopelos, it only made sense to see the Mamma Mia Chapel. So I did some research on how to get there. I was surprised to find only dead ends.
A condensed version of my research:
Bike? Where to find bikes? Possible heat exhaustion.
Rent a motorcyle? Need motorycle license …
Rent car? Expensive. Plus driving in Greece is scary. Do they have an automatic?
Hike? We’d probably never make it.
Book a tour? Expensive.
Taxi? Expensive. How do island taxis work.
Bus? Does the bus not go to that part of the island? I must be missing something.
Our motivation to see the Mamma Mia Church was initially not too strong. But after spending an hour researching, it became my “Roman Empire,” as the kids say. I was not leaving Skopelos until I had seen that church, and I was going to make it happen in a budget-friendly manner.
Roman Empire: slang referring to something that a person is obsessed with. The term originated after it was discovered that the average man thinks about the Roman Empire a surprisingly large number of times in a day.
The Game Plan Proposal
“So what if we take the bus as far as we can go, which will bring us within an hour and a half’s walking distance to the Mamma Mia Church, i.e., the Agios Ioannis Chapel? And worst case scenario, we could always hitchhike!”
Cameron, being the trooper she is, said yes.
Which is how we found ourselves at the start of our hour and fifteen-minute uphill walk under the Greek July sun to see a church.
The Arduous Journey
It actually wasn’t that bad.
We were prepared with water, sunscreen, good walking shoes, and hats. Sure, we did get incredulous looks from cars passing by (none offered to help us out). But honestly, it was fun to walk through the Greek island at a slower pace, allowing us to soak in the beautiful views.
And finally, after what didn’t feel like too long, we arrived. The Mamma Mia Church.
But the worst was yet to come.
The 198 steps to the top of the hill took more energy than the entire 75-minute walk to the church.
Thankfully, the view at the summit was breathtaking.
Cameron and I would cool off in the magical waters beneath, after which we discovered we were in a difficult predicament.
Various health considerations made us realize that the original plan to walk back to the bus stop was no longer an option. We were stranded.
How we made it back is a story I cannot tell, for I was sworn to secrecy.
So here I shall leave Cameron and myself on the stunning island of Skopelos.
Special thanks to Cameron for helping to make our Skopelos adventure one of my best trips yet. And for helping me survive Greece.
Looks like there’s a beautiful view from everywhere on the island!
High dive and swim to the beach?
Neighbors lived on Skopolos for a month this summer. Marion is a ceramic artist and took a fellowship there. They loved it. Emil found coffee shops for the mornings and places to have a drink with locals in the afternoons. They tried many small restaurants and two or three they enjoyed going to more often.
However you rescued yourselves, I am glad you got back.