Skiathos is a very cosmopolitan place.
Some time ago, on a beautiful, sunny, winter’s day, three of us went to one of our favourite tavernas for some tsipouro. We were joined by two other friends, so we were a company of English, Dutch, half Dutch/half English, a lady from Sweden, and her friend, a Greek man born and raised in North Macedonia.
At other tables were lot of Greeks, a table of Albanians, a table of (I think) Bulgarians, and a table of four women all speaking English, two with Greek accents and two with North American accents. All of us on our table had deep connections to Skiathos.
Some of us started drinking tsipouro and then moved on to wine, while myself and our Greek friend stuck to tsipouro, albeit different brands. Mezedes kept coming; three kinds of small fish rolled in flour and deep fried in very hot oil, fried shrimps, tuna salad, horta (wild greens), yigantes (butter beans in a tomato sauce), little filo parcels containing shrimps, and dips of all kinds. In other words, a feast. Some of us started drinking tsipouro and then moved on to wine, while myself and our Greek friend stuck to tsipouro, albeit different brands.
Every time we ordered another round, more delicacies appeared. We talked for hours about life in general, how we had met (some of us 55 years ago, some 40 years ago, and the Swedish lady, just that day).
Other conversations included reminiscing of those old times, the Ukraine war, immigrants, US politics, European politics, Greek and local Skiathos politics. Health and aging were also discussed. Opinions differed on various subjects, but our friendship survived those without any problems. We talked about our recent travels and compared notes on wine, tsipouro, and hospitality.
English was the common language, with some Greek thrown in, but between us we spoke six languages. We sat from 2pm until 7pm, until it got dark and the temperature started to drop. We called for the bill and were pleasantly surprised at how reasonable it was.
When we arrived home, our cats were complaining bitterly about the lateness of hour and where was their supper? You just can’t get good staff these days!
We lit the fire, warmed ourselves up, and watched the first episode of Lonesome Dove (again) in memory of Robert Duvall, a great actor.
Just another great day in Skiathos.