March brings breezes sharp and shrill,
Shakes the dancing daffodil.
And in Skopelos, the winds mean power fluctuations and power cuts! A south wind is warm, but brings dust from the Sahara, so windows are never clean. A North wind is cold and is a double-edged sword.
If the wind is from the North East, then the sea in the main harbour at Skopelos Town is choppy and difficult for boats to access; but the island of Alonissos protects the south of the island, so the harbour of Agnondas, which is on the lee side, is calm and the journey to Skiathos is positively placid. However, the population and their visitors have the inconvenience of having to cross the island to meet the boats, before returning to town by road. The harbour at Agnondas is extremely small, so if it has to handle more than one boat at a time, the situation can appear chaotic and some delay is to be expected. People here realise that the priorities are boat schedules and island supplies, with passengers down the list. Even so, it is extremely rare to have to wait longer than half an hour.
If the wind is from the North West, then not only is it cold, but waves blown from that direction meet at the bottlenecks of the staits between the Sporades islands, creating huge waves on occasion as the water squeezes between the gaps and making travel into port extremely difficult. Sometimes the swell is such that boats cannot sail at all, in which case islanders conserve carefully anything that has to be brought from the mainland and fresh milk cannot be found. Fortunately, such times are very short-lived.
We are an island people and pride ourselves on our resilience. And true travellers will also understand and accept the vagaries of the weather - after all, it is part of what makes Skopelos unique as a tourist destination!
March is also the time to protect oneself from the vagaries of fate. You will often see children, pregnant women and devout young people wearing thin red and gold cords around their left wrists during this month. At Easter weekend, these are taken off and burned with ceremony in the church.
Scroll over to the left to find out about Independence Day on Skopelos!
Public holidays this month:
Independence Day |
25 March |
MANY YEARS! XRONIA POLLA! MANY YEARS! XRONIA POLLA!
Name days this month:
(Where it is known, the meaning of the name is given in brackets)
March 1 Eudokia (prosperous)
March 2 Euthalia (flourishing)
March 7 Efraim
March 8 Ermis
March 14 Flora
March 20 Emmanouil
March 27 Lazarous
March 26 Rigas