Why Skiathos? You haven’t come to Skiathos to explore Bourtzi, the Venetian-styled fortress built by the Gyzi brothers in 1207, or the Medieval and Byzantine Castle (Kastro), the peninsula on the northern part of the island, a natural fortress for the people of Skiathos during the 14th century. You haven’t been drawn by a longing to visit the Evagelistria monastery, a hide-out for Greek rebels during 1821, or the house where Alexandros Papadiamantis, among Greece’s greatest modern novelists, grew up and passed away in 1911. You haven’t come to Skiathos to watch Mamma Mia film at the open-air cinema, or have you?! It may be the beautiful scenery, it may be the island’s traditions and lifestyle that attracted you here. Oh, no!

You’ve come here for just one reason: to enjoy the sea and get some sun!

Being at the beach can be such a liberating experience…Taking your first unsteady steps on the hot sand hills. The water is warm. The heat envelops you and seems to ease the knotted muscles of your left shoulder. Every day, the sky is perfectly blue. You love the wind and you love the sight of the shiny sparkling sea from your balcony. And the light…The magical, purifying Aegean light that merges the island contour with the line of the horizon uniting sea and sky.

To gaze at the water is another way of returning home. From there, all journeys begin.

For months you have been craving sunshine. Sunshine isn’t merely nice. It has a profound role in our lives. It is an agent of moral qualities, of generosity, courage, the appreciation of the present moment, confidence… Moral qualities that we profoundly share in Villa Anna, too.

You have come to lie on Elias beach not because you are light minded or indolent. But precisely because you have become so dutiful, serious, hard working, disconnected from your body and over-cerebral. It’s time to relax; you are enough, you have enough, you do enough. It is a deeply noble search for wisdom and balance that has led you here – to the summer world of sun cream, sunglasses, sunbeds and long hours by the sea…

photo credits @ Mila Atkovska