Skiathos, Greece: European Beach Culture Ruminations and Megali Amnos Beach

Paralia Megali Ammos (Megali Amnos Beach) is the main beach near the town center of Skiathos.

The Megali Amnos Beach (also called Paralia Megali Ammos in Greek) was the nearest beach from our holiday apartment, approximately an 8-minute walk and we can even see the beach’s bay from our apartment’s balcony, which we enjoy every single morning during breakfast. Ah, it was a beautiful sight to wake up to each day.

And very typical for the Dutchman and I is to search farther away located beaches before checking out the nearest one. We always reason out that it’s just there anyway and we can go there anytime. Do you do that as well? I mean, why do we always have to look far away when there’s something near? Um, I guess that’s being human, huh.

We knew for sure that the Megali Amnos Beach will be busy, after all, this is the nearest beach to the city center of Skiathos. It is basically located just beside it, around the hilly settlement corner, just a few minutes walk from the Bourtzi, the harbour, the many shops, and cafes.

Check out the map here:

Approximately 1 kilometer or a 15-minute walk, just behind the town center.

Dutchman and I luckily saw this beach on our first day when we had our welcome lunch here. We vowed to come back and we did, twice on two separate days even! Now that’s a feat for the adventurous us who go to great lengths in trying out other beaches. Skiathos island is quite small so you can easily run out of beaches to go. We also loved the fact that it's very near to our holiday apartment.

Even though the beach can get very busy, we discovered a few nice beach cafes here, and one, in particular, offering free sunbeds to their customers. Hallelujah! Who doesn’t like free stuff? Well, we aren’t shy. Trust me, we are as Dutch as it goes, haha.

So in fact, we spent three afternoons here at this beach, a lunch and the two were full afternoon beach relaxing days.

During our (Greek) summer island holidays, I really look forward to lounging on the beach, on a sunbed under a parasol, and then taking the occasional dip in the sea, reading a book that I usually buy last-minute at the airport, people watching and sometimes napping. The breeze can make you fall asleep you know. There is this element of holiday satisfaction when you do this, which personally, took me some years to develop and truly enjoy. Why? Because this kind of lounging on a sunbed on a beach or pool was new to me before. This is very typical of the European holiday culture that I have slowly learned to adapt and relish.

I was born and I grew up in a country that has an aversion to being exposed to the sun, and that staying outdoors on the beach with your bikini or bathing suit on, for hours, is seen as madness. I can hear people saying back then, you can get sick with barely nothing on, get dressed! Haha. Today, this wearing your bikini or one-piece bathing suit, even for a whole day on the beach, feels very normal to me.

As a kid, I loved the beach. I remember my mom telling me that I could spend the whole day on the beach, playing with other kids and just staying in the water and under the sun. As I grew up I learned about the stigma, at least in the Philippines, of what sun exposure can do to your skin. The paranoia has nothing to do with skin cancer really but about colour. The beach can make you dark and being dark in the Philippines back then was not a case of desired beauty. People will call you names such as "Negra", "Aeta" or "Mangyan" which are names of local indigenous tribes referring to dark-coloured people. Negra, however, refers to being black. There is nothing wrong with these names really, but people loosely used these names to say something they do not approve of. It puts you on the corner of being undesired. Other children endlessly tease you and people (can or may) pick on you. So you get the point why most locals stay away from the sun and the beach. It is not only a matter of becoming dark, but they are afraid of repercussions from family and the society. It was a bit sad.

Wearing bikinis and bathing suits back then was also not always the norm. You need to wear so-called sexy and very revealing of your body parts attire when you are in an exclusive hotel pool or beach resort and not in some random beach area or the average hotel because you will get stared at by the locals. The country was quite conservative and the mainstream women do not like to show off their bodies to the public. The media, of course, played a major role. There is this sense of theory, which I find quite arbitrary, that only women with great bodies and skin can show off their fleshly wares to the public. Could it be the very self-conscious mindset and beauty focused facet of the Filipino society? I remember reading a research online that Filipino men are the vainest men in the world. Go figure, haha.

Things must have changed now in the Philippines. Afterall I am talking about the 1970's and 1980's, that's like 30 and 40 years ago.

What with all that has been said, Europe has taught me to be myself on the beach. Europe brought me back to my childhood when I was free to wander and run around to my heart's content on the beach. To let go of any (bodily) inhibitions. To not care about skin colour (and getting dark). To embrace even my curly hair =)

Here are the pictures:

I love reading books while on the beach and my favourites are the thriller type of books.

No body shame in Europe. Even if you are an XXL, young and old, you can wear a bikini and nobody bats an eyelid.

Some boating activities on Megali Amnos Beach.

This girl was training her dog in the water.

Taking a spot on the beach and making it your home for a half a day or whole day.

It's a very busy beach. Behind the houses on the hill is the Skiathos town center already.

The lifeguards here were sexy young Greek women.

One of the many nice cafes and restaurants on the beach.

I took a stroll on the beach here.

I have learned the holiday art of hanging out on the beach.

Watersports activities on the beach. Not our thing, although when Dutchman was younger he did most of these things. Not for me though.

Can you see the airplane flying low? It's going to land, just a kilometer or two north of the town center.

The beach on a late afternoon in June.

At the end of the day.

This mega yacht has anchored here for days.

Travel Period: June-July 2018
Destination: Skiathos, Sporades Islands, Greece

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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)

All pictures were taken by a point and shoot pocket camera or a smartphone.