Skopelos, the Island We Call Paradise

Our next adventure takes us to Greece, specifically to Skopelos, the island where the famous film Mamma Mia was filmed. Although I wouldn't really call it an adventure so much as a vacation. I used to watch this place in the movie and always said I wanted to visit it, and so I did, twice, in fact. I hope I can bring you along as best I can to this stunning place. If you haven't visited it yet, the best thing I can recommend is that you do.

So this time our crew found ourselves in Greece without any surfboards, but with the same appetite to explore, to soak up the hospitality, and to dive into all that endless green and the blue of the sea.

Glysteri Beach

After checking in to our room, we headed straight to our favorite beach, called Glysteri. It's an incredible cove with blue and green waters, trees surround you everywhere and the scenery is dreamlike. The beach isn't sandy but covered in fine pebbles. The beach bar that stands out here is Glysteri Beach Bar, an amazing spot with a great breakfast, excellent coffee, and a perfect restaurant, more carefully put together than anywhere else. The sunbeds are fantastic, the music is perfect, and the service is on another level. We sat there for at least five hours.

We rushed back home to get ready and went for dinner at a restaurant right on the water with an incredible view over all of Skopelos, called El Atrio. The dishes there were absolutely delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed it. This particular restaurant became our regular spot after every beach day, and not only then. The finale of our evening was a walk through Skopelos Town, little shops selling souvenirs everywhere, clothing stores, and shops with incredible ice cream.

Hovolo & Kastani

The next day found us at Hovolo beach, a hidden beach you can reach on foot. The path is a little rough but still easy enough to manage. We arrived at 9:00 in the morning because we knew the beach fills up later. The scenery was magical: above you, a huge rock, pine trees amid the green, and plenty of shade. Just to give you an idea, the sun didn't reach us until around noon. As you can imagine, we stayed there quite a while. You do need to bring your own supplies, since there's no beach bar there.

The next beach we visited was Kastani, one of the beaches where scenes from Mamma Mia were filmed:

"Lay All Your Love on Me": the scene where Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and Sky (Dominic Cooper) sing and share tender moments on the sand.

"Does Your Mother Know": the musical dance scene where Tanya (Christine Baranski) humorously turns down a younger man.

"I Have a Dream": the point where the main characters say their goodbyes.

That's where you'll find Kastani Beach Bar, an incredible spot, both as a beach and as a beach bar. All around you, green from the countless pine trees (get used to hearing about the green, because it's going to come up a lot, haha). The water here is crystal clear, and at times you'd swear you were in a pool rather than the sea. This beach is sandy this time, with fine pebbles that gently caress your feet.

We headed back home after this full day, got ready, and went to eat at a little place tucked into the narrow streets of Skopelos Town, called Soya. A small spot with tables outside on the paved alley, where you could order Mexican food, sushi, bao buns, and Chinese dishes, all made with local ingredients. In general, every restaurant we went to used local products. We ate like there was no tomorrow.

Afterward came a stroll with a stop for cocktails, again through the narrow streets of Skopelos, this time at Tikiti Maji and Azores. These two cocktail bars are like "siblings": one DJ plays for both venues, a projector was showing Mamma Mia, and there was so much fun, all of us dancing to 80s to 90s throwbacks.

As we sat there, looking at the Manatā bracelets I was wearing, I thought: I hope one day I can set up a stand in one of these two places, so my pieces can be found here too. I know, big dreams, but if you think about it, Manatā itself was once just a dream that slowly took shape, so it's not out of reach for this to happen too. After all, dreams are free, you just have to step outside your comfort zone to make them happen. We went back home knowing the next day would be a busy one, since we wanted to visit three different places.

Amarantos Cliffs, Agios Ioannis & Ftelia

The day arrived. We woke up, got in the car, drove to the center of Skopelos, and stopped for breakfast and coffee. This time we visited a wonderful bakery that was so much more than just a bakery. It had everything from sandwiches, salads, coffee, koulourakia, and biscuits to sweets, and even local products in lovely packaging perfect for gifts. We got croissants, sandwiches, and of course freddo espresso (this type of coffee is perfect, you should try it).

Our first stop was Amarantos Cliffs, a place where, as you make your way through, you're constantly shaded by trees, and there are little coves everywhere to swim in. The spot we reached is what the locals call "the two pines." We dove into the turquoise water and relaxed. The place got its name because, years ago, a fire broke out on the island, and although it passed through this exact spot, the two pine trees near the water didn't burn and still stand there today. We stayed for two hours before heading off to the little Church of Agios Ioannis, where the wedding scene of Sophie and Sky from Mamma Mia was filmed.

There were quite a few steps to climb before we got there. By the time we arrived we were sweaty and tired, but the view rewarded us fully. As we sat there taking photos, we joked about how the entire cast must have gotten all their equipment up here. We figured they must have installed an elevator, there's no other explanation, and we laughed.

Our next stop was Ftelia, where we found Ftelia Beach Bar, another amazing beach bar with a great vibe and music. We relaxed there for quite a while, since all our tiredness had caught up with us.

While we sat there and I was chatting with my friends about my ideas for the brand (Manatā), a couple sitting next to us overheard the conversation and loved the whole idea, both the products I already have and the ones still to come. I won't hide it, it made me really happy. What I did was give each of them a bracelet as a gift, because let's not forget my motto: Live the rhythm, carry the energy. I've learned to share the way we share the sea, the earth, and all these gifts, so I too gave away something worth having.

We went back home after this adventurous day and got ready to go eat in Agnontas, specifically at Korali restaurant, a more upscale spot compared to the others, with simple yet beautifully reimagined dishes, so good you didn't know what to choose first. Our table was right on the sand next to the water; the sun was setting and the colors had taken on another form entirely. By then, what we were looking at was a painting made by the finest artist there is: nature itself. We enjoyed our seafood along with our wine and talked about the plan for the next day. I told my friends we should rent a boat to go around the island and see the beaches you can't reach any other way, and so we did. I called and made the booking.

Boat Day

We got up in the morning and went to pick up our boat. The sea in Skopelos is generally calm. I hit play on the boat's music player, we had our coffees, food, and drinks with us, and we set off on a boat ride that was something else entirely: turquoise waters, jumping off the boat, afro house music playing, you don't need anything more than that. Being surfers, we spotted SUP boards on the neighboring boats, so guess what we did, we borrowed them, of course, and had a great time. We got back around 6:30 in the evening, tired for sure, since we'd burned through a lot of energy, but we loved every minute of it, believe me.

We rushed home to get ready and went to another wonderful restaurant in Skopelos Town, called Psilomyta. The food there is out of this world too, but it's best enjoyed family-style, ordering everything to share.

After dinner, we went for a cocktail at another wonderful spot: Donkee. We were back among the narrow streets, not quite in the center of Skopelos but right next to it. Great view, great cocktails, and incredible music. The whole scene was amazing.

Farewell to Skopelos

Our stay on this island was the best. We spent several days there, and they all unfolded more or less the same way, except that instead of driving all over the place, we simply settled into one of these beaches for the day. This particular island stands out to me because it has incredible beaches, so much green from the trees, amazing drives whether by car or by bike (and I say this as a petrolhead), the people are all so welcoming, the food is excellent, and the shops are wonderful for a bit of shopping. This island, to me, is paradise.

I hope you enjoyed this and that I managed to bring you the island's vibe as best I could. It's for moments just like these that the Manatā brand was created, because every piece I design is inspired by places like this: paradises you can look back on once you return to the chaos of the city and everyday life, and let your mind travel back to. Sometimes, you know, you need to wear something that carries your adventures with you and reminds you to live in rhythm. And as we always say, live the rhythm.

Carry the energy.