Schoinontas Beach Day

Tranquil Schionontas Beach used to be the last stop on the paved road in Maltazana, but recent improvements allow you to drive all the way to Vathy. For those of you who enjoy rutted dirt road driving adventures, take a look at the Road to Vathy post from 2016.

We spent the day here, with shady trees and umbrellas protecting us from the sun. Each umbrella had several shell or wood wind chimes that jingled and clacked in the breeze. Truly relaxing.

This is a shallow sandy beach with no waves, good for just floating or treading water while talking with friends. It is very common to see small circles of women treading water and chatting away, exchanging the day's gossip. Large sailboats often drop anchor here and take shelter from the open water. The word picturesque describes it perfectly.

On this day a friend of ours who grew up on the island shared the following story with us while we floated blissfully in the water.

She said she always enjoys coming to Schionontas beach because she has fond childhood memories of the place.  She was raised here and is a wealth of information about the island and it's history. She has shared many stories about life on the island with us, but this story I found to be particularly sweet. 

She recounted the following memory for me.  When she was in elementary school, the last day of the school year would be marked by a group school excursion to this Schoinontas beach. The kids would daydream all year about the day when everybody in school would go to Schoinontas together for swimming and jumping off of the pier. The event marked the end of the school year and the beginning of summer.

As Astypalaia is one of the quieter islands with limited infrastructure, I asked her how in the world did they move all of those people out to the end of the road from the Chora. Keep in mind that this is a small school, and they had 50 or so people to accommodate. No big buses here, I don't actually think a bus could navigate the only narrow windy road used to get to the beach. 

She laughed and said that they commandeered any available vehicle for the trip. Open bed farm trucks, motorbikes and cars were all used as transport. Trucks were favored, because the kids could pack into the back of the truck and enjoy the celebratory mood as the wind whipped through their hair. Not a seat belt in sight, just lots of happy kids soaking up the sun.

Seems like a festive way for a community to celebrate the beginning of summer.

This was the first beach we visited this year, but there will be many more.

More soon..

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