Sunday 26th Nov 2017 13:03

Sunrise – 07:17   Sunset – 17:07   Moon – First quarter
Extras
08:10   09:25
11:22   16:10

Most likely I have mentioned before that for the last several years the olive harvest has been at least dismal if not a complete and utter failure and possibly also that this year has been classic. The result is that everybody who owns an olive tree is harvesting everything they can; a small piece of land here, another few trees there, it all adds up to liquid gold and not a single opportunity will be missed.

Glossa has an olive press, and a while ago Skopelos did too, but the buildings there were converted into trendy bars and eateries and so the mill at Glossa took all the business. Except of course for the fact that on several occasions the harvest has been so bad that the one and only press on the island has remained closed, nobody has picked olives, they have all dropped to the ground rotten before they fell.

During these lean years some brave soul has built a brand new press at Agnondas, which is much more convenient for people living close to Skop Town, and it has opened with perfect timing to coincide with the busiest year in living memory.

Meanwhile, on Skiathos, the one and only olive press is closed for business. I am told that the couple who own it are divorcing. He owns the factory and she owns the land upon which it is built. She will not allow him to set foot on her land and so he cannot open his factory. It seems an odd thing to do in a year when a fortune could be made.

So this year Skopelos has two olive presses and Skiathos has none but Skiathos has two automobile testing centres and Skopelos has none. The car ferry is doing a roaring trade! Trucks full of olives are travelling to Glossa and trucks full of oil are travelling back again. Cars needing tests are travelling to Skiathos and then returning with their completed paperwork.