Skopelos

Before heading off on our travels a few weeks of Greek sunshine were needed for Sam to de-tune from hectic London life. Fully Shirley Valentine-d we began planning our trip, based at our favourite cafe on Skopelos waterfont.

All important breaks for Greek salad and endless baklava were needed when getting to grips with Russian visas and train timetables. We made full use of the cafe's free wi-fi for web searching, even if skype calls were made yet more difficult by the racket of cicadas.

It wasn't all work. We escaped our sessions of trip-planning and life-sorting by hiking out to remote beaches and setting up camp.

Exploring the islands and enjoying the lifestyle has been great but we are ready to leave Greece now. It is hot and crowded and we want to head somewhere cool and remote: Siberia (though we will surely miss those late afternoon dips).