Press
Skyros has been the subject of numerous features in the British and foreign press over the years. The very short extracts on this page represent only a tiny sample of the vast publicity given to an organisation, which does not even have a PR department.
"‘Well recommended’."
"Hitting the tiny, unspoilt island of Skyros feels like walking into a dream world. (The island) was voted by Which? magazine as one of the top nine Greek islands for its village life and its greenery. After a few days on Skyros, a sense of fun (almost gross irresponsibility) overwhelmed me. That delightful sensation of the timeless descended and I scribbled ‘Tuesday doesn't exist’ on the notice board. And indeed time did seem to speed up and slow down at the same time with days and nights blurring into an emotionally exhilarating sweep. My fears of entering a kind of spiritual Club Mediterranée had been utterly defied. It was more of a good laugh than worthy of New Age."
August 1989
"An unspoken philosophy prevails at Atsitsa that anyone can do anything, and that age is irrelevant. I found myself sitting next to the ‘hooligans‘ so designated (by me) because of their iconoclasm about Atsitsa’s more spiritual offerings. If Atsista was a pious place, the hooligans would have been miserable. But it wasn’t."
July 1989
"Almost everyone opened up, there was a palpable feeling of joy, hilarity, and physical well-being and a real sense of growth, actual and potential. Some said it was their best holiday ever; several were on their second or even fourth visit."
July 1989
"This amazing place, Atsitsa, has really fascinated me. It relaxes your whole mind, body and spirit. It is the perfect place for a proper holiday."
June 1989
"Pa Atsitsa prövas käleken. Maurice, en äldre man klart medveten om sin negativism och som vi andra undvek om det gick, sa plötsligt en dag: Jag är sá positiv sá jag undgar vad som págaár. En fránskild man som först bara ville vara ifred sa efter fem dagar att han kände sig fylid, kroppen var int längre ett tomt hál. En tredje man berättade ed lysande ögon att han vágade prata med främlingar. Veckan innan skulle han aldrig gátt fram till mig. Människor som inte kunde simma och aldrig hört talas om yoga sam efter tre dagar och utförde avancerade yogaöynigar. Män i 60-ársáldern lärde sig windsurfa."
February 1989
"I would say that never have I come back from holiday feeling so refreshed and invigorated. 'Civilisation' will never look quite the same."
January 1988
"The usual antagonism of modern living has given way to cooperation. People at Atsitsa are attuned to one another; there’s a caring, supportive atmosphere and lots of spontaneous hugging. It's alternative living - i.e. living differently from the stress-filled life that most people experience every day. It's living based on human values – values that our society should consider all-important but seldom does."
November 1987
"Comments from participants run into superlatives - ‘liberation, rejuvenation, bliss in massive doses’ - but for many, it is the sense of trying and achieving something you’ve never done before that tops the cake... The memory of that fortnight sends ripples through our notions of 'real' life."
August 1986
"The place has the most amazing write-ups from people who never expected to like the experience at all. In fact, some journalists who went to write mocking send-up pieces returned sheepishly to praise the place to the skies. Everybody who comes back from a holiday there recommends others to go."
August 1986
"The natural setting was spectacularly beautiful. Bare hills and pine forested alleys rolled down to rocky coves, white beaches fringed the clean clear sea, and as I looked down, I could see the brightly coloured fish, shells, and an octopus deep down below me ... There was an air of ancient peacefulness everywhere. To my surprise, there wasn’t a lot of that holiday phenomenon of pairing off that can often happen. I think there was too much to be got from joining in tog."
August 1986