On my last post I left off at our pirate night party. After our photo shoot on the dock, Pirate Captain Stavros took us up the hill, about a twenty minute walk to a restaurant with an amazing view of the sunset! Another great meal in a small local restaurant
The next day we explored Hydra a bit more in the morning then took off for Milos. One of our fellow passengers, Lucille had taken this trip before with Captain Steve, but had missed Milos due to the winds not being cooperative. That is definitely something to be aware of if you take a sailing trip - plans can and do change based on the wind. But no matter what islands Captain Steve takes you to, it will be fabulous!
The main means of transportation on Hydra is Donkey Power. As CS & I strolled around the port, a couple of ships came in with goods for the town. CS took these photos of the donkeys being loaded up at the port. They carry all types of large items to their delivery locations up in the town
A super cool thing that Poseidon does is provision the boats with dry cat food. All greek islands have large cat populations. There are several volunteer groups that work to trap the feral kitties and get them fixed. They give the kitties a notch in the ear once they have been fixed. Captain Steve gave everyone jobs on the yacht. One of CS & my jobs was to feed the kitties in each port. We made many friends along the way.
After our morning stroll and kitty feeding mission Christianna & Santorini took off for Milos. This was a full day sail and it was glorious! A few snaps of the day!
Here is the Poseidon Charters description of our sail today Hydra to Kleftiko Bay, Milos.
Sailing into Milos is almost as dramatic as sailing into the caldera of Santorini. The port of Adamas is inside a large bay. As you enter the bay you pass on your left the village of Klima, famous for the boat houses right on the sea with their brightly painted doors and the living quarters on the upper floors. (See pictures below from Mandraki)
After arriving at Milos and enjoying watching Steve dock Christianna & Atkus docking Santorini (they are absolutely amazing at this procedure!) We took off to enjoy a bit of Milos before dinner. Steve rented transportation and took us to see the ruins where the Venus de Milo statue was found, near an amphitheater before heading off to dinner. Interesting note, Obsidian can be found laying on the ground on Milos.
We woke up the next morning in Milos ready to explore. Captain Steve rented a van and we were off! Milos has the most extraordinary terrain of any of the Cyclades due to its volcanic past. There are amazing rock formations, hot springs and as many as seventy-five beaches, some of which rival the best in all of Greece.
Our first stop of the day - Mandrakia. In the small harbor there is a white beach in the bay and you can swim off the rocks. Very nice for snorkling along the coast. Mandrakia is one of those boat-house villages that are common in this part of Milos with the buildings actually built around caves in the rock. See the colorful doors for the boats.
We enjoyed our stop at Mandrakia. Charming little village, many kitties to feed :-) And I found a beautiful spot for meditation and refection
The island of Milos has some of the most spectacular beaches in Greece. It also has some amazing places to swim that are not actually beaches as you might think of them. There is no sand, not even the small stoney kind of sand. What you get is a dramatic shoreline with strange rock formations that look like you are on another planet. Many of these rock formations are great places to swim. At Sarakiniko, beautiful smooth white rocks form a long narrow inlet with a tiny beach on the end offering a safe place to swim and great snorkeling. So of course Captain Steve brought us here! We spent a couple hours exploring, swimming & Sunning! It is such an interesting and odd landscape. This area was formed by bright white colored volcanic rocks, as you can see in the photos CS shot. Because of the bright white almost lunar rocks, the blue sea is an amazing contrast.
This area was used in some of the filming of Star Wars. Background for the home of the sand people!
After an amazing morning, we donned our cover-ups and headed out - next stop Pollonia & Lunch.
Pollonia is a picturesque fishing village. So different from the area we just came from. Sandy beaches, tree-lined waterfront with traditional tavernas. As usual Captain Steve took us to a fabulous restaurant, Gialos. Situated right on the beautiful waterfront. Steve had told us that the restaurant offerings just got better & better as the days went on! And he wasn't kidding! Food here was incredible !
After our wonderful lunch, Steve had two more fascinating stops for us. Papafragas & Fyriplaka. Our first stop was a view stop of Papafragos Beach. This was not for swimming but for gapping at the huge natural swimming pool that is carved out of the cliff side. And our second stop, Fyriplaka was for swimming! The beach her is quite lovely. It is a long beach with silvery/white sand and huge colored rocks along its coastline. The water here is stunning, crystalline and green/blue - Enchanting!
After a couple hours of frolicking on/in the beach, it was time to head back to Christianna & Santorini. Since we ate dinner in Pollonia, we were having spaghetti night with everyone coming to Christianna for dinner!
Only two more days left on our sailing adventure. I hope you will come back to read the finish!
Until Next time, Safe Travels
Susan
The next day we explored Hydra a bit more in the morning then took off for Milos. One of our fellow passengers, Lucille had taken this trip before with Captain Steve, but had missed Milos due to the winds not being cooperative. That is definitely something to be aware of if you take a sailing trip - plans can and do change based on the wind. But no matter what islands Captain Steve takes you to, it will be fabulous!
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| feed them and they will follow |
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| The sweet little honey colored tabby above was ready to join the crew of Christianna ! CS had the bag of cat food at the other end! LOL |
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| CS feeds the kitties |
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| waiting patiently |
After our morning stroll and kitty feeding mission Christianna & Santorini took off for Milos. This was a full day sail and it was glorious! A few snaps of the day!
Here is the Poseidon Charters description of our sail today Hydra to Kleftiko Bay, Milos.
Distance and sailing conditions: 55 miles – 9 hours. Northerly winds in the summer months and southwesterly air in the spring makes this a favorable passage. This is the best sail of the whole trip. This leg is from the Saronic Gulf to the Cyclades. (lucky us to be sailing in the 'Magic Month of June' - eh Captain Steve?)
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| Captain Steve, expert at Med-mooring! |
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| Map of Milos |
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| Milos |
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| Milos |
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| Atkus sails Santorini in to dock |
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| Amphitheater where Venus de Milo was found |
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| Milos sunset |
We woke up the next morning in Milos ready to explore. Captain Steve rented a van and we were off! Milos has the most extraordinary terrain of any of the Cyclades due to its volcanic past. There are amazing rock formations, hot springs and as many as seventy-five beaches, some of which rival the best in all of Greece.
 |
| a nice spot for a little meditation & refection |
We enjoyed our stop at Mandrakia. Charming little village, many kitties to feed :-) And I found a beautiful spot for meditation and refection
The island of Milos has some of the most spectacular beaches in Greece. It also has some amazing places to swim that are not actually beaches as you might think of them. There is no sand, not even the small stoney kind of sand. What you get is a dramatic shoreline with strange rock formations that look like you are on another planet. Many of these rock formations are great places to swim. At Sarakiniko, beautiful smooth white rocks form a long narrow inlet with a tiny beach on the end offering a safe place to swim and great snorkeling. So of course Captain Steve brought us here! We spent a couple hours exploring, swimming & Sunning! It is such an interesting and odd landscape. This area was formed by bright white colored volcanic rocks, as you can see in the photos CS shot. Because of the bright white almost lunar rocks, the blue sea is an amazing contrast.
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| Here you could walk in easily |
This area was used in some of the filming of Star Wars. Background for the home of the sand people!
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| Help me Obi-wan, you are my only hope |
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| there were brave souls jumping in to the water, from the right of the arch |
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| CS walking through the village of the Sand People |
After an amazing morning, we donned our cover-ups and headed out - next stop Pollonia & Lunch.
Pollonia is a picturesque fishing village. So different from the area we just came from. Sandy beaches, tree-lined waterfront with traditional tavernas. As usual Captain Steve took us to a fabulous restaurant, Gialos. Situated right on the beautiful waterfront. Steve had told us that the restaurant offerings just got better & better as the days went on! And he wasn't kidding! Food here was incredible !
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| Restaurants along the waterfron |
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| Papfragas |
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| Fyriplaka |
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| The colorful rocks at Fyriplaka |
After our wonderful lunch, Steve had two more fascinating stops for us. Papafragas & Fyriplaka. Our first stop was a view stop of Papafragos Beach. This was not for swimming but for gapping at the huge natural swimming pool that is carved out of the cliff side. And our second stop, Fyriplaka was for swimming! The beach her is quite lovely. It is a long beach with silvery/white sand and huge colored rocks along its coastline. The water here is stunning, crystalline and green/blue - Enchanting!
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| check out the rocks in the background |
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| Fyriplaka |
Only two more days left on our sailing adventure. I hope you will come back to read the finish!
Until Next time, Safe Travels
Susan
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