Milos and Sifnos Islands, Greece
It was relatively calm and quiet at the pier on Milos Island when the day began. There were two ferries at the pier getting ready to depart on their routes back to Athens at first light. There were a handful of the guests that took a stroll down the public beach for a swim while many opted to enjoy their coffee and watch the sun rise over the east side of the caldera that forms this nicely protected harbor. After breakfast we were off of the dock and underway for Sifnos, our next island of the voyage.
Once we were clear of the harbor we found the wind that Milos was shielding us from. It wasn’t too rough, just enough motion to remind us that we were on the Aegean. Late in the morning we were on approach to Kamares, the main port for Sifnos Island. This small pier is used for all of the commercial deliveries, ferry landings and pleasure boat dockings. There was a small fuel tanker at the pier and a ferry on approach. The Captain circled around to delay our arrival and allow the ferry to take care of its business and get on its way. He dropped us off at the pier before the next ferry approached to enable us to wander the harbor and many of us chose to take a swim before lunch. While we enjoyed a warm sandy beach the Panorama was off of the pier again to enable the next ferry to moor, offload its passengers and cargo, reload and then depart. You don’t delay the ferries; they are the lifeblood of the islands. We watched from the beach as the ferry departed and the Panorama came back into the pier, signaling us that it was time to return to the ship for lunch. While we enjoyed lunch the tanker departed and the Captain shifted the ship just one more time to get us to our final berth for the day and into the evening.
Later in the afternoon we departed to explore further inland on Sifnos. Our first stop was the Kastro, a small village built on top of an acropolis from antiquity. Tzemma and Laura, our Greek guides led us the through the winding ways of this small community. Along the way they pointed out items from the original acropolis that had been used for the relatively recent construction of the buildings around us. It was explained that this was built as a castle, with a surrounding wall and one entry to protect the community from raiders or pirates. It is positioned high on the northeastern edge of the island which gives it a great view of the Aegean below and provided good warning of any “uninvited” visitors. After exploring this unique place many of us took the time to sit at a local café and enjoy refreshment before venturing onward. Prior to returning to the Panorama we stopped at Artemonas, another small community on Sifnos. There is a small footpath running between Artemonas and their sister village Apollonia. We all followed Tzemma and Laura along this nice walk, pausing for photos and to take in the views as we went. We reached Apollonia, boarded our coaches and made our way down to the port just in time for sunset in the harbor.
