Most people have never even heard of Tinos, so why is it that we are making our second attempt of the week to get to this little-known Cycladic island? The island is the historical home to Aeolos, God of Winds, and local lore maintains that when there is no wind blowing in the Cyclades, the harbor of Tinos remains a tempest. We learned this on the second day of our voyage when we were denied by Aeolos and had to shelter at neighboring Syros, but today’s forecast called for flat calm seas, so we returned for our second attempt.
Those who do know Tinos know it primarily for the “miraculous” church of Panagia Evangelistria, where pilgrims flock by the thousands to see the icon that was uncovered through the persistent visions of a local nun. The church complex dominates the harbor view, and is undoubtedly the magnetic attraction of the island for most visitors.
But Tinos is also an island of authenticity, where the Venetian-influenced Christians held out from the invading Turks far longer than anywhere else in the Aegean. The forty-or-so Tinian villages retain an unadulterated essence of village living, spattered amongst a rugged and foreboding island landscape that features some of the most remarkable ancient terracing in the Mediterranean. And the most beautiful of all of these villages lies among the northern marble quarries of Pyrgos, home to some of the greatest marble sculptors of the last two centuries.
After all of the wonderful places we visited this week, we never could have imagined that the little village of Pyrgos would top our list as the most beautiful. Neither the museums nor the marble workshops were open on this sleepy Tuesday morning, but the astounding marble workmanship on the everyday homes and facades was absolutely riveting. Photographers could not get enough of the glorious detail of marble carvings in front of every home or merchant, while romantics wandered the back alleys in a dream of marble and artistic expression. We all reunited at the most unlikely Pyrgos bus stop, made of finely carved pure marble, of course.
We returned to the harbor and lo! Aeolos had awakened and the wind was picking up. Our captain and expedition leader have assured us that we would have the opportunity to go out in Zodiacs to take photos of Sea Cloud under full sail, but the winds were getting stronger. When you think about it, this is not an easy proposition, since a tall ship with sails full of wind is necessarily moving. Warned of the challenges of getting off a moving ship and then back on, most of us could not resist the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get out in a Zodiac and photographic a tall ship under full sail. And what an adventure it was! Never mind the photos, but the sails filled and the ship drove to 5 knots as the Zodiacs plunged forward to keep up! We all got quite wet with the spray of sea and sailors, and returned to the ship with the most exciting outing of the entire week. Hoorah! Never, ever, ever could we imagine that we could have this experience in the 21st century. Go tell it on the mountain…!
