Milos / Kimolos

We boarded our Seajet Ferry Champion Jet 3 for Milos. Sue was really impressed, but a bit high on Stugereon. The ferry operations are slick, fast and efficient, turning around in a matter of minutes.

Lena and Christos meet us at the port and drove us to their beautiful accommodation “Just Live”. It is located in Triovasilos, just outside Plaka the capital of Milos. It has an authentic village feel with mainly local residents and a few tourists.

After arriving we walked to the local supermarket to stock up on supplies. We had been left a wonderful basket of goodies from Lena too . After shopping we strolled to the village Taverna which was wonderful.Time here is spent people watching locals stop and block the narrow road, to chat to the owners. Others using the road just sit and wait until the chat ends. The tables are on both sides of the road. The term health & safety often comes to mind when observing life in Greece. The seating areas have been decorated like a sitting room, with a sideboard and old clock and plates hanging on the walls. Another section looks like a kitchen with lots of pots and pans as decoration. It’s family run and even the 8 year old daughter helps wait on tables. She takes on a very business like demeanour as she puts out new table cloths, cutlery and cruets.

On our first morning we did the 20 minute walk to Plaka, got lost and after some considerable time ended up at the supermarket we reached in 2 minutes the day before. Plaka was wonderful. Small pedestrian streets and alleys, with a castle at the peak of a volcanic plug in the middle. A great spot for sunset watching. After the 280m climb to the castle we descended for lunch at a small alley restaurant shaded by bougainvillea to celebrate Father’s Day.

We took the bus to Adamas, the main port, to organise car hire for tomorrow and a yacht trip around the Island on Wednesday, when the wind was forecast to drop.

We meet the car hire representative the next morning at the supermarket, then took the car to Fyropotamos, a quaint coastal resort with a small church, boat houses and a lovely beach. The sea was rough but the drinks were lovely and cold in the beach bar, where we sat and watched the waves breaking. We drove on to Mandrakia and parked, then followed a coastal track towards Sarankiniko. This was taking longer than we expected so we headed back to have lunch at the Medusa Restaurant in Mandrakia, which opened at noon. At 11am it was deserted apart from the staff laying up tables. We arrived back at 12:08 and were lucky enough to get the last table for 2 in the shade. Throughout our whole meal there was a queue to get in. The food was delicious and we tried their specialities of marinated anchovies, octopus, sardines and grilled shrimp. This all helped explained the popularity of the place. Many celebrities had eaten here and left photos of themselves with the proprietor. I complimented him on his lovely restaurant, but he didn’t want a photo with me , After lunch we drove to Sarankiniko and walked over the moonscape volcanic rocks. It’s a strange scene with brilliant white wind eroded volcanic rocks splattered here and there with bodies soaking up the sun. Our last stop today was Pollonia just to check out details for the ferry to Kimolos, the neighbouring Island, which we planned to visit.

We have a garage beneath Just Live, but have to reverse in at right angles from the 8 foot wide road, trying to miss kerbs and walls on both sides. The first attempt took 10 minutes and we were both on the verge of a nervous breakdown when finished.

A car has been great to get around. On our second day we went to Palichoria Beach on the south coast. We had heard the beach club cabanas here could be in excess of a 100 euros a day, but we had our own sun tent, which worked a treat. Swimming was gorgeous and there was a lovely beach taverna where we snacked for lunch. Prices are so much lower here than in Santorini. Beers are 4.5 to 5.0 euros, compared to 7.5 to 9.0 and meals can be less than most meals in Santorini being well over 100.

After lunch we packed up and headed to Kilma. This is the fisherman village where terraces of boat houses exist. They are multi-coloured so make for a great photo opportunity, even if mine will number somewhere in the millions that have been taken!

It was great to see and experience, but the local artisan store owner said it was so different when fishermen, like his father and grandfather, lived here. Now they are derelict or converted into highly fashionable AirBnB’s. It was sad when the artisan said his father doesn’t even like coming to see him in Kilma anymore because he finds the changes too upsetting.

On Wednesday we headed off for our cruise around Milos on a 50 foot sailing boat. We were mini bused to the marina near Palichoria Beach where we boarded with our 18 companions. Mike the captain and Alex the host were fantastic and the sights of the south and west coast were also as good. The highlight is Kleftiko Bay with amazing volcanic rock features and caves. We lunched here, which was a lovely meal prepared on board. The group were mixed and very interesting. Sue befriended an American lady from Florida on a nine week retirement tour of Europe, even though she had already covered 61 counties working for the American diplomatic core. Sue and her bobbed around with their noddles chatting to their heart’s content. I spent my time snorkelling hoping to spot the one elusive fish that swims around in the Med!

We started out early the next day and caught the ferry from Pollinia to the Island of Kimolos, to the north of Milos. Sue summed this up perfectly “wow, what a beautiful, tiny, traditional Greek Island”. The ferry cost 2 euros each. It was meet by the, Island mini bus, which we took to the town post office, about a 10 minute ride up from the port. We wandered around the small alleyways, restaurants were shut, mostly only open for evening meals. We came across and photographed the local library - books hanging from drift wood on a building wall! We also visited another archaeological museum with perfectly preserved and painted pottery over 7,000 years old. These artifacts are truly amazing. The sophistication and culture from such a long time ago makes us feel our way of life and values today are primitive.

We walked back down to the port and confirmed with an elder man walking the same way with a book and towel that this was the right road. After a bit he stopped and said Kýma Fish Restaurant at the port was very good for seafood. He said sorry, I’ve just been struggling to remember the name. We went straight there and asked if they had fresh fish. The waitress said “No”. We looked at each other bemused and wondering what to have. She then said the daily catch would not arrive until 1:30-2:00pm. As it was 1:15, we ordered drinks and starters and awaited the fish delivery. We were soon invited to come and exam the fresh Porgy, which we ordered. This is one of the best fish from the Med, ahead of sea bass and bream! It was delicious and made a great end to our Kimolos visit.

On the ferry home we meet a young couple from Crete who had just had 3 days on the Island. They’d got around on a scooter, because people on ATV’s are killed every day on Crete. They then showed us the fish that have been found in the Cretian waters, highly poisonous and they bite. They get into the fishermen’s nets and any fish they bite also become very poisonous. We also mentioned we had been to Sarinkiko, and he immediately told us how dangerous that was. People our age had stepped back taking a selfie and feel into the sea. They both died. Then they went to get their bags. Sue and I looked at each other and agreed that had been a very uplifting experience!

We spent our final day back in Plaka, strolling the alleyways and shops, lunch was spit roasted lamb and we watched the sun go down at Mosaic, a cocktail bar with a bohemian roof terrace of bean bags to chill out on, but in our case extremely difficult to get up from.

We are off early morning to return the rental car to the port and board the 8:00 Seajet to Paros.