Milos From the Sea!

We set sail from Sifnos heading to the start of the Southern Cyclades, Kimolos and Milos, and after a fabulous sail for 20nm, we found a wonderful little bay to stop for the night, all on our lonesome, something we think will be hard to come up with again, when we get to the middle of July! Our only company were flies, but grateful for small mercies, at least they ate any mosquitoes, before they could eat us!

Kimolos is a barren tiny island with a very small population but which afforded us an introduction to some wonderful geology before we reached the highlight, Milos.

Having spent a peaceful night at anchor, and before setting sail, I (Chantal), dug out my mask and snorkel for the first time this trip and went exploring our little hideaway. It didnt take long to realise why perhaps we were the only boat to have dropped anchor there, the sea bed below was strewn with old anchors and anchor chain, plenty to snag our own anchor on (but by some fortune, we hadn’t), in fact this anchor graveyard gave me the creeps a little, and I quickly returned to the boat. Researching the bay we stayed in, I soon found out that this was a pirates base which at least explained the old chains and anchors below, the only thing missing was Captain Jack and the un-dead !

We set sail for Milos and we were again stunned by the scenery. Milos is an extinct volcano, the crater of which formed a huge natural harbour, and the rest of the island is full of amazing rock formations with magnificent bays, caves and lots of nooks and crannies, which were once upon a time hideouts of Pirates, ready to pounce on any unsuspecting ships passing by.

We entered the harbour of Adamas where we tied up to the quay to go exploring.

The following day we woke to find a cruise liner a little too close for comfort, fortunately it was only dropping off its clients and moved off to drop anchor for the day.

We then decided to spend a few days in Milos, the island is so unusual with so much to see. As part of our stay, we joined an old Greek Gullet to see the South coast of the island, which was just spectacular, passing an old fishing village, Klima on the way. I will let the pictures do the talking, suffice to say the difference in colours of the coast, from bleached white to dark volcanic rock, with sparking crystal waters and rocks that fell meters deep at sea level allowing the boats to sail past almost within touching distance , was breath-taking! The Gullet “Troia” stopped at 3 different bays, ending in Klefiko before returning to port. On one  stop, I (Chantal)  borrowed their paddle board (ours still in its bag) and thought I would put my “expertise” into practice, ha ha ha, it was sadly not quite as stable as ours and I took the plunge not once, not twice but three times, not that it was a hardship, the water being the most beautiful turquoise I have swam in for a long time!.

Kleftiko, on the south west tip of the Island

Just perfect, for swimming, snorkelling and soaking up the scenery!

What a truly amazing experience, one we can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone coming to this little island paradise in the Aegean!

Tomorrow, we will see the island from the land!