Sitting in our seats en
route to Athens I had that dreamy almost sedated feeling of
anticipation. A Trip. Trips are so magical and also so
rare and special that sitting in my seat I tried very hard to ground
myself in the various points of the itinerary. Segments. And even now I
think back on the experience in those segments and how very unique and
special they all were.
Our trip began in Milos.
Well, truthfully it began in Athens but for some reason Athens doesn't
come up as a segment in my brain. Sure it is the first place we stepped
off the train and onto dirty, cobblestone streets of the winding
European nature. We exhaustedly dropped our bags to scurry quickly up to
Mt. Likavittos just in time to catch the sunset over all of the Athens.
The Acropolis standing tall in the distance lighting up as the sun sank
lower.
The following morning we were on the first
ferry to Milos at 7am. We nearly missed it too. Running. As fast as I could
run with my pack, we crossed the boarding plank just as it was lifted
away and the ropes undone. Yikes. We quickly ordered a coffee.
Specifically a Greek Coffee. Not a Turkish coffee. One should never order it as
such. Like a layer of coffee
silt it was so thick. We sat back. And anticipated
what was to be our home for the next four days.
The decision to go to Milos came at the urging of our Greek friends, Tim and Demetri - they have a cousin on the island who owns a restaurant called Gialos. We were promised good food, good company and the most amazing beaches. And tucked inside an already generous wedding gift from Tim was a sealed envelope with the words, "Present this envelope to Achilleus by way of introduction" written on the outside.
When we disembarked the ferry on Milos we crossed the street and rented a scooter. It was as simple as that. Within minutes we were zipping along narrow country roads, wind in our faces and sunshine already hot despite the fact it was not yet noon. In a scene that felt not so different from a movie, we zoomed along looking out at the ocean and farms, taking in the fact that the adventure had just begun. I actually feel strongly that those first simple minutes riding on the back of our scooter are some of my favorite memories. I remember a feeling of such overwhelming happiness. I felt so far away and so grateful for being there.
Looking at a map we knew
we needed to head to the small town of Pollonia, and specifically, to
the restaurant called Gialos. It still blows my mind how easy it was. We
rolled up, asked for either Christos or Achilleus. Within minutes
Christos, Achillius's business partner in the restaurant, arrived
kissing us on both cheeks, and offered us an espresso. He was so happy
to see us and so warm. "Do you have a place to stay?" he asked. And
since we didn't he was quick to say, "Follow me." and we followed him on
his scooter over to a friend's small, white hotel on the beach. Within
minutes we were settled into simple but adorable room-with-a-view and a
balcony to boot. We had arrived.
I think we planned on staying three nights on Milos Island.
We ended up staying five.
Highlights include:
+ A seemingly rabid dog who attacked us while we were riding our scooter!
+ Baked Feta:
+ We took what seemed like a pirate ship to a private beach called Kleftico. We jumped, we swam. We toured around the caves and snorkeled. And they served us the most spectacular meal right on the ship! Tyson declares this his favorite meal of the trip.
+ Dusty gravel roads that lead down to insanely beautiful beaches, including:
Sarakinikos, for cliff jumping. No sand, all smooth rock. A moon-like beach.
Tsigrado, where one had to climb down through a skinny crack in a rock wall by way of a rope and ladder to get there:
