From Dubrovnik we headed to Athens, meeting our son Charlie and his girlfriend Audrey, to spend a few weeks exploring the Greek islands. But first a couple of nights in Athens to take in some of the sights. We took the “Hop-on Hop-off” bus around town, Which gave us a chance to see a lot, in a short amount of time.

Athens is a sprawling city, with The Acropolis really at the center of it all. Dating back to the 5th century B.C., it was the highest point of the city, and contains the remains of several buildings, the most well known being the Parthenon, and the Temple of Athena Nike. With constant maintenance and careful archeological reconstruction, it seems there are always areas with scaffolding, but the buildings and temples are simply incredible.

The walk down from the acropolis takes you through the Plaka area with many restaurants and shops. We also visited the public market area with every type of fresh meat you could imagine, beautiful vegetables, olives everywhere, and colorful displays.

The next day we head to the islands. First to the Sporades, which are north-east of Athens - about 150 miles (I’m guessing - about a 30 minute plane ride). The island of Skiathos is our destination for the next few days. Home to the famous (in our minds) “Mama Mia Open-Air Theatre”!! So of course we did the movie night - sing-along and all. And we also took in a few of the beaches on the island while we were here, even though the weather did not totally cooperate. And we also made a stop at Maria’s Pizza - the cutest pizza place ever, with Maria cooking away inside. The next island over is Skopelos, and although we didn’t get there this time, it is the island where the little chapel in the Mama Mia movie is located, as well as some of the beaches where scenes were filmed. The Sporades remind us a bit of the San Juans in Washington, as they are green, and incredibly beautiful in the summer months.

Time to hop to another island - now we head south to the Cyclades, and Mykonos. We head to the Skiathos airport for our flight back to Athens and then to Mykonos. The Skiathos International Airport is small - the runway also serves as the taxiway - but hey, I think they just got a new bus! The bus meets you at the plane to drive you to the terminal - it is hilarious as it takes longer to load the bus and get off, than if you just walked the 50 yards from the plane to the terminal!

Mykonos is maybe one of our favorites as you can use this island as a base and explore beaches, and other islands by ferry or boat. And our hotel - Hotel Tagoo - is also a highlight. It is a beautiful spot and family owned and operated for several generations. Anna and her husband Yanni are just in the process of handing the hotel off to their oldest son Theo, as they look forward to spend summers on their own boat in the islands.

Anna met Yanni about 35 years ago when she came to the island after college. He was a professional dancer in a local bar - they met, and the rest is history. A bit of a “Shirley Valentine” story for sure! They generally host a “Greek night” about once a week, but this summer they had not for quite some time. When we asked about it, they were more than happy to put it together, and as possibly one of Anna’s last Greek nights, she pulled out all the stops - and ended up in the pool (as did most of us!). It was a fun evening making Tzatziki and trying to learn some Greek dances.

We did a boat trip from Mykonos, going first past the island of Delos, said to have been inhabited from 3,000 B.C. This is the mythical birthplace of Apollo, and it’s location at the center of the Cyclades made it a hub for trade, and eventually it was a city of around 30,000 people. However as trade routes changed over time, around 100 B.C. Delos was no longer an important location, and with no ability to cultivate food on this barren island it seems everyone just moved. The island today can be explored - it is a historical site, with incredible ruins and a museum - and it is well worth the stop if you have a chance. We head on to a couple of bays on the island of Rineia, for some swimming and lunch before heading back to Mykonos. A beautiful and relaxing day.

The town of Mykonos is great as well - as long as you have the opportunity to visit on a “non-cruise ship day”. We had the chance to do this, but also saw it when there were four ships in at one time - chaos! At least we could just spend time by our pool and avoid most of the crowds. The town has a couple different little harbors, and is known for its “Little Venice”, the windmills, and for the many little churches and chapels throughout the town. Oh, and for the occasional Pelican walking the streets as well!

Charlie and Audrey would head off from here to visit Santorini, while we would stay a few more days to relax. We were originally planning to visit the island of Ikaria, as we had met a couple and their young daughter back in Portugal who were headed there earlier in the summer. They had family on the island and it sounded like a great place - we’ll get there eventually, but this time the ferry schedules just didn’t work out for us. Anyway a few more Mojito’s (Alex is the bartender and makes the best!), and some time to read and get caught up miscellaneous “stuff” (i.e. - planning for 2020), and we were ready for our next stop. Alex and Thanos (and the rest of the crew) were the best, and we will miss Hotel Tagoo (until maybe next year).

From Mykonos, we hop on the Super Jet ferry to Milos. It’s about a 3 hour journey, with stops in Naxos and Paros before arriving. Our wonderful Villa Notos was about a four block walk from the ferry terminal - very convenient - and very close to town. All the reviews on Villa Notos were about how fabulous the owner/host is - Lena was wonderful! At first we were a little unsure, but after sitting with her and hearing her story, and letting her guide us on the best places to go and how to get there - well, she was amazing! Our room was great, with a wonderful terrace overlooking the bay, and when we wanted, there was a small beach just across the street for swimming.

The island of Milos has 74 beaches! Seventy-four! Yes, many are small and difficult to get to, but there are also many that are within reach of a rental car, or 4x4. We visited several in the course of our four days on this island, and with many more to go, we will definitely be back. We booked a rental car for a couple days and headed off - first stop was Fyropotamas Beach. It is a beautiful bay on the north side of the island. Originally used by fishermen, who would build their syrmata’s (Boathouse) with a small garage for the boat and a small dwelling on top, so they would not need to go back and forth to their homes. These places are really cool, and this bay is incredible with a sandy beach that goes out maybe 100 yards.

Next stop was Sarakiniko Beach, where the white volcanic rock formations make you feel like you are on the moon! This is a UNESCO site, and you have to hike into it - maybe half a mile - and it is well worth the hike. Many little swimming holes, or if you are adventurous you can jump off the cliffs in some places (not for me!).

The next day we took the rental car to the south side of the island to catch our boat for a half-day trip to Kleftiko. This area can only be reached by boat, and there are many different tours you can take. We opted for a “cheaper” one, which was ok since we had been here once before, but I would suggest you search for maybe a mid-priced one, that includes a bit more commentary, lunch and drinks - probably around $100 per person (ours was $30). The rock formations are amazing here and you can swim/snorkel through many caves (usually you can see both ends, so it is pretty easy).

After we returned, we covered a few more beaches, and then stopped at Paliochori Beach. This is a great long stretch of beach and has some areas with thermal springs feeding into the sea. You can see many colors in the rock here, and you can see the sulfur in some of the formations.

Our final day on Milos, we turned in the rental car and opted to take the local bus to Tripiti town and take a hike down to the fishing village of Klima. First we stopped by the ancient Catacombs of Milos, dating back to the 1st century, and considered one of the three most important sites of its kind in the world. My pictures don’t do it justice, so I am including below a link to the website for the catacombs.

http://www.catacombs.gr/

After hiking past the ancient theatre (great place for concerts in the summer), we head down the hill to Klima. Another small fishing village, and very colorful, many of the syrmata’s have been converted to shops and of course to expensive AirBNB’s as well! A beautiful spot for a swim and lunch and a great place to end our time in Greece.

One final sip of Ouzu and one final sunset on Milos!

Tomorrow we head to Rome for a final few days before taking the jump back to the other side of the Atlantic. Will do one final post from Rome and then this trip will be over, but we have already started planning for next year!

All the best,

Tim & Eileen